Call Numbers

An 050 field may be altered to add a date to the end of it or to correct faulty punctuation. Any changes to the class number or cutter must be entered into an 090 field. The 050 field classification may be altered only if:

• We have a local CWAN or accession number for the material or
•  The assigned 050 is incorrect based on the main subject heading for the material. Please limit these changes to obvious errors. We don't have the staff or resources to check the accuracy of the 050 field for each title cataloged.

Please use the following guidelines for interpreting field indicators:

1st Indicator  Existence in LC collection
		No information provided
0		Item is in LC
1		Item is not in LC
2nd Indicator  Source of call number
		No information provided
0		Assigned by LC
4		Assigned by agency other than LC

Library of Congress (DLC) call numbers will have a 2nd indicator of  0
Call numbers assigned by other libraries entered in an 050 will have a 2nd indicator of 4

Bibliographic copy may contain two 050 fields. Retain the 050 field assigned by the Library of Congress (2nd indicator 0) and delete the 050 field assigned by another agency (2nd indicator 4).

Abbreviation and Enumeration

• CWAN titles should be assigned call numbers with enumeration matching the piece numbers on the series title page of the item. The series title page usually precedes the title page for the individual work.
  
  
• Enumeration for volumes that are relabeled for any reason should be changed to meet the current abbreviation standards. Write the new enumeration in the back of the book, enter it into the 866 ‡a and into the Item record enumeration box.

• We will use the current list of abbreviations for any piece level indications when an item comes to Resource Management for maintenance and the corrective action requires that the piece go to processing for relabel. The bibliographic and holding record should be edited to reflect the updated call number. The holding record printout inserted in the book for the processor should reflect the updated call number.         

AV

Bibliographic records for AV items should contain an 090 (subject classification) and an 099 (actual call number to be placed on the material)

AV items are assigned accession numbers. Items with multiple copies in multiple locations will be assigned the same accession number when possible.
  

Capitalization

Capitalization in the 090 or 050: Piece level abbreviations and “lettered” parts in the call number field are entered in all lower case letters. Letters following the date in the call number are to be lower case. Title cutters for children’s literature and similar cases are entered with the initial letter capitalized and others lower case.

Classification

• Class numbers aren’t yet in the schedules for the most recently published authors and correct placement of these items in the collection is a priority. We will relabel items and correct the records for items that have been assigned an incorrect class number for the author when initially cataloged.

• DLC and other libraries have been assigning some call numbers as if the titles were part of a CWAN set. We should accept the 2^nd class number offered, move the information to an 090 field and add the appropriate cutter. Only CWAN sets should have enumeration in the call number field. If these records (DLC or non-DLC) lack the appropriate subject headings to correspond with the 2^nd class number, then it is necessary to add appropriate subject headings to the bibliographic record. Staff may use Classweb to determine which subject headings to add or consult the cataloging staff assistant for assistance.

Dates

The date in the fixed field, at the end of the call number and in the 260 field must be identical for most material. One exception to this rule is that conference dates are accepted for the call number instead of the publication date.

Dates and matching  for retro edits

When working with older items from the stacks that are in need of record maintenance for any reason, we must make sure that we edit the matching bibliographic record. Through some project work, I’ve noticed an interesting occurrence that has made matching records in Voyager to books in the collection more difficult. Publication dates have been added to the bibliographic record call number field for many older volumes. This change was not reflected on the book in many cases. If the publication date in the book and the date added to the call number match, then you can assume that the record is for the book in hand.

If we are not withdrawing the book and there is no other reason to relabel it, please remove the date from the call number field in the bibliographic and holding records. The label on the spine and the MFHD should contain the same call number information.

Dates- work letters following

The final element in the call number is almost always the year of publication. There are some cases in which it is necessary to add a work letter following the date to distinguish the work you are cataloging from other similar works.

A Summary of LC Practice- taken from MIT’s Cataloging Web site: http://macfadden.mit.edu:9500/colserv/cat/monocat/worklet.htm

B & C: LC uses work letter "b" for editions; that is, same author and title, appearing in the same class, with the same cutter number assigned, published in the same year. The work letter "c" may also be used for expansion if there are more than 2 editions of the same work in the same year. This happens often in literature, with, for example, a New York imprint and a London imprint; also, with a large print edition published in the same year as the regular edition.

The author classification for "selected works" also uses the work letter "b" for 2nd editions in the same year. The author classification for "collected works" has separate cutters for type of work and does not use the work letters.

A: LC uses the work letter "a" for :

• Photocopies or "true" facsmiles. They use the same call number as the original work, with the date of the original work, plus the work letter "a", so that the photocopy or facsimile will shelve directly next to the original work.
• "Dump numbers". This term refers most often to a cutter used in which no way represents the main entry. An example is the biography table, where A3 represents an autobiography classed in an individual biography number. If two autobiographies by the same person were published in the same year, LC uses the "a' to distinguish them (e.g., .K56 A3 1997 ; .K56 .A3 1997a)
• N class: exhibition catalogs or collections of an artist. When two of either occur in the same year, LC's practice is to consult the .xA4 part of the table for special artists on the first cutter; the second work published in the same year would take work letter "a" tacked onto the date (e.g. .V36.A4 1996; .V36.A4 1996a).
• Works entered under a corporate body (110). The first work published in a particular year gets that year added to the call number; subsequent works published in the same year get work letters starting with "a" (usually serial).
• Works entered under a conference or congress (111, or sometimes 110). If a date is present in the heading, LC uses that date in the call number; subsequent works with the same heading get the same date with work letter starting with "a" (usually serial).

NOTE: LC doesn't "reserve" the work letter "a" in these situations. In these cases, they don't keep editions together, nor does LC use translation numbers or selection numbers, etc.

Other Work letters and usage

• “p”; To distinguish between a score and set of parts for the same work with

identical cutters, add "p" to the date of publication in the call number

for the set of parts (e.g., M452.B455 1965p).

• "x"; not generally used by LC, this "trailing x" is most often used by other institutions to distinguish their call number from an LC call number, and is most often found tacked onto the cutter rather than the date; early in the NCCP project, libraries like Harvard used trailing x's.
• “z”; when a date in the 260 field is incomplete, such as 19--, add the date as 1900z. If yet another publication arrives of the same work with the same incomplete date, that will become 1900za. For an uncertain decade of publication in the 260, such as 195-, use the form 1950z.
• "z"; is also used for commentaries on a specific conference, where the name of the conference is usually the first subject heading assigned. The call number consists of a class number, a cutter number for the conference, the date of the conference (from the conference heading), and work letters starting with "z" letters such as "za, "zb", and so on).
• Serials entered under a corporate body or conference. Here, the first work received would take work letter "a" tacked onto the cutter; subsequent works would take letters "b", "c", and so on.
• Multiple work letters. In certain exceptional cases, LC will use all 26 letters tacked onto the date. The best example of this is class HA201 for the census of the United States. This class is subarranged by the date of the census, but with no cutters. They use "aa", "ab", and so on as needed.

Most of the above practices are documented in the Subject Cataloging Manual: Shelflisting. Memos consulted were : G140-Corporate Bodies; G230-Conferences, Congresses, Metting, Etc.; G240-Societies; also, see the Preferred shelflist Order in G60-Call Numbers.

 

LC Cutter Tables

Basic

(for others, see P Class cutters, Biography cutters, or Translation cutters)

 

(1)  After initial vowels

     for the second letter:           b  d  l-m  n  p  r  s-t  u-y

     use number:                         2  3   4   5  6  7   8    9

(2)  After initial letter S

     for the second letter:           a  ch  e  h-i  m-p  t  u  w-z

      use number:                        2   3  4   5    6     7  8   9

(3)  After initial letters Qu

     for the second letter:           a  e  i   o  r   t  y

      use number:                       3  4  5  6  7  8  9

 

     For initial letters Qa-Qt, use:  2-29

 

(4)  After other initial consonants

     for the second letter:           a  e  i   o  r   u  y

     use number:                        3  4  5  6  7  8  9

 

(5)  For expansion

     for the letter:              a-d  e-h  i-l  m-o  p-s  t-v  w-z

     use number:                   3    4    5    6     7      8     9

Numbers go in A12-A19. (Local note: LC gives no specific guidelines for the exact application of this area of the cutter tables. Our local practice is to follow this cutter range for all titles beginning with a number. The application will differ for each class (subject). The goal is to place the titles in numeric order while allowing room for expansion for future numeric titles in that specific class area. Ask the staff assistant or catalog librarian for assistance in assigning these cutters as needed.)

No cutter

Call numbers with no cutter, but including a year should be entered into the 852 field of the Holdings record screen in Voyager as follows:   JK1405 1999

There is one space between the classification number and the date.

 

Obsolete

We will no longer use REF DESK as a call number for items to be shelved there. Voyager is capable of reflecting this location in the 852 ‡b field. All items cataloged for the reference desk should be set for REFDESK location in the MFHD and have an 049 field prefix of REF.

Punctuation (LC call numbers)

The first cutter of an LC format call number is the only element of  a call number which requires a deciaml preceding it. The first cutter is preceded by a decimal regardless of the field and subfield placement. The second cutter is not punctuated. Call numbers with no cutter require no punctuation for the basic call number.

Call numbers extended by more than one element beyond the basic call number require commas separating the elements.

Please note the punctuation in the examples below:

1 cutter:
    PN37 ‡b .B29

2 cutters:
    PN22.P32 ‡b C48 1821

No cutter:
    JK1405 ‡b 1999

Extended by one element beyond the basic call number (date):

    KF8961 ‡b .N49 2007

Extended by two elements beyond the basic call number (comma required):

     T61 ‡b .A561 56th, 2007

Reclassification

All books arriving for cataloging with call numbers of PZ1, PZ3, and PZ4 should be reclassified to their subject area (PS, etc.). Other PZ’s can remain.

Bibliographies arriving for cataloging with call numbers beginning with Z1000 and above will be reclassified to fall into their subject area. Do not reclassify Z1000 titles whose primary subject field (650) contains "book" or "books." 

Retaining

It is necessary to retain call number fields 050, 086, 090, and 099. Any other call number fields may be stricken from the printout if removing the fields will increase the clarity  of the information on the record.

Deleting these extra fields is permissible, but not required.

699 (Added class number)

* These are additional classification numbers and are unnecessary. Delete them from printouts.