Bliss Classification

This classification is the most common of the schemes used, and is widely found on the 5th, 6th and 7th floors of the Library, and in the Stack.

It is based on a coding using the letters A-Z in alphabetical sequences for the main subjects, and subdividing them by lower case letters a-z, and numbers 1-9 for really detailed subject specifications. e.g.

Points that may help:

• Remember that the letters and numbers are used as codes for subjects, and it is important to note the difference between upper and lower case letters.
• A location code should be mentally split into its component parts, and dealt with bit by bit. Take the code line by line if using the card catalogues or looking at the spines of the books, or section by section if using the computer, where the parts are separated by slashes. e.g.

• The first part of the code, MB in the example above, refers to the main subject - medieval European history. All books with the code MB will be shelved together, after books with the code MA, but before books with the code MC.
• Anything with a number in the first part of a location code is shelved before the main sequence, e.g. MB2 is shelved before MB.
• The second part refers to the order of books within the main subject (MB in the example above). This is usually alphabetically according to the first 3 letters of the author's surname or the first 3 letters of the title. (Darnell in the example above, shelved after books by Cray, but before books by Edgerton).
• In the case of important authors, the code can get quite complex. The author can be given an individual code within the main subject, and each of his works or collections of works assigned a distinguishing letter. Note the order of the following examples:

• When looking for a book on the shelf remember to split the code into each of its component parts. Therefore in the example above, first find the AE sequence, then look for N54A. When you have found this section, look for the number sequence. By taking the code systematically, it should begin to make sense.

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