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The Boggs & Lewis classification is, as Boggs declared it to be, simple and easy to employ. Because it was developed with an American focus, it would not seem to advisable to use Boggs & Lewis in libraries outside of the United States (Boggs, S. Whittemore, 1937, 54). However, it is interesting to note that currently, the greatest users of the Boggs & Lewis system are Canada and Australia, while AGS (American Geographical Society System) is more common in the U.S. (Ross, Interview with authors, 2005). Boggs & Lewis and AGS are similar in that both first classify the maps by geographic area using numbers, and then denote a limited number of subjects by letter. Finally, in both systems, form is designated, again by letter (Larsgaard, 1987, 93-95). Unlike AGS, Boggs & Lewis is not being updated and therefore must be adapted for use for each particular library. Boggs & Lewis is not an internationally standardized system, which prohibits the sharing of bibliographic records in which Boggs & Lewis has been employed (Brenan, 1975, 111). Topographic and geographic maps that are catalogued and classified according to the Boggs & Lewis Classification system are assigned a geographic subject heading and a number corresponding to geographic location. Notation in Boggs & Lewis clearly distinguishes between area and subject as compared to Dewey and the Library of Congress. Numbers are used for area, and letters are used for subject. Area takes precedence over subject in a geographic library (Boggs, 1937, 53). In Boggs & Lewis, different areas of the world are represented by numbers: 000 Universe In Boggs & Lewis, subjects are represented by letters. There is a striking similarity between the Library of Congress Schedule's G subject codes (especially letter F) and Boggs & Lewis subject codes: a special categories Boggs & Lewis use location symbols to designate the type of map: w wall maps Boggs & Lewis call numbers consist of at least three digits, and decimals may be added. Boggs & Lewis assigns the number 7 to counties in the United States, the number 8 to miscellaneous minor regions within a state, and the number 9 to cities. This can be seen in the following example: 641.7 counties in Maine, United States The numbers to be used following the city number are determined by the name of the city. For city names beginning with A through B, .1 is used; for those beginning with C through E, .12 is used and so forth (Larsgaard, 1987, 93-95). Examples Here is the Boggs & Lewis call number for a wall map of the geology of the United States, published by USGS in 1932: W630caq 1932U. This call number indicates location (wall maps), area (United States of America), subject (geology), date (1932), first letter of the author's last name (U). If there is information regarding the date of creation of the map and the author, that information should also be included in the notation after the area and subject. Maps should be filed by notation indicating, in order, 1) area, 2) subject, 3) date and 4) author (Boggs, S. Whittemore, 1937, 53). Boggs & Lewis cataloging format derived from Boggs & Lewis, 1945: Sample B&L catalog card derived from Boggs & Lewis, 1945: Boggs, S. Whittemore. "Library Classification and Cataloging of Geographic Material". Annals of the Association of American Geographers June 1937, no. 2 (49-94). Brenan, Margaret. "Boggs and Lewis in a Small Map Library." The Australian Library Journal (April 1975): 111-113. Larsgaard, Mary Lynette. Map Librarianship: An Introduction. Second Edition. Littleton, Colorado, Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 1987. Ross, Tim. Interview with authors, March 21, 2005.
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LIBR 517: Advanced Bibliographic Control: Subject Analysis
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