i.e.
systematic or classified book arrangement, was not truly
established until the second part of the 19th century. A large number
of public libraries in America with open access to shelves were
opened during this time and this created the need for tools that
would ensure both a logical sequence of subject and an intuitive
sequence of books within the class. The introduction of a
systematic shelf arrangement, and systems of call numbers related
to it, is attributed to Melvil Dewey. It could be said that once a
systematic arrangement was introduced, its advantages were such
that many librarians in the Anglo-American library tradition never
looked back to mechanical, formal and less user-friendly methods