The British Catalogue of Music Classification (BCM Classification) is a

faceted classification A faceted classification is a classification scheme used in organizing knowledge into a systematic order. A faceted classification uses semantic categories, either general or subject-specific, that are combined to create the full classification ent ...

that was commissioned from E. J. Coates by the Council of the

British National Bibliography The British National Bibliography (BNB) was established at the British Museum in 1949 to publish a list of the books, journals and serials that are published in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It also includes information on forthcoming ...

to organize the content of the British Catalogue of Music. The published schedule (1960) was considerably expanded by Patrick Mills of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

up until its use was abandoned in 1998. Entries in the catalogue were organized by BCM classmark from the catalogue's inception in 1957 until 1982. From that year the British Catalogue of Music (which from 1974 onward was published by

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

) was organized instead by

Dewey Decimal Classification The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. Section 4.1 ...

number, though BCM classmarks continued to be added to entries up to the 1998 annual cumulation. The schedule is divided into two main parts: A–B representing Musical literature and C–Z representing Music – Scores and Parts. There are also seven auxiliary tables dealing with various sub-arrangements, sets of ethnic/locality subdivisions and chronological reference points. The notation is retroactive using uppercase alphabetic characters omitting I and O, with the addition of slash / and parentheses ( ) which have specific anteriorizing functions. Retroactive notation requires that the classifier combines terms in reverse schedule order. This has the benefit of producing a compact notation by removing the need for facet indicators. The schedule at A (Music Literature) parallels that from the Scores and Parts schedules thus Choral Music is at D while books about Choral Music are at AD; Harp Music is at TQ so books on harp music are at ATQ. The schedule at B accommodates books about specific composers and music in non-European traditions. As a fully faceted scheme after the ideas of

S. R. Ranganathan Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan ( 9 August 1892 – 27 September 1972) was a librarian and mathematician from India. His most notable contributions to the field were his five laws of library science and the development of the first major fa ...

, BCM class numbers are capable of being chain-indexed, allowing index access to each step of the hierarchy. BCM classification had a strong influence on the so-called Phoenix Dewey 780 schedule compiled by Russell Sweeney (1933-2020) and John Clews, which in turn influenced the 780 Music schedule in the 20th edition of

. The music schedule of the second edition (BC2) of the

Bliss bibliographic classification The Bliss bibliographic classification (BC) is a library classification system that was created by Henry E. Bliss (1870–1955) and published in four volumes between 1940 and 1953. Although originally devised in the United States, it was more comm ...

is also strongly influenced by BCM classification. This classification system is still in use at a number of libraries, including the

State Library of Western Australia The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and t ...

and the Library at

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Aust ...

References

{{Reflist Library cataloging and classification Knowledge representation