The document compares and contrasts the Library of Congress (LC) classification system with the local classification system used by the University of Sussex Library. It provides details on how call numbers are structured in the LC system using alphanumeric codes to group books by subject and unique cutter numbers. It then gives examples of how specific books are classified under both the LC and Sussex systems. It notes limitations of the Sussex system in providing truly unique call numbers and discusses challenges of future-proofing and reclassification.

1. University of Sussex Library
Classification
Library of Congress
versus
University of Sussex ‘Local’
Classification

2. 60/40
http://tinyurl.com/p28vck2

3. LC
 An alphanumeric system
 Call numbers serve to group books of the same
subject together
 Every Call number has at least two parts:
 the Class number (or classmark) and the
 Cutter number (or shelfmark)

4. LC Call numbers
 The first part of the Call number – first letters, first line
of numbers (and sometimes a subject subdivision Cutter
number), indicate the subject of the book
 The second element is referred to as the Cutter number
(named after Charles Ammi Cutter who developed the
Cutter Expansive Classification scheme in the late 19th
century) and is determined by using the initial letter of
the author’s surname or the first letter of the subject
followed by a numeric rendering of the subsequent
letters arrived at using the LC Cutter table:
http://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/053/table.html

5. Cutter numbers
 The point of the Cutter number system is that it allows
for infinite expansion of the Call number decimal and
will always give an individual book a unique shelf
location
 It was developed by the LC to reflect its own collections
and being a Copyright library has a huge range of stock.
The Cutter table must be used as a guide and numbers
for individual libraries must reflect the alphanumeric
range of the individual collections in order to maintain
unique shelf locations

6. Volume and copy numbers - LC
 Sometimes a Call number will contain a volume
number, labelled v.1, v.2, etc. These are shelved in
whole number numerical order within the set of
books
 A Call number will contain a copy number if there
are multiple copies of the same book on the
shelf, labelled c.1, c.2, etc. These are shelved in whole
number order

7. British Horror Cinema - LC
 The book: British Horror Cinema, edited by Steve
Chibnall and Julian Petley has the LC Call number :
PN
1995 = Drama—Motion pictures—Other special topics, A-Z
.9
.H6 = Cutter number for the subject ‘Horror’
B65 = Cutter number for the title ‘British’
2001 = Date of publication

8. British Horror Cinema - Sussex
PN
1995 = Drama—Motion pictures—Other special topics, A-Z
.9
.H6 = Cutter number for the subject ‘Horror’
BRI = Verbal extension (VE) for the title ‘British’

9. Cloud Atlas - LC
 The novel: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell has the LC
Call number :
PR
6063 = English literature—1961-2000—Individual authors—M
.I83 = Cutter number for Mitchell
C46 = Cutter number for the title Cloud
2004 = Date of publication

10. Cloud Atlas - Sussex
PF = English literature – individual authors
96904 = unique author number based on DoB
CLO = First 3 letters of the title

11. Sussex Sociology Classes
 Women, feminist identity and society in the
1980's, edited by Myriam Diaz-Diocaretz and Iris M.
Zavala is classified:
HC = Social structure
6400 = Status relations between the sexes, feminism
WOM = First 3 letters of the title, ‘Women’

12. Sussex Sociology Classes
 Female and male in West Africa, edited by Christine
Oppong is classified:
HC = Social structure
6410 = Status relations between the sexes, feminism (continentally subdivided)
(FEM) = First 3 letters of the title ‘Female’ (bracketed)

13. Sussex Sociology Classes
 The village woman in Ghana by Jette Bukh is
classified:
HC = Social structure
6410 = Status relations between the sexes, feminism (continentally subdivided)
GHA = 3-letter country code for ‘Ghana’
(BUK) = First 3 letters of the author’s surname ‘Bukh’ (bracketed)

14. Sussex Sociology Classes
So by using continental subdivision we can at least
space up the Call numbers as such:
HC
6400
WOM
HC
6410
(FEM)
HC
6410
GHA
(BUK)
But it still goes nowhere near to giving an individual
title a unique Call number leading to retrieval difficulty

15. Sussex Literature Classes
 Limitations of Sussex classification scheme v. LC?
 Future-proofing
 Reclassification

16. Contextualising the Classification process at Sussex
Orders for new items entered (via ISBN) on website of online supplier
Cataloguing team catalogue and classify each item before sending
completed file to Acquisitions
Acquisitions team verify fund codes etc. and send orders from the
online shopping cart to our book supplier who, via an EDI process,
supplies the bibliographic data to our LMS server overnight
Following morning orders are checked on our LMS and sent to book
supplier who will normally fulfill orders and supply ‘shelf-ready’
within 2 weeks