BISAC Subject Headings List

Use the information provided here to determine the specific codes that describe your book. An asterisk (*) denotes a new heading for the current year’s edition. Not sure how to select your code? Check out our FAQ.

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REFERENCE

Use subjects in this section for works of a general nature or for works about the topics found in this section (note that there is a subheading "Reference" in most other sections and some sections also have a subheading "Dictionaries & Terminology"). 

Subjects in this section may be used with those in other sections for reference works on topics not found in this section, but it is recommended that topical subjects be assigned first: for example, a bibliography of medical books could be assigned "MEDICAL / Reference" and "REFERENCE / Bibliographies & Indexes"; a bibliography of books about pediatrics could be assigned "MEDICAL / Pediatrics", "MEDICAL / Reference" and "REFERENCE / Bibliographies & Indexes".

REF000000   REFERENCE / General

REF001000   REFERENCE / Almanacs

                                 REFERENCE / Annuals see Yearbooks & Annuals

REF002000   REFERENCE / Atlases, Gazetteers & Maps (see also TRAVEL / Maps & Road Atlases)

                                  REFERENCE / Basic Skills see Personal & Practical Guides

                                 REFERENCE / Biographical Dictionaries see BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Reference

REF004000   REFERENCE / Bibliographies & Indexes

                                  REFERENCE / Business Skills see BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Skills

REF030000   REFERENCE / Consumer Guides

REF007000   REFERENCE / Curiosities & Wonders

REF008000   REFERENCE / Dictionaries

REF009000   REFERENCE / Directories

REF010000   REFERENCE / Encyclopedias

REF011000   REFERENCE / Etiquette

                                REFERENCE / Etymology see LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Etymology

REF032000   REFERENCE / Event Planning

REF013000   REFERENCE / Genealogy & Heraldry

                                 REFERENCE / Indexes see Bibliographies & Indexes

REF015000   REFERENCE / Personal & Practical Guides

REF033000   REFERENCE / Personal & Private Investigations

REF035000   REFERENCE / Planners

                                  REFERENCE / Public Speaking see LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Public Speaking & Speech Writing

                                  REFERENCE / Publishing see LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Publishers & Publishing Industry

REF018000   REFERENCE / Questions & Answers

REF019000   REFERENCE / Quotations

REF020000   REFERENCE / Research

                                  REFERENCE / Secretarial Aids & Training see BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Secretarial Aids & Training

REF034000   REFERENCE / Signs & Symbols

                                  REFERENCE / Synonyms & Antonyms see Thesauri

REF022000   REFERENCE / Thesauri

REF023000   REFERENCE / Trivia

REF024000   REFERENCE / Weddings

REF025000   REFERENCE / Word Lists

                                 REFERENCE / Writing Skills see headings under LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES

REF027000   REFERENCE / Yearbooks & Annuals

If your title does not have subject content, i.e. a blank book, please use the Non-Classifiable term below. Otherwise, use the Subject/General term in the closest descriptive area. NON000000 NON-CLASSIFIABLE

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