Library of Congress call numbers
Explaining LC call numbers
To organize books on the shelves, the library uses Library of Congress (or LC) call numbers, which have letters and numbers. Books on similar topics are shelved together.
- Broad classes are identified by a single letter (P=Language and literature)
- Subclasses by combinations of letters (PR=English literature)
- Subtopics by numbers (Shakespeare=PR 2750 - PR 3112; Hamlet=PR 2807)
- The complete call number appears after the location of the item in the library record, for example:
- A more detailed listing of the system can be found on the Library of Congress site.
Finding LC call numbers
The library uses Library of Congress (or LC) call numbers, which have letters and numbers. Books on similar topics are shelved together. Here is how to find HM1091 .B47:
- First, find the letter(s). Single letters come before double: H, HB, HM
On the Waterloo Campus, call numbers are located on a number of different floors. For example, HM is located on the 6th floor
- Next, find the number: Numbers start at 1 and follow in numerical order, so look for 1,091.
- Last, look at the second letter/number. Find the letter first, then the number, which is read like a decimal: .B4, .B41, .B452 all come before .B5
Call number range locations
Visit the Waterloo Library floor plans for more information.
Government documents call numbers (CODOC)
Government Document call numbers are made up of codes that classify documents by country and by departments within countries.
| Call number section | Example call number 1:
CA1 BS57 C003 |
Example call number 2:
CA2ON NR403 80P15 |
|---|---|---|
| Country |
CA – Canada |
CA – Canada |
| Level of Government |
1 – Federal |
2 – Provincial |
| Province/State |
ON – Ontario |
|
| Dept./Agency |
BS – Statistics Canada(was Bureau of Statistics) |
NR – Natural Resources |
| Dept. Subdivision |
57 |
403 |
| Date of Publication |
80 (ie 1980) |
|
| Title Indicator (monographs) |
P15 |
|
| Title Indicator (serials) |
C003 |
CODOC Shelving Tips
Tip #1
Government documents are shelved by call number, alpha-numerically from left to right. Write out the call number on two lines. For monographs, the second line starts with the date code:
CA2ON NR403 80P15
should be
CA2ON NR403 80P15
For serials and ongoing publications such as annual reports, dates are not given and so the second line starts with the letter/number code for the title.
CA1 BS57 C003
should be
CA1 BS57 C003
Tip #2
Serials are shelved before monographs within each department and agency.
CA1 DA A53 1980/81
comes before
CA1 DA 88 L55
Tip #3
The numbers on line one are whole numbers. The numbers on line two that are a part of the letter/number code are not.
On line one, the number sequence is determined by the entire number as shown, but also note that a blank space following the Dept/Agency code is counted as a zero.
CA1 DA_
comes before
CA1 DA4
which comes before
CA1 DA35
On line two, the number sequence is determined by comparing the digits within the number.
Sequence:
14, 350, 4
would read as
140, 350, 400
CA1 DA35 L435
comes before
CA1 DA35 88 L55