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Collection Policy Statement Index
(Classes HA through HJ)
Contents:
I. Introduction
II. Scope
III. Research strengths
IV. Comparison with other major research collections
V. General policy
VI. Collection levels for economics and business
I. Introduction
Although the subject matter covered by Classes HA through HJ in the Library of Congress classification schedules is denoted in some descriptions as Economics and in others as Business, historians and students of both economics and business, as well as persons directly engaged in business, need and use the entire range of information classified in these schedules.
The LC classification schedules for Economics were initially constructed to reflect late 19th century concepts of economic activity and nineteenth-century economic theory. Economic research and analysis at that time was mainly concerned with elucidating a set of "laws" or self-regulating processes by which production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services take place without deliberate intervention by governments.
The focus of economic research has shifted to a search for policies by which economic growth can be encouraged and controlled, fluctuations minimized, and human welfare increasingly well served. Especially since the application of Keynesian theories to stimulate recovery from the depression of the thirties, and increasingly with the ability of mathematical economics (aided by computers) and more refined macroeconomic theory to predict outcomes of various events, government, business, and the general public have come to expect economic research and economic reasoning to provide help for the management of individual lives, corporation management, and the guidance of whole national economies and international cooperation.
II. Scope
This policy covers the Library's collection of materials in the field of Economics on a world-wide basis. Core business and economics materials are contained in Classes HA through HJ; some overlapping topics are found in Class T (technological aspects of industry), and related materials are also found in Classes J (economic policy) , K (business law) , R (medical economics), and S (agribusiness). Bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts are classified in relevant subclasses of Class Z.
III. Research Strengths
LC has close to a million titles in classes HA through HJ. Approximately one-fifth of these titles represent serials, many of which are present in very long runs. Approximately 1/3 of new serial titles received in the Library belong to the economics/business classes.
The Library's collections in business are especially strong in their historical research value, both in tracing the development of particular industries and in analyzing past financial and economic conditions. There are a number of key serial titles, U.S. and foreign, in finance and other areas virtually complete back to the mid-nineteenth century. Major runs of statistical publications yield extensive national and international economic statistics over a large span of time. Directories of companies, stock price records, public budgets, and other long-standing periodical publications incorporate a wealth of information on the history of corporate and public finance in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Census data from the first (1790) census to the present and many state censuses are available. Long-standing exchange programs with foreign governments and academic institutions over the years have resulted in the acquisition of sizable collections of foreign government documents and other publications providing statistical and other data of interest for the study of the economy of those areas.
Business materials are also dispersed throughout the special collections of the Library. Among the notable special collections that include business information are: The New York World-Telegram and Sun collection of news photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division, which includes material on business leaders, transportation and labor problems; the National Child Labor Committee Collection of manuscripts and photographs from 1904-1953 in the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs Divisions, which includes labor material relating to various U.S. industries; the NAACP collection of manuscripts and photographs in the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs divisions, which includes material on segregation in business and labor disputes; and the Works Projects Administration collection of recordings and photographs in the AFC's Archive of Folk Culture and the Prints and Photographs Division, which includes material relating to economic conditions and various government work projects organized to give unemployed artists work during the Great Depression and several large microfilm collections, such as the Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature (emphasizing pre-1850 European and American economic, political and social history), the Pandette dei notai antich (commercial records from the Middle Ages), and several series of U.S. corporate annual reports.
IV. Comparison with other major research collections
The Library's business and economics holdings are impressive in their geographic and historical comprehensiveness and depth. However, there are many university, institutional, corporation, and public libraries that are unmatched for serving their particular clientele. For corporate history, the Baker Library at Harvard University is preeminent; for industrial and technological history, the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware, is outstanding; for current corporate information, state government offices and the Securities and Exchange Commission Information Center are more current and more comprehensive. Major public libraries in virtually all metropolitan areas are stronger for local business in their area.
V. General policy
Except as noted below, the Library endeavors to collect U.S. business and economics materials at a comprehensive level and to acquire a widely-representative collection of foreign business and economics publications of national scope.
The following sections deal with policy for specific types of materials acquired.
-
Periodicals
The Library endeavors to acquire comprehensively those serials published in the United States in the fields of business and economics that contain articles of lasting research value. The Library also seeks to acquire a broadly-representative collection of such serials from foreign countries.
With regard to trade publications, the Library acquires selectively representative trade periodicals covering the various industrial sectors, with preference being given to titles indexed by major indexing services. Trade publications whose content is limited only to press releases and new product announcements will not be acquired for the permanent collections.
Business users of the Library's reference collections also need a wide range of current information on market conditions, trends, even speculative forecasts contained in newsletters and periodicals of little or no permanent value. A limited number of these may be acquired on a "current issues only" basis and made available through the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room or in the Business Reading Room, but not catalogued or retained in the permanent collections.
House organs and company bulletins are not acquired, although exceptions may be made for publications that regularly contain articles of lasting research value. - Corporate annual reports
The annual reports of all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange published since 1955 are acquired for the permanent collections of the Library of Congress only in microform. This policy does not preclude, however, the acquisition of service copies of these reports in their original form for temporary use. - Societies and associations
At the U.S. national level, membership directories of trade and professional associations are acquired comprehensively, as are serious publications defining the associations' goals and accomplishments. Substantial statistical and other information on the businesses and industries represented, which is often published by these associations and by no other source, is also acquired comprehensively. Publications of foreign associations with coverage of national scope and/or relating to trade between the United States and another country or region are acquired selectively. The newsletters and annual reports of U.S. and foreign business and trade associations are not acquired. - Conference proceedings
The Library seeks to acquire at a research level a broadly-representative collection of published conference papers in economics and business of a scholarly nature and/or which contain new information, research, or analysis. - Directories
The Library seeks to acquire a comprehensive collection of U.S.-published directories of national, and state Scope, as well as those covering major U.S. metropolitan areas. The Library also seeks to maintain a research level collection of U.S. directories. Foreign directories of national scope and/or focused on international trade with the U.S. are acquired. - Statistics
Original data compiled and published by governmental agencies, trade associations, research institutes, commercial publishers, and other serious sources are collected comprehensively for the U.S. and at a research level for non-U.S. areas. Computer-generated publications that merely repackage data from the original sources (especially Federal agencies) without enhancing it will generally not be acquired. - Textbooks
Textbooks intended for use in colleges and universities are acquired at a research level for the U.S. Elementary and secondary school textbooks are acquired on a very selective basis. - Loose-leaf
Loose-leaf publications updated by page-for-page substitutions at frequent intervals are not generally maintained in the Library of Congress. Specific exceptions may be made for heavily-used information not available (or not available with the necessary timeliness) in other formats.
This restriction does not apply to serial publications received in ring binders but replaced in their entirety on a quarterly, half-yearly, or annual basis, or updated by self-contained supplements at such intervals. - Electronic Resources
Selection of electronic publications follows the same standards that apply to printed materials; where there is duplication, choices are based on cost, convenience of use, and retrievability. - Miscellaneous
The following are usually not added: Data issued by and concerning individual firms, addressed primarily to advertising agencies and their clients, e.g., sales figures of company products, figures of magazine circulation to attract advertising; individual company publications such as market surveys, sales manuals, price sheets, collection systems, advertisements; bank and investment house publications designed for customers; minor mail order house catalogs; local shipping directories; bookkeeping systems; radio and television ratings other than those produced by major firms.
VI. Collection levels for business and economics
The following list is arranged according to the major subclasses of Classes HA-HJ of the Library of Congress Classification. The collecting levels are based on the Conspectus of the Research Libraries Group. For a complete definition of these levels see "Collecting Levels." Whenever two intensity levels are listed, the first number refers to collections of U.S. materials, the second to foreign materials.
Class HA: Statistics
This class contains much social science statistical data of a general nature: census data, population and vital statistics; state, national, and international compilations; as well as statistical methodology for the social sciences as a whole. Other statistical data relating to specific topics are found with the topic.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Level |
|---|---|---|
| HA1-39 | General works, theory and method, research | 5/4 |
| HA154-155 | Universal statistics | 5/4 |
| HA175-218 | Statistical data: United States | 5 |
| HA221-730 | Statistical data: U.S. counties and cities | 4 |
| HA740-4737 | Statistical data: Other countries | 4 |
Class HB: Economic Theory; Demography
The HB Class includes more detailed vital and demographic statistics than appear in Class HA. A small separate section at the end, HB3711-HB3840, brings up the subject of "business cycles" and economic stabilization and includes some material on economic forecasting and mathematical models. The broader approach of macroeconomic theory has been developed in HB172.5; related topics also appear in HG229-HG230, monetary policy, and HJ257, fiscal policy.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Level |
|---|---|---|
| HB1-846 | Economic theory: history, methodology, general works | 5/4 |
| HB848-3697 | Demography | 5/4 |
| HB3711-3840 | Business cycles | 5/4 |
Class HC: Economic history and conditions
General economic history occupies a coherent block in HC29-HC60. In the geographic breakdown by regions and countries (and smaller geographic subdivisions for the United States and several others), HC94-HC1085, economic history and current economic conditions are mingled. Here are found country "profiles" and handbooks, replete with statistical data.
HC79, HC110, and several other class numbers appended to specific countries and regions are designated "Special topics (not otherwise provided for), A-Z." These are exceedingly diverse lists. HC79 offers, for example, air pollution, automation, consumer protection, labor productivity, poverty, subsidies. These and other issues are listed again as concerning the United States in HC110, A-Z.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Levels |
|---|---|---|
| HC10-27 | Periodicals, yearbooks, congresses, collected and general works U.S. national, state regional Scope U.S. local International scope Foreign |
5 4 5 4 |
| HC29-60 | World economic history | 5/4 |
| HC79-92 | Special topics, A-Z | 4 |
| HC95-110 | United States economic history | 5 |
| HC111-1085 | Foreign economic history and conditions by region | 4 |
Class HD: Production
Class HD focuses on production, both agricultural and industrial (bringing together the classical factors of land, labor, capital goods, and entrepreneurship). It encompasses land use; management of enterprises, small and large; industry-government relationships; all aspects of labor and industrial relations; and specific industries with their history, directories, and statistical data.
The original classification plan intended the technological aspects of industry to be covered by Class T, while the organizational and management aspects would be covered in Class HD. It can be hard to judge on which side an actual publication is weighted, so that almost identical directories, for example, may be found in both classes.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Levels |
|---|---|---|
| HD28-70 | Production: management | 5/4 |
| HD72-88 | Economic growth, development, planning | 5/4 |
| HD101-156 | General land use | 5/4 |
| HD166-243 | U.S. public lands | 5 |
| HD251-1130 | Land use: real estate | 5/4 |
| HD1361-1395 | Real estate business | 3 |
| HD1401-2210 | Agriculture (General economic aspects, agricultural labor, water resources) | 5/4 |
| HD2321-4730 | Industry (industrial organization and structure, industry and government) | 5/4 |
| HD4801-8943 | Labor | 5/4 |
| HD9001-9999 | Specific industries | 5/4 |
Class HE: Transportation and communication
Class HE offers expansive classifications for railways and water transportation, moderate accommodation for automotive vehicles and highways, and a decidedly cramped range for air transportation and telecommunications.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Levels |
|---|---|---|
| HE1-7 | Transportation and communications: periodicals | 5/4 |
| HE8 | Shippers' guides | 3 |
| HE9-330 | Transportation and communications: general | 5/4 |
| HE331-380 | Traffic: roads and highways, streets | 5/4 |
| HE381-971 | Water transportation (economic aspects) | 5/4 |
| HE1001-5600 | Railways | 5/4 |
| HE5601-5720 | Automotive transportation | 5/4 |
| HE6000-7496 | Postal service | 5/4 |
| HE7555-7572 | "Information superhighway" | 5/4 |
| HE7601-8630 | Telecommunication, radio and television, telephone, wireless and satellite communication | 5/4 |
| HE9761-9925 | Air transportation | 5/4 |
Class HF: Commerce and Business
The first half of this classification emphasizes foreign and international trade: organization, history, statistics, treatises on trade policy and tariff policy, directories. Some special topics (chambers of commerce, business applications of statistics, product classification codes, business education) are assigned numbers within this range.
The second half is simply designated "business" and mirrors the complexity of that concept in its spectrum of subdivisions. Accounting, advertising, business communications, marketing and sales, personnel management, vocational guidance, wholesale and retail trade (including mail order, electronic commerce and shopping centers) are among the major subjects covered.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Levels |
|---|---|---|
| HF54 | General directories: worldwide or regional | 5/4 |
| HF294-343 | Boards of trade, chambers of commerce | 3 |
| HF1001-1010 | International marketing | 5/4 |
| HF1101-1186 | Commercial education | 3 |
| HF1379-4050 | International trade, economic relations; "global economy" | 5/4 |
| HF5035-5068 |
U.S. business directories National, regional, state, and metropolitan areas County and town |
5 4 4 |
| HF5071-5330 | Foreign business directories National Scope Regional and metropolitan |
3 3 5/4 |
| HF5381-5392 | Vocational guidance | 5/4 |
| HF5419-5430 | Wholesale and retail trade | 3 |
| HF5546-5599 | Office/personnel management | |
| HF5601-5716 | Business mathematics | 3 |
| HF5717-5734 | Business communication (correspondence, reports, proposals) | 5/4 |
| HF5801-6182 | Advertising
|
Class HG: Finance
Class HG covers all aspects of money and financial management from family financial planning to the World Bank.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Levels |
|---|---|---|
| HG1-175 | General Works | 5/4 |
| HG179-181 | Personal finance (U.S.) | 4 |
| HG184-195 | Personal finance (other countries) | 3 |
| HG201-230 | Money: General | 5/4 |
| HG231-256 | Money: History | 5/4 |
| HG261-329 | Precious metals; gold standard; gold market | 5/4 |
| HG451-645 | U.S. monetary system | 5 |
| HG651-1492 | Monetary sysems of other countries | 4 |
| HG1501-1778 | Banking: General | 5/4 |
| HG1811-3550 | Types of banks and financial institutions | 5/4 |
| HG3691-3769 | Credit | 5/4 |
| HG3810-3877 | Foreign exchange | 5/4 |
| HG3879-4000 | International finance: monetary system, banking | 5 |
| HG4009 | International corporation directories | 5 |
| HG4027.7 | Small business finance | 5/4 |
| HG4028 | Corporate financial management: by topic | 5/4 |
| HG4050-4280 | Corporate financial management: by region or country | 5/4 |
| HG4551-4638 | Stock exchanges | 5/4 |
| HG4651-5993 | Securities (including goverment securities) | 5/4 |
| HG6001-6270 | Speculation (futures, commodities, securities, derivatives) | 5/4 |
| HG8011-8740 | Insurance: General | 5/4 |
| HG8751-9271 | Life insurance | 5/4 |
| HG9371-9479 | Health insurance | 5/4 |
| HG9651-9969 | Fire insurance; casualty insurance | 5/4 |
| HG9969.5-9999 | Special risk insurance | 5/4 |
Class HJ: Public Finance
For the United States and all other countries, Class HJ contains public documents and other material on structure and history of public finance, budgets, revenue and expenditures, taxation and customs, public debt, and public accounting, with a special section on state and local finance.
In this class subjects are generally subordinated to geographic divisions, with the same topical headings repeated under each country, region, and state.
| LC Classification | Subject | Collecting Levels |
|---|---|---|
| HJ9-10 | Public finance-federal | 5 |
| HJ11 | Public finance-state | 4 |
| HJ12-99 | Public finance-other nations | 4 |
| HJ101-209 | Public finance: general works | 5/4 |
| HJ210-1620 | Public finance: history and conditions | 5/4 |
| HJ2005-5957 | Income and expenditure; budget; taxation | 5/4 |
| HJ6603-7390 | Customs administration | 5/4 |
| HJ7451-7977 | Expenditure | 5/4 |
| HJ8003-8899 | Public credit, debt | 5/4 |
| HJ9000-9694 | Local finance | 4/3 |
December 1999