EDUC 765

Trends and Issues in Instructional Design

READING LoC CALL NUMBERS

(The following is a sample of the instructional materials that will be used in this project.)

SHORT HISTORY

The Library of Congress (LoC) classification system was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries to organize the book collections of the LoC. The system was eventually adopted by large academic libraries, and it is now used around the world. (Source)

STRUCTURE

The LoC system divides all knowledge into 21 classes; each represented by a letter of the alphabet. Each class is then further divided into subclasses, and each subclass includes a loosely hierarchical arrangement of the topics it covers, going from general to the more specific. Relationships among the topics are similar to an outline. (Source)

NOTE

Though the LoC system intends to “divide knowledge,” it does not have a theoretical basis. Instead, categories and subjects are divided in an enumerative manner for practical needs. In short, the classes and subclasses in the system are only meant to be used as a guide to the books in a collection, not the collective knowledge of the world.

HOW TO READ THEM

PR
1234
.R23
.C30
2008

Simple Rules

  • Words like REF or OVERSIZE at the beginning represent the item’s collection.
  • Read call numbers from Left to Right, Top to Bottom, and line by line.
  • First line is read alphabetically letter by letter
  • Second line as whole numbers: 1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 1001
  • Third line is a combination of letters and numbers
    • Read letter alphabetically and numbers as decimals
    • Note that all 1’s will come before all 2’s and so on (For example, .R226 will come before .R35)
  • Fourth line, usually the year of publication
  • Five or more lines: Use same rules as third line

Extra Hints

  • First two lines describe the subject of the book and are sometimes included in on the first line
  • Third line often represents the author’s last name initial
  • Letters before numbers
  • Nothing comes before something (For example, CR 10 .R26 comes before CR 23 .R26 2013)

ACTIVITY: SORT THE FOLLOWING CALL NUMBERS

PR
123
.D56
2016

PQ
1256
.D56
2016

PR
123
.D56
.R23

PR
123
.D534
2016

PQ
1256
.D555
2016

PR
123
.D56