The Moys Classification Scheme is a system of

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 ...

for legal materials. It was designed by Betty Moys and first published in 1968. It is used primarily in law libraries in many common law jurisdictions such as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Overview

The Moys system is designed to fit into a library that utilises Library of Congress Classification (LCC). The primary reason for this is that LCC had not fully developed the K class (the class for Law) at the time when the Moys system was developed. In addition, LCC is the main classification system used in academic libraries. This commonality is the rationale behind adopting the same notation style used in the LCC Class K. The subclasses and enumeration are very different in the two systems, though. As with LCC, a set of numbers follows the class letters to indicate specific subject areas (however, there is notably less use of decimal points in the Moys system than in LCC).

Classes

Source:Moys 2001, pp. xli-xlii Note: Not all of these subclasses are mandatory, and certain classes may not be utilised in some libraries. * K - Journals and reference books * KA - Jurisprudence * KB - General and comparative law * KC - International law * KD - Religious legal systems * KE - Ancient and medieval law * KF-KN - Common law :* KF - British Isles :* KG - Canada, US, West Indies :* KH - Australia, New Zealand :* KL - General :* KM - Public law * KN - Private law * KP - Preferred jurisdiction * KR - Africa * KS - Latin America * KT - Asia and Pacific * KV - Europe * KW - European Community Law (alternative) * KZ - Non-legal subjects

Tables

Tables I consist of primary materials such as official gazettes, legislation, and codes.

References

Legal research Library cataloging and classification {{Library-stub