The+Library+of+Congress+Classification+System


 * THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM**

Books in this library are arranged on the shelves according to the Library of Congress Classification system. The LC system groups books into broad subject categories which are identified by additional letters. The specific subject of the book is defined by the number following the first letter or letters. Look closely at the call numbers of these two books:

.B934 || Burnett, Ben G Political forces in Latin America. 1968. || .S428 || Scott, Robert Edwin Mexican government in transition. Rev. ed. 1964 ||
 * JL952
 * JL1231

The J classification includes books about political science. JL is the subdivision for books about political science of the Americas outside of the United States. JL950 to JL979 are numbers reserved for the political science of Latin America in general. JL1200 to JL1299 are reserved for the political science of Mexico.

Following the initial combination of one or more letters with a number, you will usually find a second (or third) line composed of a single capital letter followed by one or more digits. This is used to represent the author’s name and is called the Cutter number. In the example above, .B934 stands for Burnett and .S428 stands for Scott. Note that the period which introduced the second line is a decimal point and this number is read as a DECIMAL. (The number on the top line is a WHOLE NUMBER.)

In cases where a book has been republished in a new or revised edition, the new date of publication is added at the end of the call number to distinguish it from other editions of the same book. (See the call number for the book “Scott” listed previously.)

**FINDING A BOOK WITH A LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CALL NUMBER** Books are arranged on the shelves first by the letter or letters on the top line of the call number:
 * < C91 ||< D24 ||< DA3 ||< DK724 ||< HS17 ||

Note that the single letter D preceded DA. Within the group of books with the same letter or letters, the numbers following the letters are arranged in ascending numerical order, i.e., from the smallest to largest:


 * = D9 ||= D81 ||= D724 ||= DA68 ||= DA527 ||

Bear in mind that the numbers on the top line are WHOLE numbers, not decimals.

When several books have the same top line (because they are all on the same subject), they are then arranged by the second line, first alphabetically, if this line begins with a letter, next by the decimal number following the letters:

.L8 ||= HT2783 .R446 ||= HT2783 .R74 ||
 * = HT2783

.R446 preceded .R74 because the **decimal** .446 is smaller than .74.

Sometimes the second line of a Library of Congress classification number will have a decimal number without a letter. These books will be shelved AFTER all the books that have the same top line AND which have second lines beginning with letters. Look at the following example:

.L8 ||= PS4528 .S97 ||= PS4528 .1 .A38 ||= PS4528 .1 .S37 ||= PS4528 .5 .G8 ||= PS452 .M6
 * = PS4528

|| Now here is a row of books with Library of Congress call numbers filed in correct order. This example combines all of the characteristics described above. CAUTION: As you compare all of the numbers, compare only first lines with first lines, second lines with second lines and so on.

.D3 ||= G22 .L81 ||= P86 .C14 .A28 ||= P128 .S54 1971 ||= P128 .5 ||= P863 .T78 ||= P863 .T78 ||
 * = E423

Now that you have learned how to locate books in the library, if you wish to borrow any material, you can check at the circulation desk for proper procedure.

3/14/2007