where did the dewey decimal system come from
Melvil Dewey developed this idea.
Dewey Decimal Classification
Melvil Dewey (1851–1931) was an American librarian and self-declared reformer. He was a founding member of the American Library Association and can be credited with the promotion of card systems in libraries and business.
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Dewey Decimal Classification [SEP] 1873–1885: early development
Melvil Dewey (1851–1931) was an American librarian and self-declared reformer. He was a founding member of the American Library Association and can be credited with the promotion of card systems in libraries and business. He developed the ideas for his library classification system in 1873 while working at Amherst College library. He applied the classification to the books in that library, until in 1876 he had a first version of the classification. In 1876, he published the classification in pamphlet form with the title "A Classification and Subject Index for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of a Library." He used the pamphlet, published in more than one version during the year, to solicit comments from other librarians.