Library Categories (in the order the books appear on the shelves) 

Note:  Numbers on books are followed by the first three letters
               of the author’s name (or title if no author given). Numbers after the periods are
               decimal rather than whole numbers (for example: 9.11 shelves before 9.2)

1. Canonical / Post-canonical

      1.1.1 Sinhala / Pali

      1.1.2 Nagri / Pali

      1.1.3 Roman / Pali non-PTS

1.2 Pali, Pali Text Society (PTS)

      1.2.1 Vinaya

      1.2.2 Sutta Pitaka

      1.2.3 Abhidhamma

      1.2.4 Others

1.3 English, PTS

      1.3.1 Vinaya

      1.3.2 Sutta Pitaka

      1.3.3 Abhidhamma

      1.3.4 Others

1.4 Journal of the PTS / Papers

1.5 English, non-PTS

8.1 Sutta Compilations [Note: Shelved out of numerical order after 1.5]

2. Languages

      2.1 Pali Grammar

      2.2 Pali Dictionaries

      2.3 Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit BHS

      2.4 Sanskrit

      2.5 Modern Languages

            2.5.1 English

            2.5.2 Other Languages

3. Encyclopedia / Reference

      3.1 Encyclopedias

      3.2 Other Reference Books

      3.3 Buddhist Directories

      3.4 Guides to the Pali Canon

      2.5 Modern Languages

4. Buddhism General

      4.1 Life of the Buddha

      4.2 Disciples of the Buddha

      4.3 Intro to Buddhism

      4.4 Intro to Meditation

      4.5 Vandana (Chanting)

      4.6 Concentration

      4.7 Early Teachings (Doctrines)

5. Vinaya/Monastic Discipline

6. Abhidhamma / Philosophy / Psychology

      6.1 Abhidhamma

      6.2 Buddhist Philosophy

      6.3 Other Philosophy

      6.4 Western Psychology

      6.5 Buddhism & Science

      6.6 Buddhism & Medicine

7. History

      7.1 General History

      7.2 Buddhism in India

      7.3 Buddhism in Sri Lanka

      7.4 Buddhism in S.E. Asia

      7.5 Mahayana Countries

      7.6 Western Countries

      7.7 Buddhism in the World – Present & Future

      7.8 Buddhism in Africa

Wheel Publications / Bodhi Leaves [Without category numbers on shelves between 7 & 8]

8. Theravada Buddhism

      [Note: 8.1 Buddhist Canon shelved after 1.5]

      8.2 Bhavana Society Authors

      8.3 Sri Lanka Tradition

      8.4 Thai Tradition

      8.5 Burmese Tradition

      8.6 Malaysian Tradition

      8.7 Other Asian Countries

      8.8 Western Tradition

9. Mahayana Buddhism

      9.1 General & Overlapping

             9.11 Mahayana Sutras

      9.2 Mahayana in India

      9.3 Mahayana in China

             9.31 China – Ch’an

             9.32 China – Pure Land

      9.4 Mahayana in Korea

      9.5 Mahayana in Vietnam

      9.6 Mahayana in Japan

             9.61 Japan – Zen

      9.7 Mahayana in the West

10. Tibetan Buddhism

      10.1 Tibetan Scripture

      10.2 Tibet General Studies, Culture, Biography

      10.3 Ladakh & Nepal

      10.4 Buddhism in Mongolia

      10.5 Tibetan Philosophy, Logic, Abhidharma

11. Traditions Overlapping & Misc.

12. Children’s Books / Youth [Note: Shelved out of numerical order after 4.3]

13. Buddhism & …

      13.1 Nature

      13.2 Society / Ethics

      13.3 Women

      13.4 Birth, Old Age, Sickness & Death

      13.5 Monastic Life

      13.6 Contemplation of the Body

14. Buddhist Art [Note: Shelved out of numerical order on top of shelves above 8. ]

15. Poetry & Stories

      15.3 Biography, Autobiography, Mémoires 

16. Other Religions

      16.1  Buddhism & Other Religions

      16.21 Christianity, Judaism, Islam – General

                16.22 Judiaism

                16.23 Christianity

                16.24 Islam

                16.29 Sects Originating with These

      16.31 East Asian Religions – General

                 16.32 Taoism

                 16.33 Confucianism  

                 16.34 T’ai Ch’i

                 16.39 Other East Asian Religions

     16.41 South Asian Religions – General

                 16.42 Hinduism  

                 16.43 Hindu Scriptures

                 16.44 Yoga

                 16.49 Other South Asian Religions

    16.5 Miscellaneous (includes Theosophical, Krishnamurti)

    16.6 Overlapping & comparative Religions

    16.7 Secular Meditation & Spirituality

17. Buddhist Literature in Other Asian Languages

     17.1 Sinhala

             17.1.2 Sinhala & English

     17.2 Thai

             17.2.1 Thai & English

     17.3 Vietnamese

             17.3.1 Vietnamese & English

     17.4 Indonesian

     17.7 Korean

     17.8 Mandarin Chinese

     17.9 Japanese

18. Buddhist Literature in Western & Other Languages

     18.1 German

     18.2 French

     18.3 Spanish

     18.4 Portuguese

     18.9 Various Other Languages

20. Communication Skills