How to read Library of Congress Call numbers
Library of Congress call numbers can be confusing since
they frequently contain a letter or letters followed by whole numbers,
and then a letter followed by decimal numbers. In reading a call number,
begin at the top line and read from left to right; then proceed to the
next line reading again from left to right as if reading a book.
Starting with the letter(s) at the top left of the call number books
are ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY:
Books having the same letter(s) on the top line are all
shelved together by the number group that follows the letter(s). THESE
NUMBERS ARE ARRANGED NUMERICALLY, NOT DECIMALLY:
F F F F F F F
1 21 75 101 175 200 2113
When both the letter(s) and the number group that follows are the
same, then books are shelved ALPHABETICALLY by the
next letter:
QM QM QM QM QM QM QM
23 23 23 23 23 23 23
.A .B .C .D .E .F .G
Books which are identical in first letter(s), in the number group
that follows, and in the second letter, are then shelved by the next
number group. THESE NUMBERS ARE ARRANGED DECIMALLY,
NOT NUMERICALLY:
QM QM QM QM QM QM QM
23 23 23 23 23 23 23
.E6543 .E778 .E88 .E9 .E99 .E995 .E999
Oftentimes a call number will have a fourth line which contains a
letter and a number or numbers. THE LETTER IN THIS LINE IS
ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY, WHILE THE NUMBER(S) IS/(ARE) ARRANGED
DECIMALLY.
QM QM QM QM QM QM QM
23 23 23 23 23 23 23
.E6543 .E778 .E88 .E9 .E99 .E995 .E999
A25 C6 F88 F885 F9 H92 K2
Note: The date of an edition frequently can be determined by its
inclusion in the call number. However, the most accurate way of
determining the edition date is to consult the information given in the
preliminary pages of a particular volume.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to Gorgas Library, University of
Alabama, Tuscaloosa, for granting permission to use this information
developed at their institution.
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