THE MASTER'S SEMINARY LIBRARY

CLASSIFICATION

The collection of The Master's Grace Library is arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification System, except for the fiction collection, which is arranged on the shelves according to the author's last name. In this system all areas of knowledge are organized in categories beginning with single or double letters: A through Z (note that the letters W, X, and Y are not currently used, being reserved for future expansion of the system; I and O are not used for clarity sake). The majority of the library collection is filed under Religion which is BL through BX. The arrangement of works in the LC System are as follows:

Library of Congress General Classification

A   General Works (encyclopedias, reference, etc.)
B   Philosophy and Religion
   B-BJ   Philosophy
   BL   Religions and Mythology
   BM   Judaism
   BP   Islam
   BR   Christianity (Church History)
   BS   Bible (commentaries, handbooks, introductions)
   BT   Doctrinal Theology
   BV   Practical Theology
   BX   Denominations and Sects
C   Auxiliary Sciences of History
D   History: General and Old World
E-F   American History
G   Geography
H   Social Science
J   Political Science
K   Law
L   Education
M   Music
N   Fine Arts
P   Language and Literature
Q   Science
R   Medicine
S   Agriculture
T   Technology (Computer Science)
U   Military Science
V   Naval Science
Z   Bibliography and Library Science



Library of Congress Bible Classification

Since a major portion of the collection is dedicated to biblical studies we have detailed the LC arrangement for commentaries to assist those in both locating materials and to help them become familar with the number sequence. Other than the Book of Psalms (which is organized differently to account for commentaries on individual Psalms), each book of the Bible has a fairly consistent numbering system.

Old Testament

BS 1235 Genesis
BS 1245 Exodus
BS 1255 Leviticus
BS 1265 Numbers
BS 1275 Deuteronomy
BS 1295 Joshua
BS 1305 Judges
BS 1315 Ruth
BS 1325 I-II Samuel
BS 1335 I-II Kings
BS 1345 I-II Chronicles
BS 1355 Ezra
BS 1365 Nehemiah
BS 1375 Esther
BS 1415 Job
BS 1419 Psalms
BS 1465 Proverbs
BS 1475 Ecclesiastes
BS 1485 Song of Solomon
BS 1515 Isaiah
BS 1525 Jeremiah
BS 1535 Lamentations
BS 1545 Ezekiel
BS 1555 Daniel
BS 1565 Hosea
BS 1575 Joel
BS 1585 Amos
BS 1595 Obadiah
BS 1605 Jonah
BS 1615 Micah
BS 1625 Nahum
BS 1635 Habakkuk
BS 1645 Zephaniah
BS 1655 Haggai
BS 1665 Zechariah
BS 1675 Malachi

New Testament

BS 2575 Matthew
BS 2585 Mark
BS 2595 Luke
BS 2615 John
BS 2625 Acts
BS 2665 Romans
BS 2675 I-II Corinthians
BS 2685 Galatians
BS 2695 Ephesians
BS 2705 Philippians
BS 2715 Colossians
BS 2725 I-II Thessalonians
BS 2745 I-II Timothy
BS 2755 Titus
BS 2765 Philemon
BS 2775 Hebrews
BS 2785 James
BS 2795 I-II Peter
BS 2805 I-III John
BS 2815 Jude
BS 2825 Revelation

In the Library of Congress Classification System each work is given an individual number known as the CALL NUMBER. This number allows for ready identification of each work and its sequential location within the collection.

Using Dr. John MacArthur's Commentary on Hebrews as an example, we can see how the CALL NUMBER identifies each work in the collection.

  1. BS = Bible
  2. 2775.3 = Commentaries on Hebrews
  3. .M27 = MacArthur (the last name of the author)
  4. 1983 = Copyright date or edition date