Cataloguing the collection

 The Portico Library collection covers a range of subjects with a strong focus on travel writing, natural philosophy, architecture, history, and fiction.

When the Library first opened, librarians would catalogue books by their size; the bigger the book, the lower on the shelf it would be. An alphanumeric system was introduced in 1856. It is still in use today: each book is given an alphabet and a number to identify its category and position in the Library.

For example, A is for Poetry and Drama; B for Fiction and C for Natural History. Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species has got a class number of CL2 under the Natural History book bay.

The books were categorised in broad subjects too. You can find The Every-Day book; or Everlasting calendar of popular amusement under the W section; ‘Architecture and antiquities’ alongside cathedral plans and archaeological books about ancient Greece!