Library of Congress Classification

1. The library uses Library of Congress to classify its materials rather than Dewey. • In this tutorial, you will learn: • - What is the Library of Congress classification, • - Why you should understand it, • - What is a call number, and • How to read call numbers. • To navigate, use the buttons in the lower right corner. They will take you to the next slide, back to the previous slide, or back to the tutorial. Library of Congress Classification Created by V. McAsey 2006Updated March 2008

2. Library of Congress, unlike Dewey, uses letters to represent its categories. For example, L represents education and Q is sciences. The 21 core categories are listed to the left. Categories

3. P – Philology. Linguistics. PK – Indo-Iranian languages and literature PA – Greek & Italian languages, literature. PL – East Asian, Africa, Oceania … PB – Modern languages. Celtic languages. PM – Hyperborean, Indian, … PC – Romanic languages PN – Literature (general) PD – Germanic & Scandinavian languages PQ – French, Italian, Spanish … literature PE – English Language PR – English literature PF – West Germanic languages PS – American literature PG – Slavic, Baltic, Albanian languages PT – German, Dutch, … literature PH – Uralic languages. Basque languages. PZ – Fictional and Juvenile belle lettres PJ – Oriental languages and literature B – Philosophy (general) BP – Islam. Baha'ism. … BC – Logic BQ – Buddhism BD – Speculative philosophy BR – Christianity BF – Psychology. … BS – Bible BH – Aesthetics BT – Doctrinal theology BJ – Ethics. Social usages. Etiquette. BV – Practical theology BL – Religion. Mythology. Rationalism. BX – Christian denominations BM – Judaism The categories are further narrowed to subdivisions. Subdivions are represented by one or two letters added to the core letter. Subdivisions

4. You may be wondering why you need to know this. Well, there are two main reasons why it will help you. • 1) Browsing the collection may be quicker than searching the online library category. • For example, if you need a reference book to define air pollution, it is much easier to go to the GE – Environmental Sciences section in the reference collection rather than search the catalog.Or, if you need a copy of the New Testament, browsing the BS – Bibles is faster than scanning the 167 results from a search in the catalog for “New Testament.” • Also sometimes browsing will locate a book that would not appear in a search in the catalog. Browsing

5. 2) Knowing that the letters represent a specfic area will help you find a book in the collection. • Remember that circulating books: A – H are on the lower level, • J – L are on the main level, and • M – Z are on upper level. • Reference books are located in the Reference Room. • This pointleads us to how to read a call number. Locating

6. A unique call number is assigned to every catalogued item. It determines the location of a book within the collection; it also provides you with some information about the book. Thus, being able to read a call number will speed up the time needed to find a book in the stacks. • For our discussion on call numbers we will use the book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography, which has the following call number: What is in a Call Number? PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996

7. For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography The first letter in a call number represents one of the 21 core categories. So we know that the topic of the book involves “language and literature.” PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Call Number - Category

8. P – Philology. Linguistics. PK – Indo-Iranian languages and literature PA – Greek & Italian languages, literature. PL – East Asian, Africa, Oceania … PB – Modern languages. Celtic languages. PM – Hyperborean, Indian, … PC – Romanic languages PN – Literature (general) PD – Germanic & Scandinavian languages PQ – French, Italian, Spanish … literature PE – English Language PR – English literature PF – West Germanic languages PS – American literature PG – Slavic, Baltic, Albanian languages PT – German, Dutch, … literature PH – Uralic languages. Basque languages. PZ – Fictional and Juvenile belle lettres PJ – Oriental languages and literature • For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography Compare the first line to the category’s subdivisions. Now we know that the book’s topic is not only “language and literature” it is more specifically “American literature.” PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Call Number - Subdivision

9. For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography An interesting feature (or possibly a bothersome feature) of information is that it rarely limits itself to focusing only on one definite category or discipline. Look at the title of the book. What other categories or disciplines could be used for the book? PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Information … PS – American literature …

10. … CT - Biography … … NC – Drawing. … Illustration. … … PS – American literature … • For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography Although “American literature” is the best category for the book, two other possibilities are “biography” and “illustration.” PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 So what does this mean? It means your research will likely involve various disciplines that relate to your topic. Other Disciplines Topics and research often permeate throughout disciplines! Your research may not be confined to only one discipline.

11. For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 The numbers on the second line further define the book’s subject matter and its location to similar books on that topic, which assists in the success of browsing shelves. Call Number – 2nd Line

12. For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography The letter and number combinations after the decimal point represents the book’s cutter number. PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 A cutter number is a coded representation of the author’s last name and/or the book’s title. It further groups similar books together. Call Number – 3rd & 4th Lines

13. For book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel: A Biography Finally, a call number may have the publication year as the last line. This is a quick way to determine the currency of the information and if it is current enough for your research. PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Call Number - Year

14. Now that you know about the parts of a call number. You need to know how to read it so that you may locate the item in the stacks. PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Reading a Call Number

15. Read the first line in alphabetical order. NX P PF PR PS PT PZ The book will be after the PR books but before the PT books. PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Reading a Call Number – 1st Line

16. Read the second line in whole numbers. 3 25.65 25.8 3512 3513 3513.15 PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Reading a Call Number – 2nd Line

17. For the letter and number combinations (cutter numbers) after the decimal point, read the letters in alphabetical order and the numbers as decimals. .E1 D7 .E19 A3 .E2 Z785 .E2 Z7859 PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Reading a Call Number – 3rd & 4th Lines If it is helpful, add zeros to the end of the numbers to figure out their placement: .E10 D7 .E19 A3 .E20 Z7850 .E20 Z7859

18. Read the publication year, if present, in chronological order. 1977 1993 1996 2002 PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 Reading a Call Number – 5th Line

19. Therefore, the book’s call number will reside between the following call numbers. PR 25.8 .E1 D7 1977 PS 3512 .A9 PS 3513 .E2 Z5925 2000 PS 3513 .E2 Z785 1996 PS 3513 .E25 H47 PS 3513.1 .E3 2004 PT 1 .G55 1932 Reading a Call Number - Order

20. You have now completed the tutorial for Library of Congress call numbers. • If you have any questions, please contact a librarian. Library Contact Directory Conclusion