QFHS Library Classification Scheme

QFHS Library cataloguing and classification scheme is modelled on that designed for the Society of Australian Genealogists in Sydney.

This was, in turn, designed using principles set out by S. Houghton in her Scheme designed for the classification of historical material relating to the City of Brighton, Victoria, 1967. Users will see that it is quite different from the numerical (Dewey) system used in public libraries.

Each item in our collection is given a call number (sometimes known as shelf number). These numbers are used for all the different media in our collection—books, journals, microfiche, CDs, and electronic products.

The call numbers consist of a three tier system of letters and numbers. The first two tiers provide the classification of the item. Once an item is allocated to a class, the final number identifies the particular volume. Physical items in the Print Library are shelved by area, then by subject.

First Tier

The first character of the first tier is always a letter and indicates the geographical area to which the item relates (Table 1). Immediately after the letter, you will find a number. This represents the main subject of the work (Table 2).

Table 1 GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

Code	Geographic Area
A	Australia (General)
B	NSW, ACT, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island
C	Victoria
D	Tasmania
E	South Australia
F	Western Australia
G	Northern Territory
H	Queensland
I	Unused
J	Papua New Guinea and Pacific
K	New Zealand
L	The World
M	Great Britain
N	England
O	Unused
P	Scotland
Q	Wales
R	Ireland, Northern
S	Ireland, Republic
T	Canada
U	United States of America
V	Africa and Central and South America e.g. V(Afr) Africa V(WI) West Indies
W	Europe e.g. W(GER) Germany
X	Not used
Y	Asia e.g. Y(IND) India
Z	Not used

Table 2 MAIN SUBJECT AREAS

Code	Main Subject Area
1	Heraldry
2	Genealogical guides and texts
3	History–world, national, state
4	History–local
5	Royalty, dictionaries of lineage and biography, collected biography
6	Individual and family histories and biography
7	Vital records–BDM, census, electoral rolls, etc
8	Directories, gazetteers, atlases
9	Generalities–encyclopedias, yearbooks, dictionaries, almanacs, newspapers
10	Maps
11	Journals

Thus:

B3 refers to New South Wales history
H6 refers to Queensland family history or individual’s biography
S8 refers to an atlas of the Republic of Ireland

The main subject areas of local history (4) and vital records (7) are further subdivided for some geographic areas.

If the areas to be subdivided are Australian, they are given the last three numbers of the locality postcode.

Subdivisions for England (Table 3) Scotland (Table 4), Ireland (Table 5), and non-English speaking countries (Table 6) are listed below.

In the geographical areas of Africa, Central and South America (V) and Europe (W) and Asia (Y), a group of letters denotes a further narrowing of geographic field.

Thus:

N7/43 refers to English Vital Records, Yorkshire
W(GER)2 refers to Europe, Germany, genealogical guide
H4/011 3 refers to the history of a school in Clayfield, Brisbane; Clayfield has postcode 4011

Table 3 ENGLAND

Number	Description
1	Bedfordshire
2	Berkshire
3	Buckinghamshire
4	Cambridgeshire
5	Channel Islands
6	Cheshire
7	Cornwall
8	Cumberland
9	Derbyshire
10	Devon
11	Dorset
12	Durham
13	Essex
14	Gloucestershire
15	Hampshire, Isle of Wight
16	Herefordshire
17	Hertfordshire
18	Huntingdon
19	Kent
20	Lancashire
21	Leicestershire
22	Lincolnshire
23	London
24	Man, Isle of
25	Middlesex
26	Norfolk
27	Northampton
28	Northumberland
29	Nottinghamshire
30	Oxfordshire
31	Rutland
32	Scilly Isles
33	Shropshire
34	Somersetshire
35	Staffordshire
36	Suffolk
37	Surrey
38	Sussex
39	Warwickshire
40	Westmoreland
41	Wiltshire
42	Worcestershire
43	Yorkshire
44	Cumbria
45	Bristol and Avon

Table 4 SCOTLAND

Number	Description
1	Aberdeenshire
2	Angus (formerly Forfar)
3	Argyllshire
4	Ayrshire
5	Banffshire
6	Berwickshire
7	Bute
8	Caithness
9	Clackmannanshire
10	Dumfries-shire
11	Dunbartonshire
12	East Lothian
13	Fife
14	Hebrides
15	Inverness-shire
16	Kincardineshire
17	Kinross-shire
18	Kircudbrightshire
19	Lanarkshire
20	Midlothian
21	Morayshire
22	Nairn
23	Orkney
24	Peebles-shire
25	Perth
26	Renfrewshire
27	Ross and Cromarty, and Western Isles
28	Roxburghshire
29	Selkirkshire
30	Shetland
31	Stirlingshire
32	Sutherland
33	West Lothian
34	Wigtownshire

Table 5 IRELAND

Number	Description
R	Northern Ireland
1	Co. Antrim
2	Co. Armagh
3	Co. Down
4	Co. Fermanagh
5	Co. Londonderry
6	Co. Tyrone
S	Ireland
1	Co. Carlow
2	Co. Cavan
3	Co. Clare
4	Co. Cork
5	Co. Donegal
6	Co. Dublin
7	Co. Galway
8	Co. Kerry
9	Co. Kildare
10	Co. Kilkenny
11	Co. Leitrim
12	Co. Laois or Leix (formerly Queens)
13	Co. Limerick
14	Co. Longford
15	Co. Louth
16	Co. Mayo
17	Co. Meath
18	Co. Monaghan
19	Co. Offaly (formerly Kings)
20	Co. Roscommon
21	Co. Sligo
22	Co. Tipperary
23	Co. Waterford
24	Co. Westmeath
25	Co. Wexford
26	Co. Wicklow

Second Tier

This figure further divides the main subject into a large number of subsidiary subjects (table 5). Thus Leeds 1851 census index, vol 1-2 has call number N7/43 16 3.

N–England,
7–vital records,
43–Yorkshire
16–census
- 3–the third item in this class.

The Guide to probate and land jurisdictions in Denmark–Thisted County has call number W(DEN)2 21 2.

W–Europe
DEN–Denmark
2–Genealogical Guides and Texts
21–Wills
- 2–second item in this class

In case of histories of a single family, and biographies of a single individual, the second tier contains the first three letters of the family. For example, the first biography of Billy Blue would be B6 BLU 1.

Please note:

If you are searching v-Library using a call number, or part call number, you do not need to include the slash.
The area sub-divisions in table 4 are either enclosed in brackets (e.g. W(GER)2 48 2) or separated from the initial letter code by a slash (e.g. W/GER 33 1). This has no significance.
Journals are denoted by the first code component of 11, thus the fourth journal from Germany might have a code such as W11/GER 50 4.

Table 6 SECOND TIER CLASSIFICATIONS

Code	Description
1	Shire, manor, parish, town, city history
2	Business history
3	Education history
4	Military history
5	Maritime history
6	Government, semi-government departments and institutions
7	Mining history
8	Architecture and buildings
9	Discovery and exploration, explorers
10	Collected biography–a number of biographies in one volume
11	Primary industry–pastoral and agricultural
12	Secondary industry
13	Electoral rolls
14	Parish registers and transcriptions
15	Cemetery Inscriptions and Death Records
16	Census
17	Newspaper and periodical indexes BDM
18	Newspaper and Periodical Indexes other than BDM
19	Description and Travel
20	Facsimile reprints
21	Wills
22	Resource centre guides; sources for genealogical information
23	Ecclesiastical history
24	Taxation records
25	Name Indexes including pedigrees
26	Medical history
27	Ethnic history
28	Social history
29	Traditions and customs, folklore
30	Bibliographies
31	Societies, institutions, etc
32	Computers and microforms
33	Word lists, dictionaries, encyclopedias
34	Annuals , series
35	Collective history, e.g. education, mining, architecture, discovery and exploration, social
36	Marriage licenses and records
37	Languages
38	Political history
39	Land records
40	Emigration and immigration
41	Naturalisation and denization
42	Population studies, demography
43	Occupations and professions
44	Convicts and prison system
45	Crime and criminals including bushrangers
46	Coroners records and inquests
47	Aborigines
48	Surnames, given names
49	Family Reunions
50	How to do family history
51	Writing family history
52	Map drawing
53	Publishing and publishers
54	Maps
55	Geography, geology, archaeology
56	Transport (land)
57	Aeronautical history
58	Communication and technology
59	(Unallocated)
60	How to do local history
61	Local history resources
62	Newspapers–general
63	Birth and baptism records
64	Composite BDM, not newspapers or parish registers
65	Legal records excluding criminal and ecclesiastical
66-68	(Unallocated)
69	Video and audiovisual
70	Photography
71	Arts, paintings
72	Furniture, artefacts, pottery etc
73	Handwriting, calligraphy
74	Hobbies
75	Sport–amateur and professional
76-93	(unallocated)
94	Royalty, peerage
95	Hallmarks, bookplates
96	Honours, decorations, awards (non-military)
97	Coins and medals
98	Flags and tartans
99	Heraldry–general
100	Miscellaneous

Third Tier

The final number represents a particular volume in the class. It makes the call number unique, thus helping users further identify the particular item.