Classification Number is a number (numbers or a combination of letters and numbers) that represents the subject or form of an item being cataloged, selected from a classification schedule or classification system. Classification Number is also called class number or class mark. It is the first part of a call number which is used to classify library resources by subject area.
In a Relative location, Classification Number also shows the place of the item on the shelves and in relation to other subjects. It translates the name of its specific subject into the artificial language of the notation of the scheme of classification.
The use of classification number enables library users to browse on shelves to find its materials and also additional items on the same or related subjects, and, to find out what documents the library has on a certain subject.
Library Classification or Classification or Book Classification or Bibliographic Classification is the process of arranging, grouping, coding, and organizing books and other library materials (e.g. serials, sound recordings, moving images, cartographic materials, manuscripts, computer files, e-resources etc.) on shelves or entries of a catalog, bibliography, and index according to their subject in a systematic, logical, and helpful order by way of assigning them call numbers using a library classification system, so that users can find them as quickly and easily as possible. The call number serves a dual purpose: it determines the place of a book on the shelf and colocates books on the same topic next to each other.
Janis L. Young and Daniel N. Joudrey¹ describe Library Classification as below:
What is Classification?
- The use of a system of notations or symbols to categorize the contents of resources
- Used to provide logical shelf arrangement (i.e., call numbers), but also can be useful in searching the catalog
- Organized by disciplines, they begin with broad general topics which give way to more specific subtopics
According to Joudrey, Taylor & Miller, classification is “the placing of subjects into categories.”
It is the process of determining where a resource fits within the classification’s structure, and then
assigning the notation that most closely approximates the aboutness of the resource.
Classification is more than finding the right notation or category; it is about relationships. It provides a logical arrangement of topics and subtopics from the general to the specific that can be translated into a linear arrangement for materials in a library. Classification traditionally provides formal, orderly access to the shelves, but it is also a mechanism by which to collocate materials in the catalog. It’s what makes browsing possible.
Following are some examples of Classification Number in LCC:
1. A history of Hindi literature by K.B. Jindal, published in 1993.
2. Statistics for management, by Richard I. Levin and David S. Rubin, published in 1998.
3. An autobiography: the story of my experiments with truth, by Mahatma Gandhi, 2004. Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi translated into English.
4. Fostering e-governance: compendium of selected Indian initiatives, edited by Piyush Gupta, R.K. Bagga, and SrideviAyaluri, published in 2009.
5. Walking with the Buddha: Buddhist pilgrimages in India, edited by Swati Mitra, published in 1999.
USED FOR
- Class Number
- Class Mark
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES
1. Janis L. Young and Daniel N. Joudrey, Library of Congress, "Library of Congress Subject Headings: Online Training,"
https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/lcsh/index.html (accessed March 17, 2020).
CITATION INFORMATION
Article Title
- Classification Number
- Librarianship Studies & Information Technology
URL
- https://www.librarianshipstudies.com/2020/03/classification-number.html
- 2020-03-22
Original Published Date
- 2020-03-22
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Some important comments and feedback received from our users are given below:
- Sally Robertson, Librarian at at Nashville State Community College, United States -- Yes, classification systems in libraries are very important in libraries so that people can find what they need. That is one reason that I no longer think journals/magazines should be arranged on library shelves alphabetically by their titles, sometimes change. They should be put on the shelves by their class number just like the books.
