The Garside Classification Scheme is a

library classification A library classification is a system used within a library to organize materials, including books, sound and video recordings, electronic materials, etc., both on shelves and in catalogs and indexes. Each item is typically assigned a call number ...

system used in most of the libraries of

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL). It was devised by Kenneth Garside while he was deputy librarian there. Intellectually, it was based on the close relationship between the library and the teaching departments. The library at UCL rejected the major published classification schemes because "none of them would generally acceptable to the teaching departments without such major modifications as would have destroyed its essential character." Instead, it was modelled around the "subject reading rooms" into which the collection had been divided. The intention was to use the expertise of the departments and their teaching needs in drawing up the divisions within the scheme.

Main outline

The principles of the scheme are "To provide the optimum arrangement of books in each subject; to permit the revision of the classification to meet a changing academic approach to a subject without disturbing in any way other parts of the scheme; and to provide as simple a shelf mark as possible to help the reader find the book he wants with the minimum mental effort." In his article "The Basic Principles of the New Library Classification at University College, London". Garside set out the generic structure of the system. The library would be divided into subject-based reading rooms such as, in the example below, a dedicated space for biology-related materials. These would then be subdivided according to the table below: The alphabetical subdivisions were designed in consultation with the teaching department. These subsections would then be divided by numbers: The completed shelfmark would then include the first three letters of the author's surname.

Example

E.g. ''Basic Concepts in Population, Quantitative, and Evolutionary Genetics'' by James F. Crow is shelved at BIOLOGY H 5 CRO.

Subject sequence

In order to provide for a single-subject card catalogue Garside added a further table to which the top reading room divisions could be mapped.

Use

The scheme is used at UCL. An adapted version is used by the Folklore Society. Garside instituted a similar scheme during his time at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

References

{{Reflist Controlled vocabularies Library cataloging and classification