Manual of Library Economy / Third and Memorial Edition

by James Duff Brown; W. C. Berwick Sayers

This scheme is published separately as Expansive Classification: the first six Expansions, by C. A. Cutter, Boston, 1891, etc., and a seventh expansion of the work is being issued under the supervision of W. P. Cutter, nephew of the author, but no parts have been published for several years.

238. Library of Congress.

238. Library of Congress.—This is the elaborate and detailed scheme applied to the great Library of Congress, and is the work of its classification department. Its outline (1909) is based upon that of the Expansive scheme of Cutter which is shown [above], but is varied to meet what are thought to be the special needs of the American national library. Each of the classes has been published separately in convenient form with an index.

The main classes and divisions of the Library of Congress Classification are as follows:

A	General Works. Polygraphy
AC	Collections. Series. Collected Works
AE	Encyclopædias
AG	General reference works (other than encyclopædias)
AI	Indexes
AM	Museums
AN	Newspapers
AP	Periodicals
AS	Societies. Academies
AY	Year-books. Almanacs
AZ	General history of knowledge and learning
B	Philosophy. Religion
B-J	Philosophy
B	Collections. History. Systems
BC	Logic
BD	Metaphysics
	Introductions to Philosophy. Treatises
	Epistemology. Theory of knowledge
	Onotology
	Cosmology.
	Teleology
	Philosophy of religion
BF	Psychology
BH	Esthetics
BJ	Ethics
BL-BV	Religion. Theology
BL	Religions. Mythology. Cults
BM	Theology. Generalities
BN	Historical (Church history)
BQ	Exegetical (Bible, etc.)
BS	Systematic (Dogmatics. Apologetics)
BV	Practical (Pastoral. Homiletics. Liturgies)
C	History—Auxiliary sciences
CA	Philosophy of history
CB	History of civilization (general and general special only)
CC	Antiquities. General
CD	Archives. Diplomatics
CE	Chronology
CJ	Numismatics
CN	Epigraphy. Inscriptions
CE	Heraldry
CS	Genealogy
CT	Biography
D	History and Topography (except America)
D	General history
DA	British history
	20-690 England
	700-749 Wales
	750-890 Scotland
	900-995 Ireland
DB	Austria-Hungary
DC	France
DD	Germany
DE	Classical antiquity
DF	Greece
DG	Italy
DH-DJ	Netherlands
	1-399 Belgium and Holland
	901-921 Belgium
	901-916 Luxemburg. Holland
DK	Russia
	100-400 Russia. General.
	401-438 Poland
	451-470 Finland
	751-999 Russia in Asia
DL	Scandinavia
	1-81 Scandinavia. General
	101-296 Denmark
	301-398 Iceland
	401-595 Norway
	601-996 Sweden
DP	Spain and Portugal
	1-462 Spain
	500-902 Portugal
DQ	Switzerland
DR	Turkey and the Balkan States
DS	Asia
DT	Africa
DU	Australia and Oceania
E-F	America
E	America (general) and United States (general)
F	United States (local) and America outside of U.S.
G	Geography. Anthropology
G	Geography. Voyages. Travel (general)
GA	Mathematical and astronomical geography
GB	Physical geography
GC	Oceanology and oceanography
GD	Biography
GF	Anthropogeography
GN	Anthropology. Somatology. Ethnology. Ethnography, (general). Prehistoric archæology
GR	Folk-lore
GT	Culture and civilization. Manners and customs
GV	Sports and amusements. Games
H	Social Sciences. General
HA	Statistics
HB	Economics, Theory
	Economic history.
	National production, economic situation (by countries)
HD	Economic history. Organization and situation of agriculture and industries
	Land. Agriculture
	Corporations
	Labour
	Industries
HE	Transportation and communication
HF	Commerce, including tariff
HG	Finance
	Money
	Banking
	Insurance
HJ	Public finance
HM	Sociology. General and theoretical
HN	Social history. Social reform
	Social groups
	Family, marriage, women
	Associations, secret societies, clubs, etc.
	Communities: Urban, Rural
	Classes. Aristocracy, third estate, bourgeoisie, peasantry, labouring classes, proletariate, serfs
	Nations. Races
HV	Social pathology. Philanthropy. Charities and corrections
HX	Socialism. Communism. Anarchism
J	Political science. Documents
	1-9 Official gazettes
	10-99 United States
	100-999 Other countries.
JA	General works
JC	Theory of state
JF	Constitutional history and administration. General
JK	United States
JL	Other American States
JN	Europe
JQ	Asia, Africa, Australia, and Pacific Islands
JS	Local Government
JV	Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration
JX	International law
K	Law
L	Education. General works
LA	History of education
LB	Theory and practice. Educational psychology. Teaching
LC	Special forms, relations, and applications
LD	Universities and colleges
LE	Other American
LF	Europe
LG	Asia, Africa, Oceania
LH	University, college, and school magazines, etc.
LJ	College fraternities and their publications
LT	Text-books (general only; special text-books go with their subjects, B-Z)
M	Music
ML	Musical literature
MT	Theory
N	Fine Arts. General
NA	Architecture
NB	Sculpture and related arts
NC	Graphic arts in general. Drawing and design
ND	Painting
NE	Engraving
NF	Photography (in art). See TR
NK	Art applied to industry. Decoration and ornament
P	Language and Literature
	Philology and Linguistics
PA	Classical philology
	1-199 General
	201-891 Greek languages
	1001-1151 Mediæval and modern
	2001-2899 Latin language
PB	Modern European languages. General works
	Celtic language
	Romance languages
	Teutonic languages
	General
	Gothic
	Scandinavian
PE	English
PF	Frisian
	Dutch
	German
PG	Slavic languages
	Lithuanian
	Lettish
PH	Finnish
	Hungarian
	Albanian
	Basque
PJ	Oriental languages. General works
	Hamitic
	Semitic
PK	Indo-Iranian
	Armenian
	Caucasian
PL	Languages of Eastern Asia, Oceania, Africa
PM	Hyperborean languages
	American languages
PN-PV	Literary History. Literature
PZ	Fiction
Q	Science. General
QA	Mathematics
	801-999 Analytic mechanics
QB	Astronomy
	281-349 Geodesy
QC	Physics
	81-119 Weights and measures
	801-999 Terrestrial magnetism and meteorology
QD	Chemistry
	901-999 Crystallography
QE	Geology
	cf. BG, GC
	351-499 Mineralogy and petrology
	701-999 Palæontology
QH	Natural history
	201-299 Microscopy
	301-999 General biology
QK	Botany
QL	Zoology
	801-999 General anatomy and embryology
QM	Human anatomy
QP	Physiology
QR	Bacteriology
R	Medicine. General
RA	State medicine. Documents Public health
	Medical climatology. Hospitals
	Jurisprudence
RB	Pathology
RC	Practice of medicine
RD	Surgery
RE	Ophthalmology
RF	Otology. Phrenology. Laryngology
RG	Gynecology and obstetrics
RJ	Pediatrics
RK	Dentistry
RL	Dermatology
RM	Therapeutics
RS	Pharmacy and materia medica
RT	Nursing
RV	Botanic, Thomsonian and Eclectic medicine
RZ	Miscellaneous schools and arts
S	Agriculture. Plant and Animal Industry
	General agriculture, soils, fertilizers, farm implements, etc.
SB	General plant culture, including field crops. Horticulture. Landscape gardening and parks. Pests and diseases
SD	Forestry
SF	Animal husbandry. Veterinary medicine
	Fish culture and fisheries. Angling
SK	Hunting. Game protection
T	Technology. General
TA-TH	Building and Engineering Group
TA	Engineering. General. Civil engineering
TC	Hydraulic engineering (harbours, rivers, canals)
TD	Sanitary and municipal engineering
TE	Roads and pavements
TF	Railroads
TG	Bridges and roofs
TH	Building construction
	9111-9600 Fire prevention, fire extinction
TJ-TL	Mechanical Group
TJ	Mechanical engineering
TK	Electric engineering and industries
TL	Motor vehicles. Cycles. Aeronautics
TN-TR	Chemical Group
TN	Mineral industries
TP	Chemical technology
TR	Photography
TS-TX	Composite Group
TS	Manufactures
TT	Trades
TX	Domestic science
U	Military Science. General
UA	Armies. Organization and distribution
UB	Administration
UC	Maintenance and transportation
UD	Infantry
UE	Cavalry
UF	Artillery
UG	Military engineering
UH	Minor services
V	Naval Science. General
VA	Navies. Organization and distribution
VB	Administration
VC	Maintenance
VD	Seamen
VE	Marines
VF	Ordnance
VG	Minor services
VK	Navigation
VM	Shipbuilding and marine engineering
Z	Bibliography and Library Science

239. Subject Classification.

239. Subject Classification.—This, the most recent British scheme, is the work of the author of this manual, James Duff Brown; is a complete, homogeneous, detailed and well-indexed scheme, and is selected for notice as being generally applicable to British libraries of all kinds, although it is not likely to oust the Decimal scheme from its priority of place. It is based on the principle of placing all topics in a logical sequence; of keeping applications of theory as close as possible to the foundation theory; and of providing one place only for each important topic. The complications and intersections of human knowledge prevent anything more than an approximation to this ideal, but it has been found in actual practice to be a classification scheme which works easily and harmoniously.

The following extracts from its valuable introduction will give the best view of the principles on which the system is based:

“The Order of the Main Classes.—The reasons which determined the adoption of a certain sequence of classes in this system may be briefly set forth here, instead of any argument or attempt to justify the order. The battle which has raged, and is still raging, among scientists, as to the best and most desirable order in which to arrange the great branches of human knowledge in order to produce a ‘hierarchy,’ must deter a non-scientific classifier from arguing on such a complicated and difficult topic. It will, therefore, suffice if I briefly describe the main classes in their order and give reasons why they were assigned to the places they occupy.