Library of Congress Classification

Library of Congress Classification is a system of organization used by the Library of Congress and many other research libraries, including the British Library, National Library of Australia, and National Library of Canada. The system was developed by Herbert Putnam, the Librarian of Congress from 1899 to 1939, with the assistance of Charles Martel, a Princeton University librarian, and J.C.M. Hanson, a University of Chicago librarian, who drew inspiration from the work of Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal Classification system used by the New York State Library. The Library of Congress Classification system is used to organize and provide access to the vast collections of the Library of Congress, which include materials from the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as the Vatican Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Introduction

The Library of Congress Classification system is a complex and detailed system that uses a combination of letters and numbers to classify materials, with classes such as A for general works, B for philosophy, psychology, and religion, C for auxiliary sciences of history, and D for history, including the American Historical Association and the Historical Society of England. The system is used to organize materials in a wide range of subjects, including anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, and law, with notable collections from the Harvard University Library, Yale University Library, and University of California, Berkeley Library. The system is also used by many other research libraries, including the New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, and Chicago Public Library, as well as the National Archives and Records Administration and the Smithsonian Institution.

History

The Library of Congress Classification system has a long and complex history, dating back to the late 19th century, when Herbert Putnam became the Librarian of Congress and began to develop a new system of classification, drawing on the work of Charles Cutter and the Expansive Classification system used by the Boston Athenaeum. The system was first implemented in the early 20th century, with the publication of the first edition of the Library of Congress Classification schedules in 1904, which included classes such as E for American history, F for local American history, and G for geography, with notable contributions from Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The system has undergone numerous revisions and updates over the years, with significant contributions from Archibald MacLeish, Luther H. Evans, and Daniel J. Boorstin, who served as Librarian of Congress and oversaw the development of the system.

Structure

The Library of Congress Classification system is based on a hierarchical structure, with broad classes divided into narrower subclasses, using a combination of letters and numbers to classify materials, with classes such as H for social sciences, J for political science, and K for law, including the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. The system uses a combination of alphabetical and numerical notation to classify materials, with each class represented by a unique combination of letters and numbers, such as QA75.5 for computer science and PS3511 for American literature, with notable authors such as Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The system is highly detailed and complex, with many subclasses and sub-subclasses, requiring a high degree of expertise to use effectively, with notable examples from the Library of Congress collections, including the Gutenberg Bible and the Bay Psalm Book.

Classification Schedules

The Library of Congress Classification system is composed of a series of classification schedules, each of which covers a specific range of subjects, including P for language and literature, Q for science, and R for medicine, with notable contributions from the National Academy of Sciences, American Medical Association, and National Institutes of Health. The schedules are published by the Library of Congress and are updated regularly to reflect changes in the subject areas, with significant contributions from The National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services. The schedules are used by librarians and researchers to classify and locate materials, with notable examples from the Library of Congress collections, including the Waldseemüller Map and the Landsdowne Manuscript.

Maintenance and Updates

The Library of Congress Classification system is maintained and updated by the Library of Congress, with the assistance of Library of Congress staff and external experts, including the American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries. The system is updated regularly to reflect changes in the subject areas, with new classes and subclasses added as needed, such as TK for electrical engineering and TL for motor vehicles, with notable contributions from the National Academy of Engineering and the Society of Automotive Engineers. The updates are published in a series of classification schedules, which are available in print and online, with significant contributions from The National Archives and Records Administration and the Government Printing Office.

Comparison to Other Systems

The Library of Congress Classification system is one of several systems used to organize and provide access to library materials, including the Dewey Decimal Classification system used by the New York State Library and the Universal Decimal Classification system used by the British Library. The system is widely used in research libraries, including the Harvard University Library, Yale University Library, and University of California, Berkeley Library, as well as the National Library of Medicine and the Library of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The system is highly regarded for its complexity and detail, but can be challenging to use for those without extensive training, with notable examples from the Library of Congress collections, including the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. The system has been influential in the development of other classification systems, including the Colon Classification system used by the Indian National Library and the Bliss Classification system used by the University of California, Los Angeles Library, with significant contributions from S.R. Ranganathan and Henry E. Bliss.

Category:Library classification systems