A call number is a unique alphanumeric identifier that allows a library user to discover the main topic of an item and how to locate that item on the shelf. DiMenna-Nyselius Library arranges its call numbers using the LCC (Library of Congress classification) system. See below for more detailed definition of LCC!
Cataloging in a library is the act of describing a resource so that a user can find it. A cataloger creates a record that provides all the information, or metadata, about a particular resource. This record includes, but is not limited to, the resource’s title, the author, the ISBN, a summary, a call number, and subject headings. Subject headings are terms that indicate the main topics described in the resource. A cataloger can choose subject headings from a set of standardized language provided by the Library of Congress or by another authorized institution.
The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 168 million items—including books, recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, manuscripts—in its collections. It collects in some 470 languages, with materials ranging from rare cuneiform tablets to born digital materials. Through its website, it provides access to resources, services, and over eleven million of its multimedia primary sources.
Source: Library of Congress. 2022. Introducing loc.gov: Orientation and Research Strategies. https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/orientation. (accessed August 16, 2022).
The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a classification system that was first developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to organize and arrange the book collections of the Library of Congress. Over the course of the twentieth century, the system was adopted for use by other libraries as well, especially large academic libraries in the United States. It is currently one of the most widely used library classification systems in the world. The Library's Policy and Standards Division maintains and develops the system, posting lists of updates.
The system divides all knowledge into twenty-one basic classes, each identified by a single letter of the alphabet. Most of these alphabetical classes are further divided into more specific subclasses, identified by two-letter, or occasionally three-letter, combinations. For example, class N, Art, has subclasses NA, Architecture; NB, Sculpture, ND, Painting; as well as several other subclasses. Each subclass includes a loosely hierarchical arrangement of the topics pertinent to the subclass, going from the general to the more specific. Individual topics are often broken down by specific places, time periods, or bibliographic forms (such as periodicals, biographies, etc.). Each topic (often referred to as a caption) is assigned a single number or a span of numbers. Whole numbers used in LCC may range from one to four digits in length, and may be further extended by the use of decimal numbers. Some subtopics appear in alphabetical, rather than hierarchical, lists and are represented by decimal numbers that combine a letter of the alphabet with a numeral , e.g. .B72 or .K535. Relationships among topics in LCC are shown not by the numbers that are assigned to them, but by indenting subtopics under the larger topics that they are a part of, much like an outline.
Source: Library of Congress. 2014. Library of Congress Classification. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcc. (accessed August 16, 2022).
A long-standing controlled vocabulary maintained by the Library of Congress, covering topical subjects, genres, and geographic places among other related areas of study. It is a precoordinated vocabulary, built upon the principle of literary warrant. Libraries can contribute new terms for consideration via the SACO initiative. Despite its function as a controlled vocabulary, LCSH is not a fully enumerated list, allowing the presence of “standard subdivisions” on explicitly authorized terms according to human-readable rules. With the development of a new service, http://id.loc. gov, that makes Library of Congress-hosted vocabularies available to machine applications, LCSH and other vocabularies are now more readily available to applications outside the library community and especially outside the cultural heritage community.
Source: Riley, Jenn. "Glossary of Metadata Standards." Seeing Standards: A Visualization of the Metadata Universe. http://jennriley.com/metadatamap/seeingstandards_glossary_pamphlet.pdf (accessed August 16, 2022).
Metadata is a summary of information about the form and content of a resource. It may describe such things as the author of a work, the date of publication or similar details which help information providers, like librarians, with classification and retrieval. Examples of metadata include: the catalogue records used by libraries, museums and galleries; the table of contents in a book; and an index database. Think of it as data about data. The prefix 'meta' means 'among' or 'together with'. Metadata may be a part of the resource itself, or be kept separately from it. (Meta Matters: http://www.nla.gov.au/meta/intro.html)
Source: American Library Association. 2003. Serials Acquisitions Glossary Supplement. http://www.ala.org/alcts/resources/collect/serials/acqglossary/terms. (accessed August 16, 2022).
The standardized language provided by the Library of Congress is over 100 years old, and therefore contains many terms that are no longer accurate, or that express biased or outdated perspectives. Over the years, as our common vernacular has evolved, catalogers have sought to find ways to ‘repair’ these outdated terms by proposing changes directly to the Library of Congress, or by creating more inclusive terms locally at their own libraries. Reparative cataloging has also been called radical cataloging, critical cataloging, reparative metadata, mutual metadata, ethical metadata, conscious editing, and metadata justice.