Wikisource:Portal classification system adaptation

This page describes the method by which the Library of Congress Classification system (LCCS) was adapted to Wikisource and the subsequent changes to that system.

In addition to casual interest, this page can be used to:

• Explain the differences between the two systems and solve related problems with the classification of works.
• Solve any problems that may occur when cross referencing the original and adapted systems.
• Provide a basis for future versions of the system, if necessary, or for incidental changes.
• Provide a blueprint if it is necessary to revert or repair parts of the system.

Original

The outline of the Library of Congress Classification system can be read in full on Wikisource at Library of Congress Classification; which includes a search function to find topics and their classifications. It can also be read at the Library of Congress's website. More information can be found via the Wikipedia article.

The LCCS system uses 21 classes, each represented by a letter of the alphabet. Each class is broken down into subclasses, represented by one or two further letters of the alphabet. More specific classification then uses a number from 1 to 999, which is itself followed by a cutter number.

Adaptation

Background

Wikisource's portal space was not initially organised in any way. Most indices were, at that time, in the Wikisource namespace, and also not organised (leading to duplication in some cases). It was desired that any subject index for Wikisource, which is essentially the purpose of portal space on the project, should use a published and authoritative system rather than something homegrown. This also has the advantage of being complete and having been already tested in practice.

The Dewey Decimal system qualifies under these terms but it is largely under copyright (the original version is in the public domain but it has gaps where reference to the modern world would be needed; adding these will either cause confusion or risk copyright infringement). LCCS is a work of the United States government and therefore in the public domain.

As this classification system is for use with portals and not individual books, the level of detail in the original system in unnecessary. So, the numeric portions of the call numbers were dropped, leaving just the subclass.

For example, the official Library of Congress call number for On the origin of species by means of natural selection by Charles Darwin is QH365.O2. On Wikisource, any portals corresponding to this book, and those like it, would be classified by just the subclass, the initial alphabetic portion of this call number, or QH.

Further, as explained below, during implementing the system, it needed to be adapted to fit Wikisource's specific needs. Two more classes (I & X) and several more subclasses were added, while one class (E) was slightly reinterpreted to fit pre-existing material. This is justified as an existing practice when adapting the LCC system to local or specific use. Wikipedia notes that "The National Library of Medicine classification system (NLM) uses the classification scheme's unused letters W and QS–QZ. Some libraries use NLM in conjunction with LCC, eschewing LCC's R (Medicine). Others prefer to use the LCC scheme's QP-QR schedules and include Medicine R."

Split subclasses

UPDATE: In a later re-examination of this particular example, subclass PT, it was obvious that all of these languages were actually in the Germanic language family. So they could all be conflated together as simply "Germanic literature" without the need for any subclasses. This was done to simplify the list of subclasses in Class P and remove minor subclasses that were unlikely to be used. The point stands, however, that some other official subclasses needed to be split to meet Wikisource's needs.

The subclasses as they exist are not all directly usable as portals on Wikisource. The most extreme example is Subclass PT: German literature - Dutch literature - Flemish literature since 1830 - Afrikaans literature -Scandinavian literature - Old Norse literature: Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian - Modern Icelandic literature - Faroese literature - Danish literature - Norwegian literature - Swedish literature. The directly equivalent portal, Portal:German literature - Dutch literature - Flemish literature since 1830 - Afrikaans literature -Scandinavian literature - Old Norse literature: Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian - Modern Icelandic literature - Faroese literature - Danish literature - Norwegian literature - Swedish literature, is impractical for use on Wikisource. Therefore, where this problem occurs, the Library of Congress Classification system subclasses have been divided into new subclasses. The first term of each retains the old classification; subsequent terms add a third letter to create the new classification.

For example, Subclass PT: German literature - Dutch literature - Flemish literature since 1830 - Afrikaans literature -Scandinavian literature - Old Norse literature: Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian - Modern Icelandic literature - Faroese literature - Danish literature - Norwegian literature - Swedish literature becomes:

• Subclass PT: German literature
• Subclass PTA: Dutch literature
• Subclass PTB: Flemish literature
• Subclass PTC: Afrikaans literature
• Subclass PTD: Scandinavian Literature
• Subclass PTE: Old Norse Literature
• Subclass PTF: Modern Icelandic Literature
• Subclass PTG: Faroese Literature
• Subclass PTH: Danish Literature
• Subclass PTI: Norwegian Literature
• Subclass PTJ: Swedish Literature

Note: Subclass AC is an exception to this pattern. There was an existing Collective works index when this system was implemented, so this was used as the first term instead of Collections, which became the second term.

This is more complicated within Class K, Law, which is explained separately (below).

Some classes contain subclasses with the same code as the class itself. For example, subclass P (Philology and Linguistics) within Class P (Language and Literature). These are represented by a non-alphabet symbol as the second letter of the classification. The examples of this here use an asterisk; however, this causes problems in practice as the wikicode interprets this as a bullet point in some cases. Any symbol or number can be used in its place instead (for example, a hyphen).

New Subclasses

Original classification		New classification
Code	Title	Code	Title
AC	Collections. Series. Collected works	ACA	Collections
		ACB	Series
AG	Dictionaries and other general reference works	AGA	Reference Works
AM	Museums. Collectors and collecting	AMA	Collectors and Collecting
AY	Yearbooks. Almanacs. Directories	AYA	Almanacs
		AYB	Directories
AZ	History of scholarship and learning. The humanities	AZA	The Humanities
BL	Religions. Mythology. Rationalism	BLA	Mythology
		BLB	Rationalism
BP	Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc.	BPA	Bahaism
		BPB	Theosophy
CD	Diplomatics. Archives. Seals	CDA	Archives
		CDB	Seals
DB	Austria - Liechtenstein - Hungary - Czechoslovakia	DBA	History of Liechtenstein
		DBB	History of Hungary
		DBC	History of Czechoslovakia
DC	France - Andorra - Monaco	DCA	History of Andorra
		DCB	History of Monaco
DG	Italy - Malta	DGA	History of Malta
DK	Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics - Poland	DKA	History of the Soviet Union[1]
		DKB	History of the Former Soviet Republics
		DKC	History of Poland
DL	Northern Europe. Scandinavia	DLA	History of Scandinavia[1]
DP	Spain - Portugal	DPA	History of Portugal
G*	Geography (General). Atlases. Maps	G*A	Atlases and Maps
GA	Mathematical geography. Cartography	GAA	Cartography
GF	Human ecology. Anthropogeography	GFA	Anthropogeography
HB	Economic theory. Demography	HBA	Demography
HD	Industries. Land use. Labor	HDA	Land Use
		HDB	Labor
HN	Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform	HNA	Social Problems
		HNB	Social Reform
HQ	The family. Marriage. Women	HQA	Marriage
		HQB	Women
HT	Communities. Classes. Races	HTA	Classes
		HTB	Races
HV	Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology	HVA	Social and Public Welfare
		HVB	Criminology
HX	Socialism. Communism. Anarchism	HXA	Communism
		HXB	Anarchism
JS	Local government. Municipal government	JSA	Municipal Government
JV	Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration	JVA	Emigration and Immigration
		JVB	International Migration[1]
PA	Greek language and literature. Latin language and literature	PAA	Latin Language And Literature
PB	Modern languages. Celtic languages	PBA	Celtic Languages
PD	Germanic languages. Scandinavian languages	PDA	Scandinavian Languages
PG	Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language	PGA	Baltic Languages
		PGB	Albanian Language
PH	Uralic languages. Basque language	PHA	Basque Language
PL	Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania	PLA	Languages and Literatures of Africa
		PLB	Languages and Literatures of Oceania
PM	Hyperborean, Indian, and artificial languages	PMA	Indian Languages
		PMB	Artificial Languages
PQ	French literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literature	PQA	Italian Literature[1]
		PQB	Spanish Literature[1]
		PQC	Portuguese Literature[1]
PT	German literature - Dutch literature - Flemish literature since 1830 - Afrikaans literature -Scandinavian literature - Old Norse literature: Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian - Modern Icelandic literature - Faroese literature - Danish literature - Norwegian literature - Swedish literature	PTA	Dutch Literature[1]
		PTB	Flemish Literature[1]
		PTC	Afrikaans Literature[1]
		PTD	Scandinavian Literature[1]
		PTE	Old Norse Literature[1]
		PTF	Modern Icelandic Literature[1]
		PTG	Faroese Literature[1]
		PTH	Danish Literature[1]
		PTI	Norwegian Literature[1]
		PTJ	Swedish Literature[1]
RM	Therapeutics. Pharmacology	RMA	Pharmacology
SH	Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling	SHA	Fisheries[1]
		SHB	Angling
TC	Hydraulic engineering. Ocean engineering	TCA	Ocean Engineering
TD	Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering	TDA	Sanitary Engineering
TE	Highway engineering. Roads and pavements	TEA	Roads and Pavements[1]
TK	Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering	TKA	Electronics
		TKB	Nuclear Engineering
TL	Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics	TLA	Aeronautics
		TLB	Astronautics
TN	Mining engineering. Metallurgy	TNA	Metallurgy
UE	Cavalry. Armor	UEA	Armor[1]
UG	Military engineering. Air forces	UGA	Air Forces
VK	Navigation. Merchant marine	VKA	Merchant Marine
VM	Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering	VMA	Shipbuilding[1]
		VMB	Marine Engineering[1]
Z	Books (General). Writing. Paleography. Book industries and trade. Libraries. Bibliography	ZB[2]	Books
		ZC[2]	Writing
		ZD[2]	Paleography
		ZE[2]	Book Industries and Trade
		ZF[2]	Libraries
		ZG[2]	Bibliography

1. These subclasses were later removed after further thought on the matter.
2. See Class Z for further information.

Classes E & F: History of the Americas

The Library of Congress Classification system has two classes that cover the history of the Americas. Class E covers the United States while Class F covers the "local history" of the United States in addition to the history of British America, Canada, Dutch America, French America, Latin America and Spanish America.

At the time this classification system was implemented, Wikisource already had Portal:States of the United States with subportals for each state. Therefore, this was used as the equivalent of Class E with little change to the pre-existing portal. Class F was left to cover all other aspects of the history of the Americas, including any aspects of United States history that applies to more than one state.

New classes X & I

During implementation of the system, it was necessary to create two entirely new classes unique to Wikisource. Both use one of the letters omitted from the original classification system.

First, some pre-existing indices on Wikisource did not fit into the Library of congress Classification system. In order to accommodate these, the new Class X ("Wikisource") was created (X being a traditional wildcard term). This class is generally for Wikisource-specific classification. Subclasses are added to Class X as and when a situation arises where one is needed, starting with subclasses for WikiProjects and specific eras (ie. Ancient, Medieval etc)

Second, there was another pre-existing index, Texts by Country (and its subportals and indices), that did not easily fit any class in the system. These portals were national indices that covered each nation in general instead of the LCCS's more specialised areas (history of-, law of-, literature of- etc). Instead of dismantling or severely modifying a functioning index, this was declared to be a new Class I (I was the first unused letter in the alphabet). Each portal in this class serves as a hub for that nation, including works and/or linking to more specialised portals as necessary.

Class K: Law

Class K of the Library of Congress Classification system already makes extensive use of the third letter of the classification, which makes some adaptation (as described above) more difficult. Subclasses could not always be created by adding a letter; some were created by changing the existing third letter to the nearest unused letter. Others required more drastic alterations, changing the second letter of the classification for a batch of subjects and then selecting appropriate third letters from there.

The complete list of subclasses is extensive and can be found at: Portal:Law/Subclasses

New Law Subclasses

Original classification		New classification
Code	Title	Code	Title
K	Law (general)	KA	Law (general)
KD	Law of the United Kingdom and Ireland	KD	Law of the United Kingdom and Ireland
		KDA	Law of the United Kingdom
	England	KDB	Law of England
	Wales	KDD	Law of Wales
KDC	Scotland	KDC	Law of Scotland
KDZ	America. North America	KDZ	Law of North America
	Organization of American States (OAS)	KDV	Organization of American States
	Bermuda	KDW	Law of Bermuda
	Greenland	KDX	Law of Greenland
	St. Pierre and Miquelon	KDZ	Law of St. Pierre and Miquelon
Added KDU History of Law in North America because other continents had similar classifications.
KEN	Newfoundland	KEJ	Law of Newfoundland
	Northwest Territories	KEK	Law of the Northwest Territories
	Nova Scotia	KEL	Law of Nova Scotia
KF	Law of the United States	KF	Law of the United States
	Federal law. Common and collective state law	KFA	Federal Law of the United States
	Individual states	KFB	State Law of the United States
KFA - KFW cover individual states, not enough available classifications
KFZ	Northwest Territory	KFY	Law of the North West Territory of the United States
	Confederate States of America	KFZ	Law of the Confederate States of America
KGH	Panama	KGH	Law of Panama
	Panama Canal Zone	KGI	Law of the Panama Canal Zone
KJ	Europe	KJ	Law of Europe
	History of Law	KJB	History of Law in Europe
	Germanic law	KJD	Germanic Law
KJP	Czechoslovakia	KJP	Law of the Czech Republic
		KJQ	Law of Slovakia
KJT	Finland	KJT	Law of Finland
	France	KJU	Law of France
KKK	Luxembourg	KKK	Law of Luxembourg
	Malta	KKO	Law of Malta
KLH	Georgia (Republic)	KLH	Law of Georgia (country)
	Lithuania, see KKJ	KLJ	Law of Lithuania
With KKJ and adjacent classifications in use, Lithuania remians here
KLP	Ukraine (1919-1991)	KLP	Law of Ukraine
	Zakavkazskaia Sotsialisticheskaia Federativnaia Sovetskaia	KLO	Law of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic
KLR	Kazakhstan	KLR	Law of Kazakhstan
	Khorezmskaia Sovetskaia Sotsialisticheskaia Respublika (to 1924)	KLU	Law of the Khorezm Socialist Soviet Republic
KM	Asia	KM	Law of Asia
	Middle East. Southwest Asia	KMA	Law of the Middle East
KMF	Armenia (Republic)	KMF	Law of Armenia
	Bahrain	KMB	Law of Bahrain
KMG	Gaza	KMG	Law of Palestine
KMM	West Bank
KMQ	Palestine
KNT-KNU	[India] States, cities, etc.	KNT	State Law of India
		KNU	Municipal Law of India
KPH	States of East and West Malaysia	KPH	Law of the States of East and West Malaysia
	Maldives	KPI	Law of the Maldives
KQ	Africa	KQ	Law of Africa
	History of law	KQA	History of Law in Africa
KQP	British Indian Ocean Territory	KQP	Law of the British Indian Ocean Territory
	British Somaliland	KQQ	Law of British Somaliland
KSE	Equatorial Guinea	KSE	Law of Equatorial Guinea
	Ifni	KSF	Law of Ifni
KSG	Italian East Africa	KSG	Law of Italian East Africa
	Italian Somaliland	KSI	Law of Italian Somaliland
KSV	Mauritius	KSV	Law of Mauritius
	Mayotte	KSM	Law of Mayotte
KTN	Spanish West Africa	KTN	Law of Spanish West Africa
	Spanish Sahara	KTO	Law of Spanish Sahara
KU	Pacific Area	KU	Law of Oceania
	Australia	KUA	Law of Australia
KUA-KUH	States and territories
		KUB	Law of New South Wales
		KUC	Law of the Northern Territory
		KUD	Law of Queensland
		KUE	Law of South Australia
		KUF	Law of Tasmania
		KUG	Law of Victoria
		KUH	Law of Western Australia
		KUI	Law of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands
		KUJ	Law of Christmas Island
		KUK	Law of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
		KUL	Law of the Coral Sea Islands Territory
Added KVA History of Law in Oceania because other continents had similar classifications.
KVH	American Samoa	KVH	Law of American Samoa
	British New Guinea (Territory of Papua)	KVJ	Law of British New Guinea
KVP	French Polynesia	KVP	Law of French Polynesia
	German New Guinea	KVO	Law of German New Guinea
KVS	Marshall Islands	KVS	Law of the Marshall Islands
	Micronesia (Federated States)	KST	Law of Micronesia
	Midway Islands	KSV	Law of the Midway Islands
KVU	Nauru	KVU	Law of Nauru
	Netherlands New Guinea	KVX	Law of Netherlands New Guinea
KWL	Pitcairn Island	KWL	Law of Pitcairn Island
	Solomon Islands	KWM	Law of the Solomon Islands
KWT	Wake Island	KWT	Law of Wake Island
	Wallis and Futuna Islands	KWU	Law of Wallis and Futuna

Some sections from the Law of the Caribbean in subclass KG were moved to the vacant subclass KC due to space limitations.

Moved Law Subclasses

Original classification		New classification
Code	Title	Code	Title
KGJ	Anguilla	KCA	Law of Anguilla
KGK	Aruba	KCB	Law of Aruba
KGL	Barbados	KCC	Law of Barbados
	Bonaire	KCD	Law of Bonaire
	British Leeward Islands	KCE	Law of the British Leeward Islands
	British Virgin Islands	KCF	Law of the British Virgin Islands
	British West Indies	KCG	Law of the British West Indies
	British Windward Islands	KCH	Law of the British Windward Islands
KGP	Dominica	KCJ	Law of Dominica
KGR	Netherlands Antilles	KCK	Law of the Netherlands Antilles
	Dutch Windward Islands	KCL	Law of the Dutch Windward Islands
	French West Indies	KCM	Law of the French West Indies
	Grenada	KCN	Law of Grenada
	Guadeloupe	KCP	Law of Guadeloupe
KGT	Martinique	KCQ	Law of Martinique
	Montserrat	KCR	Law of Montserrat
KGW	Saint Christopher (Saint Kitts), Nevis, and Anguilla	KCS	Law of Saint Kitts and Nevis
	Saint Lucia	KCT	Law of Saint Lucia
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	KCU	Law of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
	Sint Eustatius	KCV	Law of Sint Eustatius
	Sint Maarten	KCW	Law of Sint Maarten

Class Z

Update: In the official LCCS, class Z is divided into just two subclass, subclass Z and subclass ZA. Subclass Z covers several different areas: Books (General). Writing. Paleography. Book industries and trade. Libraries. Bibliography. This needs to be split to be used on Wikisource. The first version of this split attempted to preserve the order as seen in the LCCS. The official subclass ZA prevented the second letter of the call number being used, so this was left blank and the third letter was used. For example, "Writing" was split to subclass Z_A. This was unwieldy and awkward, so the second version drops the attempt to preserve the order and moves all of the new subclasses to succeed subclass ZA. For example, "Writing" becomes subclass ZC. The following table shows both versions of this scheme:

Subclass Z

Subject area	1st version codes	2nd version codes
Books	Z	ZB
Writing	Z*A	ZC
Paleography	Z*B	ZD
Book Industries and Trade	Z*C	ZE
Libraries	Z*D	ZF
Bibliography	Z*E	ZG

Subsequent changes

This section is an appendix to the essay. It may be helpful in understanding the adaptation and the classification system if all alterations to it are clearly logged.

• 18:16, 10 November 2010: Subclass GE changed from "Environmental Sciences" to "Environment" (to match existing portal)
• 19:25, 11 November 2010: Subclass HTB changed from "Races" to "Race studies" (to match existing portal)
• 23:27, 12 November 2010: Subclass BL changed from "Religions" to "Religion" (to match existing portal)
• 22:51, 29 November 2010: Subclass BPA changed from "Bahaism" to "Bahá'í Faith" (to match existing portal)
• 13:54, 18 January 2011: Subclass KNP changed from "Law of Taiwan" to "Law of the Republic of China‎" (following page move)
• 12:47, 15 March 2011: Subclass B* changed from "Philosophy (general)" to "General Philosophy" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 12:51, 15 March 2011: Subclass D* changed from "History (general)" to "General History" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 12:53, 15 March 2011: Subclass G* changed from "Geography (general)" to "Geography" (no disambiguation necessary in this case)
• 12:55, 15 March 2011: Subclass H* changed from "Social Sciences (general)" to "General Social Sciences" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 12:57, 15 March 2011: Subclass JA changed from "Political Science (general)" to "General Political Science" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 13:30, 15 March 2011: Subclass PN changed from "Literature (general)" to "General Literature" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:28, 22 March 2011: Subclass KA changed from "Law (general)" to "General Law" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:34, 22 March 2011: Subclass L* changed from "Education (general)" to "General Education" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:37, 22 March 2011: Subclass M* changed from "Music (general)" to "General Music" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:39, 22 March 2011: Subclass Q* changed from "Science (general)" to "General Science" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:41, 22 March 2011: Subclass R* changed from "Medicine (general)" to "General Medicine" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:42, 22 March 2011: Subclass S* changed from "Agriculture (general)" to "General Agriculture" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:44, 22 March 2011: Subclass T* changed from "Technology (general)" to "General Technology" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:46, 22 March 2011: Subclass U* changed from "Military Science (general)" to "General Military Science" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 17:48, 22 March 2011: Subclass V* changed from "Naval Science (general)" to "General Naval Science" (improving the readability and clarity of the portal title)
• 18:29, 24 April 2011: Added subclasses to Class I (to add flexibility to the classification)
• 21:40, 6 February 2013‎: Removed subclass TEA ("Roads and pavements"), merged content back into subclass TE ("Highway engineering") as per the original LCCS. The difference in content between the two potential portals was slim and confusing; having both separate portals was redundant.
• 02:01, 9 February 2013‎: Removed subclass JVB ("International migration"), merged into subclass JVA ("Emigration and immigration"). Same reason as above.
• 20:32, 16 February 2013‎: Removed subclass UEA ("Armor"). Error in original interpretation; this is not distinct enough from UE ("Cavalry").
• 10:20, 18 February 2013‎: Merged GF (Human ecology) and GFA (Anthropogeography) into GF (Human geography)
• 17:02, 18 February 2013‎: Collapsing all of the PTx subclasses into one master "Germanic literature" subclass. Too many minor subclasses overloading Class P; on a later look at the list of languages, they were all in the Germanic family making this an obvious choice for merging them all into one simple subclass.
• 17:06, 18 February 2013‎: Collapsing all of the PQx subclasses into one master "Romanic literature" subclass. Following the example of the previous change.
• 16:51, 20 February 2013‎‎: Recoded Class Z. See Class Z above.
• 23:14, 7 August 2013: Collapsed subclasses VM (Shipbuilding), VMA (Naval architecture) and VMB (Marine engineering) back into one master subclass for VM: Shipbuilding and naval architecture
• 22:24, 20 August 2013‎: Removed subclass DKA ("History of the Soviet Union"), merged into subclass JK ("History of Russia"). As above, the two portals largely cover the same subject.
• 22:48, 20 August 2013‎: Removed subclass DLA ("History of Scandinavia"), merged into subclass DL ("History of Northern Europe") but kept the name "History of Scandinavia". The other countries of Northern Europe are covered by other subclasses, leaving on Scandinavia anyway; no need for two subclasses.