Library of Congress reading room

The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress. It is used by most research and academic libraries in the U.S. and several other countries — most public libraries and small academic libraries continue to use the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). It is not to be confused with the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Main Reading Room, Jefferson Building, The Library of Congress, August 12, 2002 Released under the GFDL File links The following pages link to this file: Library Library of Congress Library of Congress Classification User:Raul654/favpics/2002 DC trip Categories: GFDL images ... Main Reading Room, Jefferson Building, The Library of Congress, August 12, 2002 Released under the GFDL File links The following pages link to this file: Library Library of Congress Library of Congress Classification User:Raul654/favpics/2002 DC trip Categories: GFDL images ... A library classification is a system of coding and organizing library materials (books, serials, audiovisual materials, computer files, maps, manuscripts, realia) according to their subject. ... The Great Hall interior. ... The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System) is a system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876, and since greatly modified and expanded in the course of the twenty-two major revisions, the most recent in 2004. ... The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) comprise a thesaurus (in the information technology sense) of subject headings, maintained by the Library of Congress, for use in bibliographic records. ...

The classification was originally developed by Herbert Putnam with the advice of Charles Ammi Cutter in 1897 before he assumed the librarianship of Congress. It was influenced by Cutter Expansive Classification, DDC, and was designed for the use by the Library of Congress. The new system replaced a fixed location system developed by Thomas Jefferson. By the time of Putnam's departure from his post in 1939 all the classes except K (Law) and parts of B (Philosophy and Religion) were well developed. It has been criticized as lacking a sound theoretical basis; many of the classification decisions were driven by the particular practical needs of that library, rather than considerations of epistemological elegance. Herbert Putnam Herbert Putnam (September 20, 1861 – August 14, 1955) was Librarian of Congress. ... Charles Ammi Cutter (14 March 1837–6 September 1903) is an important figure in the history of American library science. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Cutter Expansive Classification system is a library classification system devised by Charles Ammi Cutter. ... This article is becoming very long. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that Meta-epistemology be merged into this article or section. ...

Although it divides subjects into broad categories, it is essentially enumerative in nature. It provides a guide to the books actually in the library, not a classification of the world. This article needs cleanup. ...

The National Library of Medicine classification system (NLM) uses unused letters W and QS-QZ. Some libraries use NLM in conjunction with LCC, eschewing LCC's R (Medicine). The National Library of Medicine (NLM) classification system is a library indexing system covering the fields of medicine and preclinical basic sciences. ...

The system

Letter classes I, O, W, X and Y are not in standard use. Class A: General Works is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class C: Auxiliary Sciences of History is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class D: History, General and Old World is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class H: Social sciences is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class J: Political science is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class K: Law is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class M: Music is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class N: Fine Arts is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class P: Language and Literature is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class Q: Science is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class R: Medicine is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class T: Technology is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class U: Military science is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class V: Naval science is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ... Class Z: Bibliography, Library science, Information resources is a classification used by the Library of Congress classification system. ...

See also

• Comparison of Dewey and Library of Congress subject classification
• Chinese Library Classification
• Harvard-Yenching Classification

This is a comparison chart showing how the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress organize materials by subject for the purpose of assigning call numbers. ... The Chinese Library Classification (CLC), also known as Classification for Chinese Libraries (CCL) is a library classification that is currently widely used in almost all of the libraries of primary and secondary schools, academic institutions, colleges, universities as well as public libraries throughout Mainland China in the Peoples Republic... Alfred Kaiming Chiu (1898-1977) was a pioneer of establishing a library classification system for Chinese language materials in the United States of America. ...

External links

• Library of Congress Cataloging home page
• Classification outline
• How to read LCC call numbers