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Julie Feighery
“Bibliographic systems have traditionally provided guidance for users. An example is the guidance provided by a classification used to order books that are stored on the shelves of a library. Walking through the library stacks (a microcosm of the bibliographic universe) and browsing, a user may suddenly come across just the right book and credit this luck to serendipity. But such a finding would be serendipitous only if the books were shelved in random order, whereas in fact they are ordered according to a rigorous system of semantic relationships, which like an invisible hand guides the seeker to his “lucky” find.” (Svenonius p. 19)
How Libraries Organize Materials
There are two main systems that libraries use to organize materials on the shelves: the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and the Library of Congress Classification (LCC, sometimes also informally called LC or LOC). Both classification systems provide a systematic way for the libraries to keep their materials organized.
Which classification system a library uses depends on local preferences and practices, but in general: academic and research libraries typically use the Library of Congress Classification, while public libraries tend to use the Dewey Decimal Classification. Since IU (and most colleges) use the LC system, that is what we will focus on here.
Library of Congress Classification (LCC)
How It Works
The Library of Congress Classification system (LCC) strives to divide all the world’s knowledge into 21 topical areas and groups them alphanumerically. That is, they first assign a topic area to a letter, and then divide that topic up by numbers. Created by the U.S. Library of Congress to meet the needs of its collection, the first outline of the LCC was released in 1904 (“Library of Congress Classification”).
Library of Congress Classification
A: General Works
B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
C: Auxiliary Sciences of History
D: World History
E: History of the Americas
F: History of the Americas
G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation
H: Social Sciences
J: Political Science
K: Law
L: Education
M: Music
N: Fine Arts
P: Language and Literature
Q: Science
R: Medicine
S: Agriculture
T: Technology
U: Military Science
V: Naval Science
Z: Bibliography, Library Science, Information Resources
The LCC then adds numbers after each letter to get more specific within each topic area. Our example from before has the call number E203.A5725. This call number falls within the range E201–298, which is reserved for works about the American Revolution.
How to Find a Book on the Shelf
Please watch this video explanation [1:49], which demonstrates the different elements of LCC call numbers and how they are ordered on a library shelf:
Note: This video has open captions. You may also use the text transcript if you prefer to read.
Sources
“How Libraries Organize Materials” & “Library of Congress Classification” from Introduction to College Research Copyright © by Walter D. Butler; Aloha Sargent; and Kelsey Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
“Library of Congress Classification.” Librarianship Studies & Information Technology, 23 June 2020.
“Understanding Call Numbers (Research Minutes).” YouTube, uploaded by Ryerson University Library & Archives, 14 Jan. 2011.
