GSQ Call number system

The catalogue system used by GSQ is unique to this Resource Centre. The system was devised by Beryl Young who was the Society’s Library Supervisor for over 15 years.

It is based on a 3 tier system and has been used throughout the Library and covers all resources regardless of their format, that is, book, fiche, film, CD or networked.

  1. The first tier is a geographical code based on the Chapman Codes. If you are familiar with using QLD for Queensland and AUS for Australia, you will be familiar with the concept.
  2. The second tier is a numerical code denoting specific subjects. For example: QLD/805/.... The first tier is obvious - Queensland; the second tier 805 denotes the code for parish registers: baptisms, marriages and burials. 
  3. The third tier is again a numerical code and for most of the resources is a numerical sequence denoting the item by order they can be found on the shelves, eg QLD/850/001; QLD/850/002, etc. If the item has a call number such as QLD/850/001.1; QLD/850/001.2, etc this means that all the resources under the initial call number eg QLD/850/001 form part of a series and the point 1, point 2, etc signifies which part of the series the individual reference refers to.

There are two exceptions to these rules:

A. Research in Australian States:

While the third tier as a numerical sequence is relevant to all resources in the Library, if you are researching in any of the Australian states the third tier for the following subjects will differ from that established numerical sequence.

Local History 205 School Magazines 215 Funeral Directors 815
Schools 210 Churches 220 Cemeteries 820

 

With these resources, the third tier is the postcode for the relevant area with the first numeral removed, eg QLD/820/108 denotes the call number for the Queensland (QLD) Cemetery (820) Coopers Plains ([4]108). In this way, if you don’t know the name of a cemetery, funeral director, church or school, but you do know the suburb, town or approximate location of an ancestor’s event, you can check records for that area by using this third tier exception to the rule.

Remember; this exception only applies to research in Australian states.

B. Published Family Histories:

Family histories, biographies, diaries and memoirs are important resources in any library and none more so than ours.To assist the researcher in locating published works on their family names, the call number for these resources had to be more relevant to the subject than by geographical or numerical sequence. Therefore, while we still have a numerical sequence denoting the subject, it has been placed as the first tier, eg 525 family histories; 530 biographies and autobiographies; and 535 diaries, journals and memoirs.

The second tier for publications in this subject has also been changed to assist the researcher. The first 3 letters of the relevant surname has been placed in this tier, eg 525/SMI/001, would denote that the  resource was a family history (525); with the surname SMITH or other surname starting with the same three letters (SMI); and the third tier denotes that this is the first book with this reference (001).