Classification System

Library Classification (PDF)

The collections of the library of the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy are indexed and shelved according to the library's own classification system. The classification system covers the contents of the library’s holdings and consists of several parts:
Subject groups (notations): Part I – III
Country codes: Part IV
Alphabetical index of terms (A – Z): Part V

If you are looking for literature on a specific subject, select the pertinent subject group (Parts I – III) along with a country code (Part IV). Example: Social policy Germany = D 711

Enter this code/subject group (D 711) in the “notation” field on Web-OPAC. The results of your search will include all titles on the subject of social policy in Germany. As some matters comprise several relevant subject groups, it is recommendable to query these as well. This can lead to double citations because several notations are often allocated.

Theoretical literature and country comparisons are not, as a rule, assigned country codes. In many cases, however, additional notations are given country codes to permit the retrieval of specific country reports.

A particular feature is the classification of international organisations (Part III), which have their own notations, e.g. EG 0818 Þ social harmonisation.

However, such state groupings can also be combined with other notations, e.g. EG 711 = social policy.