The Libraries Directory 50th Edition Libraries Directory Home • Online Guide • A to Z

How the Entries are Organised

Entries in The Libraries Directory are broken down according to:

Category
Country
Type

Each of these can be used as a search parameter when searching the electronic version of the Directory.

Category

Entries are arranged into five broad categories.

Legal Deposit Libraries
Public Libraries
Archives and Local Studies Libraries
Special and Academic Libraries
Library and Information Organisations

The book has separate sections for each of these categories: five sections for the United Kingdom and five sections for the Republic of Ireland. The CD-ROM application allows you to perform searches in any single category, in all categories, or (using the advanced search option) in any combination of categories.

Country

Entries are classified either as United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) or as Republic of Ireland. The book has separate sections for UK and Irish entries. The CD-ROM application allows you to search for entries in one or the other or both.

Type

Entries are also sub-divided into particular types, reflecting the nature of the institution responsible for them and/or their areas of specialisation:

		Academic/Educational
		includes universities, colleges of further and higher education, schools, academic research institutions and some professional bodies. Also includes organisations whose primary interests lie in the academic sector.
		Corporate/Business
		includes business libraries, as well as libraries belonging to corporations and private businesses.
		Governmental
		includes state bodies and local authorities. All public libraries fall under this type.
		Medical/Health
		includes hospital and health authority libraries, medical schools, medical research institutions, professional bodies within the medical sector, and libraries specialising in the provision of health information.
		Museum/Gallery
		includes libraries and archives of public and private museums and art galleries.
		Photographic/Film
		includes commercial photo libraries, film and video libraries and archives, aerial photography collections, and other libraries where visual materials make up the bulk of the collections. Also includes film institutes and similar libraries where film or photography is the primary subject of the collections.
		Private
		includes most non-public, private bodies, such as professional organisations, private estates, charities and others.
		Religious
		includes most religious institutions, Christian, Islamic, Jewish and others, such as diocesan libraries and archives, theological and other religious colleges, university theological departments, and other libraries run by religious bodies or whose collections are mainly religious in nature.

The book uses a series of pictorial icons to distinguish between different types of institution. When searching the Directory using the CD-ROM application, you can perform searches in any single type of institution, in all types, or (using the advanced search option) in any combination of types.

Please note that many entries are listed under more than one type. For instance, a theological college would be listed as both Academic and Religious, and a public museum would be listed as both Governmental and Museum.

See Also

How the Directory is Indexed
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