The abbreviation to which we want to devote this material means a fairly convenient universal classifier. In addition, it has other meanings, with which we also hasten to introduce you. Let's see that this is UDC. Let's start with the abbreviations.
UDC - what is it?
The combination of letters, depending on the context, may mean the following:
- universal decimal classification;
- universal landing ships;
- devices for compressors used in submarines.
Now let's move on to the most popular value that interests us.
Decimal universal classification
What is UDC? One of the structures for the classification of information, which is widely used in the world community to systematize scientific works, art, literature, periodicals, various kinds of documentation, as well as organizing file cabinets.
The central part of UDC are tables that cover the entire system of human knowledge in a hierarchical order. The transition from general to more particular using decimal codes is widely used.
What is the UDC Index? This is a numerical code assigned to a specific topic, section, subsection, work.
History of UDC tables
Having understood that this is UDC, let's talk a little about its history. It was created in 1895. The authors were bibliographers A. Lafontaine and P. Otle. They are the founders of the International Bibliographic Institute. UDC was first published in 1897.
The basis for it was another classification - decimal Dewey. Its creator, M. Dewey, developed his brainchild in 1876 specifically for the Library of Congress of the United States. I must say that his principle of decimal classification of concepts and knowledge was also used in the a priori language project, authored by J. Delormel, French lawyer and philologist. This project was presented in 1894 before the French National Convention.
As for M. Dewey, he completely selflessly granted the rights to his invention to the future creators of UDC: they could use and modify the system in any way in order to create the most complete catalog of all knowledge ever published. The work was carried out for many years, so that in 1905 the premiere publication of the full UDC tables in French was published.
Today, the Universal Decimal Classification is the property of the international UDC Consortium, which unites the main creators of tables in different languages. It should be noted that VINITI (All-Russian Institute of Scientific and Technical Information) has the exclusive right to manage classifier lists in Russian. It is he who publishes and distributes book and electronic versions of UDC tables in the Russian Federation for a fee.
VINITI today has a special official consultation site where specialists help in the form of a dialogue to all who apply correctly to use the classifier. Therefore, if you are interested in how to get the UDC index, you need to contact this resource.
Classifier structure
All tables of the decimal universal classifier must consist of the following sections:
- Explanation of the structure, principle, properties of UDC.
- Guidelines to help you use the tables.
- A number of APU - alphabetical-subject indexes to the main sections.
- Actually, auxiliary classifier tables.
- APU compiled for the auxiliary tables of UDC.
Main tables
Let's get acquainted with the fundamental sections of UDC:
- General (0). Knowledge and science. Documentation. Information Technology. Institutions. Organization. Publications and so on.
- Psychology and Philosophy (1). Metaphysics. The main issues of philosophy. Ethics. Psychology. Morality. Philosophical concepts and so on.
- Theology and religion (2). Prehistoric beliefs. Christianity. Buddhism. Islam. Modern religions and so on.
- Social Sciences (3). Sociology. Economy. State. Insurance. Warfare. Trade. Folklore. Education and so on.
- Free section reserved for future use (4).
- Natural sciences and mathematics (5). Zoology. Chemistry. Physics. Earth Sciences. Astrology. Biological sciences. Botany and so on.
- Applied Sciences, Technology and Medicine (6). Household. Biotechnology Engineering. Construction. Agriculture. Industry and crafts. Housekeeping. Chemical industry and so on.
- Art, sports, shows and entertainment (7). Architecture. Music. The photo. Painting. Layout. Plastic art. Graphic arts. Drawing. Games and so on.
- Language, literature, linguistics and linguistics (8). Rhetoric. Prosody. Versification. Foreign languages. Literary studies and so on.
- Geography, biographies, history (9). General history. Archeology. Heraldry. Geography. Flags Nobility and so on.
Search Examples
It is easy to determine the location of a particular topic or a separate work by the UDC classifier.
For example, the nobility. Refers to section No. 9 (biographies, history). We go to section 92. It has only one subsection - "Biographical studies and the like." In topic 929.7, among the titles of nobility, nobility, we will find the desired nobility.
Now you are familiar with UDC, its main tables. As well as other abbreviations, in addition to the universal decimal classifier.