SUBJECT GUIDES: Library of Congress Call Numbers

Library of Congress Call Numbers What is a Library of Congress Call Number? Both the LAC and PCC libraries use the Library of Congress Call Number and the "generic" call number systems to classify items. A Library of Congress call number is the combination of letters and numbers assigned to each item (book, CD, audio or videocassette) acquired by a library before it is filed on the shelves. The call number is printed on a white label and placed either on the spine or on the cover of the item. Every book has a unique call number, much like every house in a city has its own address. A Library of Congress call number places an item in its subject area. You may locate call numbers in the library's online catalog. You must copy the entire call number in order to locate the item on the shelf. These are examples of LC call numbers: LB 1631 .S686 1994 QA 76.76 .H94 C36 1997 REFERENCE DESK ref PE 1591 .K54 1993 ref TX 341.2 .N88 1997 Reading LC call numbers The LC Classification System is used at the Library of Congress and in most academic and research libraries in the United States and Canada. This system uses the alphabet to place items in their subject areas. The LC System organizes materials into twenty-one major divisions, from A to Z, but missing I, O, W, and Y. All LC call numbers begin with either one, two, or three letters, followed by numbers. Books in categories E, and F do not have a second letter. Books in categories K, the law section, can have as many as three letters - KFA, KFC, KFM, etc. All other categories, such as, B, H, L, M, P, etc. can have up to two numbers - BF, HF, HM, HV, MN, PS, PZ, etc. This is an example of an LC call number as it appears on the online catalog: HV9104 .J833 1997 On the book, the above call number is printed on a white label and placed on either the spine or the cover and looks like this: HV 9104 .J833 1997 The letter(s) and the first set of numbers together are considered the "subject number." The first letter of all LC call numbers represents one of the twenty-one major divisions of the LC Classification System. The letter "H" is for "social sciences." The second letter "V" represents a subdivision of the social sciences-social pathology/social and public welfare & criminology. All books in the HV section are primarily about social welfare & criminology. The numbers, 9104, tell us more about the subject matter of the book. Books with the call number, HV9104 deal specifically with the subject of "juvenile delinquency." The next line represents either the book's author or the title. In the above example, .J833 represents the title of the book, Juvenile crime : opposing viewpoints. Some books have longer or more extensive LC call numbers. This is true where there is a need to further group the book in its specific subject matter, for example, QA76.76.H94 C36 1997. In general, the "Q" section is for science. "QA" is for mathematics. "QA76" is the section for computer science. ".76" is for "special topics in automation." "H94" is for Hypertext systems (HTML) - tells us specifically what the "special topic," is&emdash;and C36 represents the last name of the first author (this book has two authors), followed by the year of copyright. The book is: Teach yourself dynamic HTML in a week by Bruce Campbell and Rick Darnell. The call number label on the book would appear this way: QA 76.76 .H94 C36 1997 Locating Books with LC call numbers on the shelves Books are shelved by call numbers in alpha-numerical order. The letters at the beginning of the call number are alphabetical. The numbers immediately following are in numerical order, 75 before 120; 8 before 51; 1000 before 1000.5 as shown in the following examples: Start with the first line (the alphabets) BF => HV => KF => KFC => LA => LB => LC => LD => PZ => QA => Z Then go to the second line (numbers) LA1524 => LB1525 => LB1525.48 => LB1525.5 => LB1525.75 => LB1525.8 => LB1526 LA 1524 LB 1525 LB 1525.48 LB 1525.5 LB 1525.75 LB 1525.8 LB 1526 LB1525.48 comes before LB1525.5 and LB1525.75 because .48 is smaller than .5 which is smaller than .75. The third line is sorted first by the letter and then by the number, as a decimal, not a whole number. LB 1525 .C748 LB 1525 .C75 LB 1525 .C8 .C748 comes before => .C75 comes before => .C8 The last line of a call number is usually, but not always, date of publication or copyright, the copy or volume number, or other annotations. Editions are arranged by date or by the date and letters following the date. LB 1525 .C748 1979 LB 1525 .C748 1979b LB 1525 .C748 1979b Suppl. LB 1525 .C748 1980 LB 1525 .C748 1991 1979 comes before => 1979b => 1979b Suppl. => 1980 => 1991 Outline of the LC Call Number System Take A Library of Congress Call Number Quiz (by WSU)  Please see the Librarian at the Reference Desk for assistance. Refer also to the handout, "Library Lingo: a Guide to Library Terminology" for explanations of other terms used in the library. Back to Call Number Page Please see the Librarian at the Reference Desk for assistance. Refer also to the handout, "Library Lingo: a Guide to Library Terminology" for explanations of other terms used in the library. Stacks Page Dele's Home Page Please send comments and/or suggestions to Dele C. Ukwu at: dukwu@lbcc.edu Compiled by Dele C. Ukwu Department Head, Long Beach City College Library & Bibliographic Access Librarian 4901 East Carson Street Long Beach, CA 90808 updated 11/2002.

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