Introducing your DDC language version

The name of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arabic translation of the Dewey Decimal Classification, Edition 23 with updates up to March 2019 is:

الترجمة العربية لتصنيف ديوي العشري، الطبعة 23 وتحديثاتها

حتى مارس 2019

The above Arabic name is Romanized as follows:

al-Tarjamah al-ʿrbīyah li-taṣnīf Dīwī al-ʿashrī, al-ṭabʿah al-thālithah wa-al-ʿishrīn wa-taḥdīthātuhā ḥattá Māris alfain watisʿata ʿashr

In Egypt, the English version of the DDC has been used, on a small scale, since the late 60's.

The first phase of the institutional Arabic translation of DDC Edition 22 started in March 2009.

The Library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina, BA) is the institution responsible for the Arabic translation of the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Yes, DDC is the prevailing library classification system in Egypt.

No.

A final print of the Arabic translation of the Dewey Decimal Classification is still not available. However, several pre-publication copies of the Arabic translation of Volumes 1, 2 and 3 were printed in August 2019 and in October 2019, and pre-publication revisions were made in November 2020 and in June 2021.

The Arabic DDC version is characterized by its being the first

• faithful Arabic DDC translation, Edition 23 (Volumes 1, 2, and 3) with updates up to March 2019, fully rendering the DDC classes, extracted from PANSOFT International DDC Translation Software.

• highly compatible institutional Arabic edition in line with the English language standard DDC 'field taxonomies' in their hierarchical order.

• typographically compatible Arabic edition that mirrors the English DDC standard version, as extracted from PANSOFT International DDC Translation Software.

• Arabic DDC edition rendered with linguistic, cultural, sociological, and historical considerations of the Arab region as a target audience.

• Arabic Relative Index with bilingual renderings of geographical names of places.

• PANSOFT translation system product in a Semitic language, in right-to-left directionality.

No.

To date, issues related to WebDewey provision are still being negotiated for logistical and financial considerations.

Not applicable.

No.

Yes, the Library of Congress Classification system is used in a number of university libraries.

Yes, mostly available in Arabic DDC-related publications and/or research projects.

None to date.

Neither is there a website nor a 'wiki page'. However, verbal or written information can be provided via Head of the DDC Translation Project, Ms. Rania Osman (rania.osman@bibalex.org), or the Coordinator of the DDC Translation Project, Ms. Manal Balbaa (manal.balbaa@bibalex.org).

No blog … no public social media.

However, a number of 'translation narratives' have been circulating in inner circles. Verbal accounts and some written information can be made available on demand.

The German name is Dewey-Dezimalklassifikation (DDC). Since this is a rather long name, we also call it DDC Deutsch, or just say DDC.

DDC Deutsch was first published in 2005 and was a translation of DDC 22. It was the first translation of a DDC edition ever made in German.

DDC 22 was published in print in German in 2005. Most of its content is long since outdated, we use WebDewey Deutsch instead, where updates are published on a regular basis.

The German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, DNB) is responsible for distributing the DDC Deutsch in German, Austria and Switzerland (the DACH countries). It is the place where the translation is made, and is licensor of WebDewey Deutsch. The DNB is a founding member of the European DDC Users Group (EDUG).

There was a predecessor of WebDewey Deutsch and WebDewey Search: MelvilClass and MelvilSearch. We migrated the whole data to DDC MARC 21 and switched to WebDewey Deutsch and WebDewey Search in 2012.

There will be no further German print edition, WebDewey Deutsch is the only tool for classifying with DDC; DDC updates are published there continuously.

DDC Deutsch is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, partly for shelving, but mainly for searching DDC-classified works via online catalogs. Most of the DDC-classified data is made by the DNB and supplied from there to the library networks (Verbünde) and individual libraries in the DACH countries.

Notations of the DDC Deutsch serve as a basis for the DDC Subject Categories (used to organize the Series in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie), as well as for DDC Short Numbers, which are used in machine-based cataloging.

There is a major expansion for geographic subdivisions of Germany and Austria in Table 2 providing for Dewey numbers up to the Landkreis level (Germany) or Bezirk level (Austria). In these numbers, larger cities and other geographic entities have also been added locally.

In the 220s, a minor expansion exists for German translations of the Bible (220.531 et seqq.).

Yes, there is! German-language DDC classifiers use WebDewey Deutsch as their tool to find best fitting Dewey numbers, to create and save institutional or personal numbers and comments, or to contribute numbers that are relevant to the German-language DDC users’ community.

You can get all the information on https://www.dnb.de/ddcwebdewey (Content available in English).

Information about new application features as well as help material to support WebDewey Deutsch users can be found in the DDC Deutsch info wiki.

Use WebDewey Search to browse the DDC hierarchies or search the DDC Relative Index verbally to find Dewey-classified resources in multiple library catalogs at once.

The following German library-controlled KOS have been mapped to DDC (fully or parts thereof):

• Integrated Authority File (Gemeinsame Normdatei, GND)
• Regensburger Verbundklassifikation (RVK)
• Basisklassifikation (BK)

Different shelving systems are used especially in public libraries, two of them are: Systematik für Bibliotheken (SfB), Allgemeine Systematik für Öffentliche Bibliotheken (ASB). Many academic libraries use the Regensburger Verbundklassifikation (RVK).

In Austria and Switzerland, the situation is similar. In Austria, for example, the Österreichische Systematik für öffentliche Bibliotheken (ÖSÖB) is used in most of the public libraries.

Dewey classification training is offered on demand by the German National Library. More information can be found on https://www.dnb.de/ddcnutzung.

Please visit www.ddc-deutsch.de for detailed information on DDC Deutsch (Content available in English via language-switch at the top of the page).

DDK (Deweys desimalklassifikasjon)

Since 2015, the year the web version was published, we also name it Norsk WebDewey.

An abridged and customized edition of Dewey was first translated to Norwegian in 1920. Norsk WebDewey is a complete version of DDC 23.

The National Library of Norway (Norwegian: Nasjonalbiblioteket) is responsible for the Norwegian language edition.

DDC is the dominating classification system in Norway.

Yes, we published 5 printed editions, the last in 2003. These were all abridged and customized.

• Only available on the web (Norsk WebDewey)
• More than 30.000 national built numbers
• Mappings from LCSH and from Norwegian subject heading systems

Yes, there are expansions concerning Norwegian and Nordic language, literature, history and geography.

Norsk WebDewey is used by most Norwegian libraries. You will find information at The National Library’s web site: https://bibliotekutvikling.no/kunnskapsorganisering/norsk-webdewey/

WebDeweySearch is found here: https://deweysearchno.pansoft.de/webdeweysearch/index.html

Yes:

• LC Subject Headings
• BIBBI-emner
• Realfagstermer
• Humord
• Bokbasen emner

Dewey is dominating, but there is some use of UDC and other systems.

Presentations from Dewey training courses: Opplæring i norsk WebDewey - Kunnskapsorganisering (bibliotekutvikling.no)

We are currently developing internet training material.

None to date.

Norsk WebDewey - Kunnskapsorganisering (bibliotekutvikling.no)

DDC was used by public libraries and school libraries for a long time in Québec. They both traditionally use the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).

In France, the application of the DDC was first recommended by the former Direction des bibliothèques de la lecture publique for all the central libraries of loan, now departmental, as well as for the municipal libraries. An official text, distributed in 1988, then recommended the use of Dewey in university libraries. Many private libraries, documentation and information centers (CDI) in high schools and colleges also use the DDC.

The first French language translation was published in 1968.

Les Éditions ASTED inc. are responsible for updating and translating DDC. They are in located in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

A partnership made up of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), and Library and Archives Canada (LAC), are responsible for the intellectual content of the French translation.

In Canada, DDC is used in almost all public libraries. As for the two national libraries, the Québec national’s book collection is classed according to Dewey, while the Library and Archives Canada use the Library of Congress Classification for shelving purposes. Both types of class numbers appear in the records published in Canadiana, the National bibliography of Canada, and the Bibliographie nationale du Québec.

From the first French translation of the 17th edition of 1965, that was published from 1968 to 1970, up until the 23e édition (CDD23) published in 2015, there were 5 complete printed French editions, plus some abridged, and an intermediary one.

• The French translation is a complete one.
• The French WebDewey is fully up to date.
• WebDewey give access to the French translation, but also to the English DDC, it is thus bilingual.
• There is a validation process for each major update between BAnQ and BnF a few days after their publication.
• This validation process regularly leads to the inclusion of terms specific to both cultures with respect to French terminology.

The ASTED web page : https://asted.org/webdewey/

No.

There will be some soon. We are working on adding the Répertoire des vedettes-matière (RVM) equivalents to the Library of Congress Subject Headings already mapped in the DDC (https://rvmweb.bibl.ulaval.ca/). 

(Date of information: 2022-09)

No.

In France, the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) who was used in most university libraries has been declining since the end of the 1980s with the circular of July 22, 1988 on access to documents in university libraries recommending the use of the DCC. It remains marginally in use in the documentation and information centers of secondary schools and in public or private libraries, where it is generally being replaced by the Dewey classification.

In Canada, the Library of Congress Classification is used in most of the parliamentary, academic libraries, and in the 2 national libraries.

The general catalog of the BnF holds a Dewey authority file that is complete with DDC numbers, headings in a clear wording, and cross-referenced forms which roughly correspond to the index terms. The users may search the catalog according any of these. All the notes appearing in the WebDewey records for those numbers are also part of that file.

The Italian name is Classificazione decimale Dewey. Dewey Classification is known as Dewey, Classificazione Dewey, DDC, CDD. WebDewey official name is: WebDewey italiana

DDC was used by Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (BNCF) for Bibliografia Nazionale Italiana since 1958. Many public and university libraries have been using it for a long time.

The first official translation (20th ed.) was published in 1993.

The Associazione Italiana Biblioteche (AIB) is responsible for updating and translating DDC. The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (BNCF) and the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma (BNCR) collaborate with AIB for the intellectual content.

Today, DDC is the only classification used in Italy. In the past, Centro Nazionale delle Ricerche translated some parts of CDU, but this project ceased 30 years ago.

Yes, DDC editons 20, 21 and 22 were published in print format.

DDC Abridged 14 was published in 2006.

DDC 23 is available only in electronic format (WebDewey italiana).

The Italian WebDewey is a complete translation of English edition with minor changes and some expansions.

The Italian WebDewey is updated immediately as soon as the changes to the English edition are distributed.

Yes. There is a major expansion for Italian geographic subdivisions. All Italian municipalities are included in the Relative Index. The most important of them have own numbers, the others are listed in Including notes.

Specific numbers exist for historical periods of Italian regions.

Information about WebDewey italiana: 

https://www.aib.it/pubblicazioni/webdewey-italiana/

Log in to WebDewey italiana: https://deweyit.pansoft.de/webdewey/login/login.html

DDC was used by some libraries earlier, but most libraries started using DDC when the National library started using it in 2011.

The Swedish National Library (Kungliga biblioteket) is responsible for updating and translating DDC.

No.

Svenska WebDewey is used by Swedish libraries. Information is found in Metadatabyrån https://metadatabyran.kb.se/klassifikation/ddk/svenska-webdewey

WebDeweySearch: https://deweysearchsv.pansoft.de/webdeweysearch/

DDK has been mapped to the Swedish Subject Headings (Svenska ämnesord, SAO) since 2011.

https://metadatabyran.kb.se/klassifikation/ddk/utbildningsmaterial

https://metadatabyran.kb.se/klassifikation/ddk