Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) was first published in 1876. Since its first edition it has been revised, on an average, 6 years, and now it has become the widely used library classification system of which the scheme was translated in various languages. The purpose of this study is to find out the chief causes for the development of the DDC. The results of the study can be summarized as follows: 1. It allows materials to be shelved in a relative location as the collection expands. before the DDC was introduced, libraries used a fixed location for materials in which each item was assigned to a certain location set aside for a subject. 2. It is a practical system. The fact that it has survived many storms in the past hundred years and is still the most widely used classification scheme in the world today attests to its practical value. 3. The pure notation of arabic numerals is universally recognizable. People from any cultural or language background can adapt to the system easily. 4. The use of the decimal system enable infinite expansion and sub-division. And it has adaptability for use in libraries of various size and kinds because of its hierarchically expressive notation which permits varying degrees of inclusiveness and exclusiveness within its decimal structure. 5. The notation is simple and easily understood. The self-evident numerical sequence facilitates filing and shelving. And the mnemonic nature of the notation helps the readers to memorize and recognize the class numbers. 6. The relative index brings together different aspects of the same subject scattered in different disciplines. 7. We can avail of DDC numbers for specific titles easily because of its use by many central bibliographic services. 8. It is being continuously revised by a permanent office established in the library of congress in 1933. This office has been responsible for editing all editions of the DDC since the 16th (1958). And the periodic revision at regular intervals ensures the currentness of the scheme. 9. It has adaptability both for conventional (manual) shelf or classed catalogue analysis and also, through its meaningful nation, for retrieval through mechanization and computerized systems.