Where should I classify a book on prayer in public schools? The closest I seem to be able to get to it in the DDC is 379.28, which has the caption Place of religion in public schools.

Unless there is some reference to the contrary, a small topic that is not mentioned goes in the same Dewey number as the broader subject that obviously includes it. I can understand your doubt in this case, however, because the boundary between 379 and other numbers in education is a bit fuzzy in places. There is a note in the manual at 371 vs. 353.8, 371.2, 379 (the entry is Schools and their activities; special education vs. Administration of agencies supporting and controlling education vs. School administration; administration of student academic activities vs. Public policy issues in education) noting that controversial public policies are classed in 379, while routine public policies in education go elsewhere. Because religious issues in education are usually controversial, public policy with respect to any religious issue in public education should be classed in 379.28.

There is an entry for Prayer in public schools citing the number 379.28 in both the Relative Index of the print edition of DDC 21 and in WebDewey. Although "Prayer in the public schools" is an LCSH, it has not yet been added to the WebDewey database. It is important to remember that WebDewey does not contain all existing LCSH; however, it does contain nearly 90,000 LCSH that have been mapped to Dewey numbers either statistically or intellectually. More LCSH-DDC mappings, as well as more built numbers and Relative Index terms, are added to WebDewey with each quarterly update of that service.

Last revised: 04 March 2011