Q 01/05

Which system, first published in 1876, sorts library books into ten main classes?

A) Library of Congress Classification

B) Universal Decimal Classification

C) Dewey Decimal Classification

D) Colon Classification

Answer · why

C) Dewey Decimal Classification

The Dewey Decimal Classification, devised by Melvil Dewey and first published in 1876, divides knowledge into ten main classes, each split into ten di...

Q 02/05

In the Dewey Decimal system, which subject occupies the 800s?

A) Literature

B) Religion

C) History and geography

D) Pure science

Answer · why

A) Literature

Literature and rhetoric fill the 800s of the Dewey Decimal Classification; religion sits in the 200s, pure science in the 500s and history and geograp...

Q 03/05

The Library of Alexandria formed part of which larger institution of scholars?

A) Mouseion

B) Serapeum

C) Lyceum

D) Academy

Answer · why

A) Mouseion

The Library of Alexandria belonged to the Mouseion, a Ptolemaic institution dedicated to the Muses whose name survives as 'museum'; the Serapeum was a...

Q 04/05

Whose 6,487 books did the US buy in 1815 for $23,950 to restock its national library after the Capitol burned?

A) John Adams

B) James Madison

C) Benjamin Franklin

D) Thomas Jefferson

Answer · why

D) Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson sold Congress his 6,487-volume library in 1815 for $23,950 after the British burned the Capitol in 1814; his books on philosophy, sci...

Q 05/05

J. Edgar Hoover took his first job at 18 as an entry-level messenger at which institution?

A) District of Columbia Public Library

B) Library of Congress

C) Smithsonian Institution Libraries

D) Georgetown University Library

Answer · why

B) Library of Congress

J. Edgar Hoover joined the Library of Congress in 1913 as an 18-year-old messenger while studying law at night; he later credited the job with teachin...