Mountaineers Library Subject Groupings
- Lowell Skoog
Owned by Lowell Skoog
During reorganization of the Mountaineers Library, the following system will be used to group books by subject.
The system consists of four parts:
- Geographical scope (2 characters)
- Primary activity (1 character)
- Focus (1 character)
- Wildcard (1 character)
See Examples at the bottom of this page.
Part 1: Geographical Scope - North America
| Code | Geographical Area | |
|---|---|---|
| NA | North America, generally |
|
| NK | Alaska, Yukon | |
| NW | Washington, OR, ID, BC | |
| NC | California | |
| ND | Desert southwest, NV, UT, AZ, NM, TX | |
| NX | Mexico | |
| NH | Hawaii | |
| NR | Rockies (Canada and US) | |
NP | Plains (Canada and US) | |
| NE | East of Mississippi River |
Part 1 (cont'd): Geographical Scope - Rest of World
| Code | Geographical Area |
|---|---|
| AF | Africa |
| AS | Asia |
| EU | Europe |
| OC | Oceania (Australia, NZ) |
| PO | Polar regions |
| SA | Central and South America |
| WO | World (many regions, or universal themes) |
Part 2: Primary Activity
| Code | Activity |
|---|---|
| B | Bicycling |
| C | Conservation, environmental issues |
| F | First aid, outdoor medicine |
| G | General interest (not focused on outdoors) |
| H | Hiking, trail running |
| M | Mountaineering, climbing (including rescue) |
| N | Naturalist, geology, earth sciences |
| O | Outdoor activities, general |
| P | Photography |
| S | Snowsports |
| T | Travel (usual and unusual modes) |
| U | Caving (i.e. underground) |
| V | Volunteering, non-profits, etc |
| W | Water sports (paddling) |
| X | Early exploration |
| Y | Sailing (i.e. yachting) |
Part 3: Focus
| Code | Classification |
|---|---|
| B | Individual biography or narrative |
| F | Fiction, humor, poetry |
| G | Guidebooks, maps |
| H | History, science and culture (including biographies of multiple people) |
| P | Pictorial |
| T | Technique (how-to, including navigation, etc) |
Part 4: Wildcard
| Code | Significance |
|---|---|
| D | Dispense → Regardless of other factors (i.e. truly obsolete). |
| N | None → No wildcard assigned. |
| K | Keeper → A book with a special Northwest (or Mountaineers) connection. |
| M | Published by Mountaineers Books (including Braided River and Skipstone imprints). |
Examples
| Title | Geography | Activity | Focus | Wildcard | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allison, Beyond the Limits: A Woman's Triumph on Everest | AS | M | B | K | Northwest expedition |
| Barnett, Cross-Country Downhill | WO | S | T | N | Snow sports technique |
| Beckey, Cascade Alpine Guide | NW | M | G | M | No brainer |
| Hornbein, Everest: The West Ridge | AS | M | B | K | Northwest climber/author |
| Jettmar, The Alaska River Guide, Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting | NK | W | G | N | Water sports guidebook |
| Jones, Climbing in North America | NA | M | H | N | Classic national history |
| Logue, Best of the Appalachian Trail | NE | H | G | N | Regional guidebook |
| Miller, The North Cascades | NW | C | P | M | No brainer |
| O'Connell, Beyond Risk: Conversations with Climbers | WO | M | H | M | Published by Mountaineers Books |
| Ortenburger, Climber's Guide to the Teton Range | NR | M | G | N | Regional guidebook |
| Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills | WO | M | T | M | Classic mountaineering textbook |