Library of Congress Call Numbers

Legal Research Guides

Updated July 30, 2003.

• Introduction
• Examples of Call Numbers
• Publication Year in Call Numbers
• Browsing Call Numbers
• Call Numbers from Other Libraries
• Brief Summary of Library of Congress Classification
• Summary of K (Law) Classification, Including KF (U.S. Law)
• Call Numbers for State Law (KFA-KFW)
• Call Numbers for Foreign Law
• What About Dewey Decimal Call Numbers?

Introduction

The Gallagher Law Library, like many large libraries, uses the classification system developed by the Library of Congress. The system has its roots in the system Thomas Jefferson made up for his personal library, so it goes back a long way--but it is always being refined and modified to meet changing needs.

Under this system, each book (or videotape or looseleaf service or whatever) is assigned a call number according to its main subject. The call numbers begin with letters. In this Library's online catalog, call numbers are followed by library location information. (Click here to read more about the arrangement of the collection and the various library locations.)

Examples of Call Numbers

Here are some examples of call numbers of books in our library:

• Title: Civil procedure / by Jack H. Friedenthal, Mary Kay Kane, Arthur R. Miller.
  Call Number: KF8840 .F72 1999. Location: Reference Area.
  • On the spine of a book, the call number would look like this:

  REF KF 8840 F72 1999

  • "K" means the book is about law, "KF" means it is about U.S. law, and "KF8840" indicates it is about federal civil procedure.
  • The ".F72" is based on the first author's last name ("Friedenthal"). These lines, called "Cutter numbers," are added to the call number so that each book has a unique number. A library might have many books on civil procedure; this number helps specify the order in which books will be shelved.
  • "1999" indicates the year of the edition. (Not all call numbers include a publication year.)
  • The location, "REF," indicates that the book is in the Reference Area.

• Title: Selected issues in complex family law cases / program chair, Thomas G. Hamerlinck; faculty, Rita L. Bender [et al.]; sponsored by the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Washington State Bar Association.
• Call Number: KFW100.A75 S45 1997. Location: Classified Stacks.
  • "KFW" means the publication (in this case, continuing legal education materials) is about Washington State law, "KFW100" means it is about Washington State domestic relations law.
  • ".A75 S45" is the Cutter number that specifies where to shelve it within KFW100.
  • "1997" indicates the year of publication.
  • The item is in the Classified Stacks.

• Title: The Journal of Legal Medicine.
• Call Number: Shelved by Title.
  Location: Compact Shelving.
  • Many periodicals in our library do not have a Library of Congress call number. Instead they are arranged in alphabetical order by title.
  • The location is Compact Shelving.
  • Some periodicals do have Library of Congress call numbers. If in doubt, check the catalog.

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Publication Year in Call Numbers

As seen in the examples above, many call numbers include the year the book was published. Not all of them do, however.

Even if you see a year, you should be aware that the material could be much more current than that year. For example,Nimmer on Copyright, a 10-volume treatise, has the call number KF2991.5.N5 1978 at Reference Area. If you just look at "1978" in the call number, you might assume that it is old and out of date. But, in fact, it is in looseleaf format and is supplemented regularly--as of this writing, in July 2003, the latest supplement was April 2003 -- 25 years more current than the date in the call number!

Browsing Call Numbers

Having the books shelved by their call numbers means that library users can find books on similar topics by browsing the shelves. For example, many books on U.S. bankruptcy law will be shelved together with call numbers between KF1501 and KF1548.

There are limits to browsing, though:

• In the Law Library, books with similar call numbers might be in several locations. Current books in high demand (such as deskbooks and hornbooks) and many looseleaf services are found in the Reference Area. Most books are in the Classified Stacks. And some older materials are in Compact Shelving. Browsing one of these locations misses the books that are shelved in the other locations. (Click here to read more about the arrangement of the collection and the various library locations.) Browsing the shelves also misses books that are checked out or in use by others.
• Remember, too, that if you are researching, say, real property law, you might be interested in both books about real property in the United States generally (around KF570) and books about real property in Washington State (around KFW112), so you might want to browse in two places.
• The catalogers sometimes have to choose the best out of two or three possible call numbers--because, of course, we can't shelve one book in three places. In addition to browsing the shelves at a call number that seems appropriate, you should also search the catalog for books on the subject you are researching.
• For example, Most Humble Servants: The Advisory Role of Early Judges, by Stewart Jay, discusses advisory opinions in both Britain and America, so it theoretically could be assigned a call number starting with KD (for British law) or KF (for U.S. law) or K (for comparative law). In fact, this book was assigned the call number KF8775.J39 1997 at Classified Stacks, because the cataloger thought it fit best with U.S. law (in fact, with U.S. civil procedure and court administration). A researcher who was interested in the British side of the story could still find it in the catalog, because it is cataloged with the subject headings "Advisory opinions--Great Britain--History" and "Judicial opinions--Great Britain--History" (in addition to the comparable headings for the United States).

MARIAN, the Law Library's online catalog, allows you to "browse" from your computer. Choose Call Numbers/Other Numbers, then choose LC Call Numbers. Searching for one call number will bring up a list of library materials in order by call number (regardless of location--that is, books with similar call numbers will be listed together, even if one book is in the Reference Area and another is in the Classified Stacks). You may also browse call numbers when you are viewing the record for a specific book by clicking on the call number. The Local Call Number option lets you search by the "call number" of items with call numbers like "Shelved by Title" or "In Process."
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Call Numbers from Other Libraries

If you are familiar with another law library that uses the Library of Congress system, such as the King County Law Library or Seattle University Law Library, you will find that this Library's materials generally have similar call numbers. For example, labor law looseleaf sets will be at about KF3365 in any law library that uses the Library of Congress system. But call numbers in one library will not always match exactly, so it is always a good idea to check the catalog of the library you are using.

Some libraries have call numbers that look like Library of Congress call numbers but are based on another system. The U.S. Courts Library downtown, for instance, also has call numbers that start with K, but that system was that developed by the L.A. County Law Library--so a call number here will not match one there.
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Brief Summary of Library of Congress Classification

Here is a very brief summary of Library of Congress classification. As a law library, Gallagher has comparatively few books about history, science, and literature, so you will not find many books with call numbers starting with D, Q, or P; however,you will find some in almost every category because law touches so many other fields--see the examples below. Most material in a law library has call numbers starting with K. Detailed information about the Library of Congress classification system is available at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html, including detailed outlines of every category.

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Summary of K (Law) Classification, Including KF (U.S. Law)

What About Dewey Decimal Call Numbers?

Dewey Decimal call numbers start with numbers (for example, 340.4 G946), in contrast with Library of Congress call numbers, which start with letters (for example, KF240.C538 1989).

The Law Library began using the Library of Congress classification system in 1967, but still had many thousands of books with the old, Dewey Decimal call numbers. If you have used the Library in the past, you might remember when books with Dewey Decimal call numbers were stored in the Basement as the "Dewey Collection." Between 1996 and 1998, catalogers recataloged the books in the Dewey Collection so that they would have records in the online catalog; at the same time, they assigned new, Library of Congress call numbers to the books. Most of the old "Dewey Collection" is now in the Classified Stacks.

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