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Collection Policy Statement Index

(Classes BL through BX)

Contents

I. Religion in General
II. Sacred Writings and Related Works
III. Denominational or Sectarian Publications - United States
IV. Denominational or Sectarian Publications - Foreign and International
V. Popular Writings and Publications
VI. Materials in Special Formats
VII. Collecting Levels in Religion

I. Religion in General

1. The Library of Congress acquires for its permanent collection current works of research value in the following subjects:

   philosophy of religion
   history and principles of religion
   comparative religion
   systems of theology and doctrine
   law, liturgy, and rituals
   religion and society: its historical, social and cultural role
   trends and developments of current or historic importance.

2. Emphasis is placed on publications of scholarly interest at national or international levels. Those dealing with local religious groups, practices, beliefs and controversies will be acquired:
   1. If they relate to matters that have national or international significance or have attracted wide attention, or
   2. If they have substantial value for cultural, historical, political, anthropological, sociological, or economic research.
3. The collections of other U.S. libraries will be taken into account, but the Library of Congress may, when desirable, duplicate individual titles in the holdings of denominational archives, theological libraries, and local repositories.

II. Sacred writings and related works

1. The Library will acquire all significant editions and translations of the Bible, Koran, Talmud, Tripitaka, Vedas, Upanishads, and other major sacred writings.
2. The following are not acquired, unless they include important commentaries or have other bibliographical significance such as fine illustrations:
   1. Variant editions and reprints of translations already in the Library's collections,
   2. Individual editions of the Bible, abridged editions and selections from sacred writings.

   However, materials included in (2) are considered for acquisition for their linguistic value, when they represent virtually the only available work in a given language. See Translations.

3. All major reference works about the Bible and other sacred writing (dictionaries, concordance, glossaries, etc.) and scholarly commentaries are acquired. Other publications about the Bible and other sacred writings, intended for adults, are acquired on a highly selective basis; those for juveniles are not acquired, unless they represent outstanding examples of authorship and/or book production.

III. Denominational or sectarian publications - United States

1. The Library of Congress acquires the following publications of U.S. religious denominations at the national level.
   1. Yearbooks, annual reports, directories
   2. National periodicals of general circulation
   3. Liturgies, rituals, codes, protocols, disciplines, books of order, canon law and other legal materials
   4. Any major monographs
2. Publications at the regional, diocesan, or local level are acquired only in exceptional cases, for example:
   1. Publications relating to local activities or circumstances of national interest.
   2. Important publications of denominations, congregations, etc., which lack a national organization.
3. The Library acquires histories of local churches and congregations if they are of regional or national importance in the history of the United States or of the denomination, or if they contain substantial genealogical information.
4. The following are considered to be the responsibility of local or denominational libraries, and the Library of Congress will acquire them only on a highly selective basis:
   1. Instructional materials for use in religious schools or classes
   2. Devotional publications (unless of literary or historical value)
   3. Tracts and pamphlets of limited use
   4. Histories of local churches and congregations, except as described in Section III.C., above

IV. Denominational or Sectarian Publications - Foreign and International

1. Publications of religious denominations, sects, or other organizations necessarily vary according to the country of origin. Emphasis is placed on publications at the national level, or those having national or international significance.
2. As a general principle, acquisitions are not limited to the predominant sect or sects within a given country, but include all those which may have significant religious, political, or social impact, including clandestine groups. Similarly, for countries where organized religions are officially discouraged or limited, the Library attempts to acquire those publications which provide information on the status and influence of significant religious groups or trends within the country.
3. Major publications of religious denominations of international scope (e.g., Roman Catholic) and of international religious organizations (e.g., World Council of Churches) in the categories described in Section III.A are acquired in English, if possible, and also in the original language when desirable.
4. For developing countries, the provisions of Developing Countries, Section IV.A.6. are to be followed. Published reports of missionaries, containing significant observations on social, economic, and political conditions in the areas in which they worked, are to be considered for addition to the collections. Representative works of a didactic nature for non- Western religious traditions, intended for adults, are considered for acquisition when they may be useful for research in linguistics, anthropology, history, and related fields. Teaching materials for juveniles are not acquired, unless they are needed in specific cases for social studies purposes.

V. Popular writings and publications

Non-scholarly works published in the United States, including popular devotional, inspirational, and instructional materials, are acquired on a highly selective basis. A representative sampling of similar foreign works is to be acquired.

VI. Materials in special formats

Manuscripts, facsimiles of manuscripts, recordings, motion pictures, and other special format materials are acquired on their individual merits, in keeping with the appropriate specialized collections policy statements. Hymnology and liturgical music are acquired in conformity to the Collections Policy Statement on Music.

VII. Collecting levels for religion

The following list, arranged largely according to the major Religion subclasses of Class B of the Library of Congress Classification, indicates the collection intensity levels (0 through 5) to be followed in acquiring materials on religion. The intensity levels conform with the Conspectus of the Research Libraries Group. For a complete definition of these levels, see General Introduction to these statements.

1. Religion in general

   LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
   BLI-BL635	Religion (general)/4	Scholarly works 4, minor and popular works 3.

2. Sacred writings: Bible

   LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
   BSI-BS399	Bible: Texts and versions/5	Variant editions 2, new translations 5.
   BS410-BS2970	Works about the Bible/4	.

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3. History and principles of religion
   1. Buddhism

      LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
      BQ1-BQ9999	Buddhism/4	Scholarly works 4 minor and popular works in English 3 other languages 2. Devotional works and tracts in English 2 other languages 1.

   2. Christianity

      LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
      BR1-BR136	Christianity (general)/4	Scholarly works 4 minor and popular works in English 3 other languages 2. Devotional works and tracts in English 2 other languages 1.
      BR140-BR1500	Church history/4	Scholarly works 4 minor and popular works in English 3 other languages 2.
      BR1690-BR1725	Biography/4	Scholarly works 4 minor and popular works in English 3 other languages 2.

   3. Islam, Bahaism, Theosophy

      LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
      BP1-BP195	Islam/4	Of the biographies, only a selection of those on founders of special sects and other major figures acquired.
      BP300-BP395	Bahaism/3	English translations only; devotions, directories, etc., in English.
      BP500-BP597	Theosophy.	Anthroposophy/3

   4. Judaism

      LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
      BM1-BM65	Periodicals, yearbooks, societies, etc./4/3	U.S. 4, others 3.
      BM70-BM127	Study and teaching, religious education/3	Representative sampling of stories, textbooks, etc.
      BM150-BM199	History (general)/4
      BM201-BM449	History by country, region/5/4	U.S. 5, others 4.
      BM480-BM509	Pre-Talmudic and Talmudic Jewish literature/4
      BM510-BM518	Midrash (texts and critical works)/4
      BM525	Cabala (texts, histories/4	Scholarly works and critical works) including translations of sacred writings 4, minor and popular works 3.
      BM600-BM645	Dogmatic Judaism/4
      BM650-BM747	Practical Judaism, including liturgy and ritual/4

4. Doctrinal theology
   Note: The Library attempts to acquire all of the important current periodicals, reference books and scholarly works on the major topics in doctrinal theology. However, the Library acquires only selected works on topics of narrow doctrinal interest or on controversial topics. Tracts, sermons and pamphlets are not acquired.

   LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
   BT19-BT33	Doctrine and dogma/3
   BT40-BT60	Philosophical theology/3
   BT65-BT83	Doctrinal, dogmatic and systematic theology/3
   BT88-BT92	Authority/3
   BT95-BT97	Divine law. Moral government/3
   BT98-BT180	God/3
   BT198-BT590	Christology/3
   BT595-BT693	Mariology/3
   BT695-BT748	Creation/3
   BT750-BT810	Salvation. Soteriology/3
   BT819-BT891	Eschatology. Last Things/3
   BT899-BT940	Future state. Future life/3
   BT960-BT985	Invisible world/3
   BT990-BT1010	Creeds, confessions, covenants, etc./3
   BT1029-BT1039	Catechism/3
   BT1095-BT1255	Apologetics. Evidences of Christianity/3
   BT1313-BT1480	History of specific doctrines and movements/3

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5. Practical theology
   NOTE: The Library collects only the major works in most of the categories of practical theology. However, it attempts to develop a research-level collection in the categories of hymnology, ecclesiastical and church theology, church law, the ministry and the clergy, and missions.

   LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
   BV1-BV4	Practical theology (general)/3
   BV5-BV168	Worship/3
   BV170-BV199	Liturgy and ritual/3
   BV301-BV525	Hymnology/4
   BV590-BV650	Ecclesiastical theology/4
   BV597-BV628	Church theology/4
   BV659-BV680	Ministry and clergy/4
   BV759-BV765	Church law/4
   BV800-BV873	Sacraments/3
   BV900-BV1450	Religious societies/3
   BV1460-BV1612	Religious education/3/2	U.S. 3, others 2.
   BV2000-BV3705	Missions/4
   BV3750-BV3799	Evangelism/3
   BV4000-BV4470	Pastoral theology/3
   BV4485-BV5095	Practical religion. Christian life/3
   BV5015-BV5095	Asceticism and mysticism/3

6. Publications of denominations and sects
   NOTE: These collecting levels reflect the acquisition of materials published by the denominations listed here.

   LC Classification	Subject/Intensity	Comments
   BX1-BX9	Ecumenical movement/4
   BX100-BX750	Eastern and Oriental/4	Avoid repetitive material in liturgy and ritual
   BX800-BX4795	Roman Catholic Church/4	Avoid repetitive material in liturgy and ritual
   BX2315-BX2333	Relics, shrines, saints/3
   BX2400-BX4556	Monasticism/3
   BX4717-BX4795	Dissenting sects/3
   BX4800-BX9999	Protestantism/4
   BX4872-BX4924	Individual sects (Pre-Reformation)/3

Notes:

(1) Formerly Acquisitions Policy Statement No. 7

February 1984

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