Subject Cataloging: Special Topics, Materials, Subdivisions, Etc.

Environmental Impact Statements Environmental impact statements and related publications should include subject headings which focus on the environmental aspects of a specific topic or topics.  The headings "Environmental impact statements" and "Environmental impact analysis" should only be used for works that discuss the methodology of the preparation of… Read More

Subject Cataloging: Name Headings as Subjects

For Congressional nomination hearings, the names of nominees for Federal offices are included as subject headings. LC's "rule of three" and "rule of four" apply when multiple nominees are the subject of a single hearing. If a hearing involves four or fewer nominees, the name of each nominee is included as a subject heading. If there are more than four nominees, only the… Read More

Subject Cataloging: Name vs. Subject Authority File

Overview The LC Authority File is comprised of two files: the LC Name Authority File (or the LC NACO file), and the LC Subject Authority File (or the LC SACO file). An important difference between Name Authorities (NACO) and Subject Authorities (SACO) is: NACO is done in real time, but SACO has to go through LC's Subject Approval process, which takes 3-4 months. … Read More

Monographic Series

This section addresses the establishment and structure of Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) classification numbers for monographic series titles. When classifying a monographic series, refer also to Class Stems and Continuing Resources. See especially the “Cuttering a Serial” section of the Continuing Resources chapter for guidance on short-term and… Read More

Classes by Publication Type

This section covers publications that receive special treatment by way of a word, an abbreviation, or other descriptive text that may be added to the end of the classification number. See Additions to Book Numbers for more general information about words and abbreviations in the suffix. In many cases, a catalog record will already include references to the… Read More

Additions to Book Numbers

Additions to book numbers may be numbers, words, or abbreviations. The guidelines presented here cover additions to book numbers in general terms. Many additions are specific to situations arising in series and serials classes. See the Monographic Series and Continuing Resources sections for more information. Dates Year Format The date (year)… Read More

Cutter Numbers

GPO generally uses a Cutter number as the book number when the publication being classed does not have a numerical designation. For more information on when to use a Cutter number for a continuing resource class, refer to the Monographic Series and Continuing Resources chapters. Cutter Table and Its Use C.A. Cutter’s Two-Figure Author Table,… Read More

Subject Cataloging: Subject Heading Proposals, Workflow

Submitting SACO Proposals for Internal Review Each cataloger will create and submit his/her own SACO proposals. The SACO liaison will review each cataloger's proposals until that cataloger is declared independent. After the cataloger inputs and saves their subject proposal in Minaret, they submit it to the SACO liaison for review. If they are cataloging a… Read More

Category Classes

Category classes are reserved for those types of publications most commonly issued by Federal agencies. Use the following numbers when establishing new classes. Category classes most frequently used: Example .1 Annual reports  .2 General publications .8 Handbooks, manuals, and guides .11 Maps and… Read More

Class Stems

The class stem in a classification number consists of letters and numbers including in this order: Letter author symbols for the parent issuing body. Numbers indicating subordinate offices, followed by a period. Numbers designating category classes, series, or serial title. The class stem generally ends in a colon. Some class stems… Read More
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