The Moys Classification Scheme is a system of

library classification A library classification is a system of organization of knowledge by which library resources are arranged and ordered systematically. Library classifications are a notational system that represents the order of topics in the classification and al ...

for legal materials. It was designed by

Betty Moys Elizabeth Moys (26 June 1928 – 1 February 2002) was born in Wickford, Essex, England. She grew up in Kent, attended Sidcup County School for Girls and graduated from Queen Mary College in London (1949). One of her first jobs was at the Crayfo ...

and first published in 1968. It is used primarily in

law libraries A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for n ...

in many common law jurisdictions such as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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).

ClassesMoys 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

References

Legal research Library cataloging and classification {{Library-stub