The Library has a unique Classification System

Our classification scheme is unique to the Central Catholic Library. It was developed by our founder, Fr. Stephen Brown S.J. It is made up of 33 sections, with corresponding sub-sections. Each section covers a significant area of Catholic theology, social teaching, spirituality, literature or art. The first section of the scheme covers the Bible – the source of Christian revelation.

The value of our classification scheme is that it was developed to cover one particular subject (Catholic culture) and so allows for a much more detailed representation of that subject than would a general multi-subject classification scheme such as Dewey Decimal Classification, which is used in Irish public libraries.

Our scheme has been adapted in recent years to facilitate the inclusion of important new issues in contemporary Catholicism. These include the role of women in the Church (section 33A), the environment (33B), and refugees and asylum seekers (33C).