Library of Congress Classification Guide

LC Call Numbers Outline

How to Read LC Call Numbers

Understanding LC Call Numbers

How LC Call Numbers are Arranged on the Shelves

Physical Locations in the Library

Comparing LC with Dewey

May 2004
LC Call Number Outline

A General Works
AE Encyclopedias
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion
BF Psychology
BL-BX Religion
C Auxiliary Sciences Of History
D History (Except America)
DA Great Britain
DC France
DD Germany
DP Spain - Portugal
DS Asia
E History: America
E151-889 United States
E184.5-185.98 African Americans
F History: America
F1-975 United States Local History
F336-350 Mississippi
F1201-3799 Latin America. Spanish America.
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation
GN Anthropology
GR Folklore
GV Recreation. Leisure.
H Social Sciences
HA-HJ Business (Economics, Industries, Finance)
HF5600-5689 Accounting
HM-HX Sociology
HQ The Family. Marriage. Women.
HV Social Pathology. Social and Public Welfare. Criminology.
J Political Science
K Law
KF Law: U.S.
KFM6601-7199 Law: Mississippi
L Education
LB Teaching
M Music
ML Literature on Music
MT Musical Instruction and Study
N Fine Arts
NA Architecture
NB Sculpture
NC Drawing. Design. Illustration. (Commercial Art)
ND Painting

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P Language And Literature
PC Romance Languages
PD Germanic Languages
PE English Language
PL Chinese and Japanese Languages and Literature
PN Literature (General)
PN1600-3307 Drama (Films, Theater, etc.)
PQ Romantic Literature (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese)
PR English Literature (British)
PS American Literature
PT Germanic Literature
PZ Juvenile Literature
Q Science
QA Mathematics. Computer Science
QB Astronomy
QC Physics
QD Chemistry
QE Geology
QH Natural History. Biology
QK Botany
QL Zoology
QP Physiology
QR Microbiology
R Medicine
RA Public Aspects of Medicine (Public Health, Environmental Health)
RS Pharmacy and Materia Medica
S Agriculture
T Technology (General)
TA Engineering (General). Civil Engineering
TJ Mechanical Engineering and Machinery
TK Electrical Engineering. Electronics.
TX Home Economics
TX 642-840 Cookery
TX341-641 Nutrition. Food and Food Supply
U Military Science
V Naval Science
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources
(General)

For a more detailed outline, please visit:

http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html

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How to Read LC Call Numbers

The call number's appearance differs depending where it is found.

On a book's label, the parts of the call number are stacked vertically, and are read
from top to bottom.
In the online catalog, the call number is written horizontally in a single line, and is
read from left to right.

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Understanding LC Call Numbers

Most call numbers have four parts :

• General / Broad Subject
• Narrower Topic
• Cutter Number (represents author, corporation, or title)
• Year of Publication

Title: Price control under fair trade legislation

Author: Ewald T. Grether

HF Commerce
5415 Business → Marketing → General works
.G67 Cutter number for Grether
1939 Year of publication

But there are other forms that call numbers can take. For example:

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 Title: More West Highland tales
Author: John Francis Campbell

PB Modern languages. Celtic

languages
1645 Gaelic (Scottish Gaelic, Erse)
→ Literature → Folk literature
.C26 Cutter number for Campbell
v . 1 Volume 1
v . 2 Volume 2

Title: Louisbourg portraits : life in an eighteenth-century

garrison town
Author: Christopher Moore

F History : America (numbers 1001-1145.2) -

British America (including Canada)
1039 Nova Scotia. Acadia
.5 Cities, towns, etc., A-Z
.L8 Louisbourg
M66 Cutter number for Moore
1982 Year of publication

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Title: The sun also rises
Author: Ernest Hemingway

PS American literature
3515 Individual authors → 1900-1960 → H
.E37 Author's cutter number, using second letter
(hEmingway)
S8 Title (sun - the, a, an ignored)
1954 Year of publication

Title: Almanac of the 50 states

REF Library collections → Reference

HA Statistics
203 Statistical data → By region or country →
America → United States → Serials
.A5 Title
1996 Year of publication

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How LC Call Numbers are Arranged on the Shelves

The average call number has four lines on a book label, and each of those
lines are read differently.

The first line is made up of 1-3 letters, and is read in alphabetical

order.

A B BC BF CJ D G GE GR H

The second line is made up of whole numbers, and is read

numerically. The numbers in this line may sometimes have
decimals.

1 5 25 78 126 333 790 790.5 1357 4274

This line is called the cutter number, which usually represents

the author's last name, but can also stand for the name of a
corporation or the book's title. It is read first alphabetically by
letter, and then the numbers are read as a decimal.

.D12 .D3 .G45 .G5 .G56 .G564 .G5643 .G6 .G67 .H2

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The last line is the year of publication, and is read in
chronological order.

1654 1776 1796 1854 1910 1959 1959b 1978 1999 2001

Some labels, though, may have more than four lines.

This call number has two cutter numbers. The first cutter
number narrows the topic; in this case .M7 stands for Mississippi.
The second cutter number on this label, I5, represents the book's
title. Both are read like the examples of cutter numbers above.

Ending the call number may be letters or numbers

designating the book's order in a series or set. They are read
either numerically (v.1, v.2, v.3, ...) or alphabetically (ser.A,
ser.B, ...). Some common examples are:

v.1 Volume 1
v.193(1998) Volume 193, year 1998
v.37, no.2 Volume 37, Number 2
no. 305 Number 305
ser.B Series B
Suppl Supplement

The call number may also end with a copy number (c.2, c.3, ...).
This is used to tell multiple copies of the same book apart.

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Physical Locations in the Library

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Comparing LC and Dewey

The J.D. Williams Library uses the Library of Congress (LC) classification. Like the
Dewey Decimal classification system, LC is used both as an unique identifier for each
book in the library and as a way to group books with similar subjects together on the
shelves. Note the similarities and differences in the two classification systems in the
table below, using the book "A Quick Reference to Dining Etiquette" by Shelia M. Long
as an example.

Why use LC or Dewey?

Whether LC or Dewey is used in a library is based on the size of the collection. Dewey is
divided into 10 classes, or broad subjects. This limits the number and variety of call
numbers that can be assigned to books, making it better suited for libraries with
smaller collections, such as school libraries or public libraries. LC, on the other hand,
has 21 classes, which allows for more call numbers needed for the greater number of
books owned by larger academic libraries.

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Dewey Decimal Classification Library of Congress Classification

000 Generalities A General Works

100 Philosophy, Paranormal B Philosophy. Psychology.
Phenomena, Psychology Religion
2 0 0 Religion C Auxiliary Sciences Of History
3 0 0 Social sciences D History (General) And History
Of Europe
4 0 0 Language E History: America (National)
500 Natural sciences and mathematics F History: America (Local)
6 0 0 Technology and Applied Sciences G Geography. Anthropology.
Recreation
7 0 0 The Arts Fine and Decorative Arts H Social Sciences
800 Literature (Belles-Lettres) J Political Science
and Rhetoric
9 0 0 Geography, History, and K Law
Auxiliary Disciplines L Education
M Music And Books On Music
N Fine Arts
P Language And Literature
Q Science
R Medicine
S Agriculture
T Technology
U Military Science
V Naval Science
Z Bibliography. Library Science.
Information Resources
(General)

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