The
LC Conversion Project at the MDC Libraries | Back
1. What
is the LC Conversion Project at the MDC libraries?
It
is a project that will change the way the book collections of the
Miami-Dade College libraries are organized. The
collections will no longer be arranged according to the Dewey Decimal
Classification System. A different system, the Library of
Congress Classification System, will be used to classify and catalog the
books.
2. Why are the MDC libraries changing their classification and
cataloging system? The
conversion from Dewey to LC will help to bring uniformity to the records
of the online catalog shared by the community college libraries in Florida
as almost all of these libraries use the LC system. Another reason
for the switch is to better prepare students who plan to attend four-year
colleges and universities since most academic libraries, including
Florida's state university libraries, are organized according to the LC
system.
3.
What is the time frame for this project?
Already
some of the new books are coming with LC call numbers. The electronic
records of the remaining books will be converted automatically from Dewey
to LC this summer. At that time, these other books will get labels
with LC call numbers and will be shifted as needed to reflect the LC sequential
order. The project is scheduled for completion by the beginning of
the 2001-2002 academic year.
4.
Where can one find the new books with LC call numbers at the North Campus? During
the current academic year most books will still have Dewey call
numbers. As explained earlier, though, there will be a few with LC
call numbers. At the North Campus Library, circulating books with LC
call numbers can be found on the first floor before the start of the Dewey
numbers (before the 001's). Additionally, some shelves have been
reserved in the reference area on the second floor for reference books
with LC numbers.
5.
How can one distinguish an LC call number from a Dewey call number?
LC
call numbers always include the year of publication of the book. For
the most part, Dewey call numbers only include the year of publication to
identify different editions of the same work. Another difference is
that LC call numbers start off with letters and Dewey call numbers start
off with numbers. However, some books at the North Campus Library
have non-LC call numbers that start off with letters: B for biography, F
for Fiction, MCN for the NcNaughton books, R and REF for reference, and SS
for short story. (It will be an LC call number in the following
cases: if there is a B, an F or an R on the first line of the label, the
second line contains numbers only, and the third line or cutter number begins
with a decimal point-these are circulating books; if the letters REF
appear on the first line of the label and the second line contains one or
more letters - these are reference books). Please check with a
reference librarian if you have any questions regarding call
numbers. Any confusion should end when the conversion process has
been completed. There are two sample call numbers in the last
section of this newsletter.
6.
How can I learn more about the LC system? The
library of Congress Classification System was created for the U.S. Library
of Congress in the 1800's. Now it is used not only by the library of
Congress, but also by many libraries in the United States and throughout
the world. These are the Web addresses of some sites that provide
information about this system.
The
LC Conversion Project at the MDC Libraries | Back
These
are the numbers and titles of the main classes of the Dewey Decimal
Classification System:
000-099GENERAL WORKS
100-199PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY
200-299RELIGION
300-399SOCIAL SCIENCES
400-499LANGUAGES
500-599PURE SCIENCE (NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS)
600-699APPLIED SCIENCE (TECHNOLOGY)
700-799THE ARTS AND RECREATION
800-899LITERATURE
900-999GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
These
are the letters and titles of the main classes of the Library of Congress
Classification System.
AGENERAL WORKS
BPHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND RELIGION
CAUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY
DHISTORY: GENERAL AND OLD WORLD
EHISTORY: AMERICA (MAINLY U.S. HISTORY) FHISTORY: AMERICA
(MAINLY OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE AMERICAS) GGEOGRAPHY, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND RECREATION
HSOCIAL SCIENCES
JPOLITICAL SCIENCE
KLAW
LEDUCATION
MMUSIC AND BOOKS ON MUSIC
NFINE ARTS
PLANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
QSCIENCE
RMEDICINE
SAGRICULTURE
TTECHNOLOGY
UMILITARY SCIENCE
VNAVAL SCIENCE ZBIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIBRARY SCIENCE
The following are the Dewey and LC call numbers for the same
book: Greenhouse: The 200-Year Story of Global Warming, by Gale E.
Christianson (New York: Walker and Company, 1999). Most of the
community college libraries in Florida that own this book use its LC call
number. At MDC, this book will maintain the Dewey call number until
the summer of 2001.
