Recently I have been working to start a library in our Lodge. The intent is to make some Masonic literature more accessible to brethren who may not know where to start or may not have the means to collect materials.

The process has been a little slow, but I was able to pull duplicates from my personal library and bought a handful of books that were for sale at our local Scottish Rite Valley reunion.

I am thinking that the majority of the collection will be like this for some time; donations and quick buy items as well as some artifacts from the Lodge that are durable enough for people to take home.

Here’s my problem…I have never really worked on categorizing this type of material before and am a little overwhelmed. My thought is that I could visit with our local library to get some tips, or use some classification from the Library of Congress, but that may be taking it too far. I’d like to have the collection be easier for a new Mason to look at and understand the kinds of material he is looking at. Grouped into things like: Fiction, Research, Critical Thinking Required! Simple, but enough so brothers know that what they are pulling may not be factual. Has anyone done this kind of work before?