Technical Services, Classification, and Cataloguing

The Classification and Cataloguing Department includes the following subsections:

Foreign Language Cataloguing Section

This section is in charge of cataloguing books, periodicals, and non-printed materials such as music, digital items, and websites in almost every language, except those written in Hebrew or Arabic letters.

Up to April 2014, cataloguing procedures followed the AACR2 international standard.  Since then a new cataloguing standard, RDA, has replaced the old one.

Hebrew Cataloguing Section

This section is in charge of cataloguing all printed and non-printed materials written in the Hebrew language or in Hebrew letters, including publications in Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Arabic.

Arabic Cataloguing Section

This section is in charge of cataloguing and classifying all printed and non-printed materials in Arabic, mainly focusing on the following subject fields: Islam, Arabic linguistics, history of the Middle East, and Arabic literature.

The librarians are also responsible for developing the library's collections in these areas in collaboration with the departments of Arabic language and literature, and Middle Eastern history.

Classification Section

This section is in charge of classifying and assigning subject headings to all library acquisitions: books, periodicals and non-printed materials in almost every language (with the exception of Arabic).

The subject headings are defined in accordance with the standards of the Library of Congress.

Classification systems:

1. The Dewey decimal classification system is applied to the majority of books and periodicals held at the library.
2. The Shalom classification system is used for materials pertaining to Judaism, and the History of the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael Studies).
3. The Library of Congress classification system is used for materials pertaining to music and musicology.
4. The Wiener collection is classified based on an internal system developed by the librarians in charge of maintaining the collection.

The purpose of the different classification systems is to sort all library materials according to subjects, thus providing the basis for their placement on the shelves.

Technical Service Section

The section, under the supervision of Golda Swed, is responsible for providing the barcodes and labels attached to all library materials, as well as the coordination of binding services.