<quote who="Ambrose Li [CCCGT]">
On Thu, Nov 28, 2002 at 11:01:44AM -0500, Andrew Arensburger wrote:
So while we're at it, can anyone clarify the general form of a Dewey number? I've seen "123" and "123.45", of course, but also apostrophes and slashes: "123.45'67". Would
The apostrophes and slashes are like the middle dots you see in dictionaries; they help the cataloguer to know where the "word break" in the code is. In the case of a code like "123.45'67", it means that the library has the liberty to choose between assigning "123.45" (less detail in the catalogue) and "123.4567" (more detail). AFAIK deployed Dewey codes should not have slashes or apostrophes.
The dot after first three digits in a DC number doesn't have any semantic value. It's only to give a better look to the number ... to soothe the eyes perhaps ;-) AFAIK, the latest edition of DC has implemented apostrophe (perhaps for individualising the "Area" number). Till now only UDC uses slashes I believe. Saiful DRTC Bangalore, India.