EFL Reclassification Project
The arrangement of books in the English Faculty Library
Since early 2009, the four faculty libraries (English, History, Philosophy and Theology) have been changing the way they arrange their books on the shelves in order to assist readers to find titles on related subjects in each of these libraries more easily, by using the same classification scheme.
The libraries’ in-house classification schemes will be changed to one of the major schemes in use in academic libraries in the UK and US – the Library of Congress Classification scheme (LCC).
The EFL has begun by classifying to LCC any new books purchased from January 2009 onwards. These are now in a new LCC sequence on the shelves immediately after the journals on the main floor of the library and with the Film Studies books (which have been arranged by LCC for some time).
(See the amended floor plans for the Main Library and the Gallery (in PDF format) by clicking on these links or on the notice board in the Library.)
Books classified under the new scheme will be shelved after the end of the periodical sequence downstairs in the Main Library Books classified in the new LCC sequence will have shelfmarks that look like this
Books already in stock will gradually be reclassified over the next few years, probably during the summer vacations.
There will be posters and other notices in the library explaining what LCC shelf marks look like and how they relate to the current scheme. An outline of the LCC scheme (relating to language and literature) can be viewed on the Library of Congress website.
Further information is given in our guide Finding efl books using the LC Classification scheme, but do ask a member of staff if you’re having difficulty finding a particular book.
