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Government Publications

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Gov Pubs Call Numbers
Here are some quick tips for recognizing the call numbers found in Government Publications!
  • LIBRARY OF CONGRESS or LC CALL NUMBERS:
    (Shelving location is GovPub Stacks)

    HJ
    8899
    W672
    2008
    HJ: The first line of the call number is alphabetic. On the shelves, read the LC call numbers first in alphabetical order. 8899: The second line is numeric. Read these as whole numbers as you are looking for its place on the shelves.
    W672: Read the third line first alphabetically, then numerically. Read the number as a decimal (as though there were an invisible decimal point between the letter and the number, i.e., W.672, so that the numeric part is .672). Any further alpha-numeric lines in the call number should be read in this way also. This is the "cutter" part of the call number.
    2008: This number represents the year, usually the year of publication.

    In the catalog, this number appears as:
    HJ8899 .W672 2008

    Here are some further examples:

    G
    156.5
    T3
    T68
    1998

    HA
    201
    1990
    A57
    v.23
    pt.2

    G155
    A1
    158
    1973

    HC
    59.3
    L588
    2009

    In the example above, the "3" is also filed as a decimal number, as is the"L588." In the catalog, the call number appears as:
    HC59.3 .L588 2009

    The only punctuation in an LC call number would be a) the period in the number on the second line, or b) the period in the volume and part number series marking. The first line of the call number is now always a letter. The old way of marking LC call numbers included a number in the first line and is seen above in example no.3. LC call numbers usually include a publication year.

    Remember, for LC call numbers, the first number is a whole number. The next numbers, which follow the period, (decimal point), and/or letters (e.g. A57 and W672) are cutter numbers. The decimal numbers are implied (implied because we leave the decimal point out when labelling documents)--and they are filed as decimal numbers on the shelf. Years are filed as whole numbers.


  • CANADIAN CATALOGUE NUMBERS:
    (Shelving location is GovPub Canada Stacks)

    There are two call number systems used for Canadian documents: (1)Canadian Catalogue numbers and (2)cuttered numbers. Canadian catalogue numbers should be written on one line, though they are sometimes written on two lines if labeling space is limited. They may contain slashes, as U.N. (United Nations) Official Numbers do, but Canadian documents are fairly recognizable--they usually have Canada printed as the author somewhere on the cover, "Canada Statistics", the CS numbers, being the most prevalent example.

    Note: the cutter numbers can be easily confused with International Cutters. It is also important to note that for Canadian documents which are cuttered (e.g., CAN Ag3 B392), those numbers which follow letters are decimal numbers, not whole numbers. All other numbers in both kinds of Canadian call numbers are whole numbers.

    Examples:

    CS65-122

    T32-57/1985E

    M91-7/
    135-1990

    CAN
    Ag3
    B392


  • INTERNATIONAL CALL NUMBERS (International Governmental Organizations non-official numbers):
    (Shelving location is GovPub International Stacks)

    All International Cutter numbers usually consist of a letter combination representing the international agency in the top line; periods and slashes are the only punctuation used. In this numbering system, too, it is important to note that numbers which follow letters are decimal numbers, not whole numbers.

    International numbers with slashes are not necessarily UN official symbols. These can be difficult to distinguish. And, the number written on the publication will be different than the number printed on the publication--the handwritten number may include the international organization's acronym in bracketts (example: [FAO]/C/).
    Some examples of International Governmental Organizations are:
    • INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION
    • ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
    • INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION
    • FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION

    Examples of international call numbers:

    ILO
    A411
    1976

    ADB
    C832
    C14
    1998

    IMO
    86.01

    FAO
    P22

    FAO/C/COM/2/DEF

    IAEA/PI/A69E

    UNESCO
    A91
    1958

    UNOPI
    no.1725


  • UNITED NATIONS (U.N.) OFFICIAL SYMBOLS:
    (Shelving location is GovPub U.N. Stacks)

    UN official symbols are used for UN official documents only. They are written on one line. They have slashes and periods for punctuation. The call number is printed on the publication but is usually handwritten on the publication as well. All the numbers are whole numbers. Examples:

    E/ESCWA/TECH/1999/4

    A/AC.96/SR.535

    ID/IDB.21/12

    UNCTAD/ITCD/TSB/9

    ST/ESCAP/376

    TD(X)/RT.1/1


  • SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS (SuDoc) CALL NUMBERS:
    (Shelving location is GovPub U.S. Stacks)

    SuDoc numbers have a letter and number combination before the first period, followed by a colon. Slashes are also used as punctuation. See SuDocs Filing Rules for a complete explanation of this numbering system.

    Note: in the past, the colon was implied rather than actually written on a majority of our documents. The call number was written on two lines, the line break occurring where the colon would be. We are now including the colon when we write SuDoc numbers on documents or magafile boxes.

    Examples:

    S 1.128:
    N 88/4/991

    A 1.76:669/995




    Last modified: Wednesday August 12 2009