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.

If you can't find the code you're looking for after reviewing all the pages below, we recommend you use whatever codes currently best represent your book. If you want to propose a new code for future BISAC additions, you can submit a suggestion here.

To download and incorporate this list into your databases and systems, you’ll need to purchase an End Users' License Agreement. 

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

© 2022, Book Industry Study Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of these lists or any attached documents may be distributed or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the Book Industry Study Group, Inc.