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SuDocs Classification System
Government Publications at Mesa State College are organized according
to the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) Classification System
in which each individual publication has a unique call number. SuDocs
call numbers start with one or two letters which stand for the issuing
agency of the publication, unlike the Library of Congress Classification
System where the letters stand for a particular subject. Also, they
are located on the upper left front cover (not the lower spine)
of the print publications and are always printed in linear fashion.
Government Publications at Mesa State College are found in the print,
CD-ROM, online, and microform collections; there is also a small
section of Gov Docs in the Reference stacks.
Typical call numbers look like this:
L 2.3/4:998-99
I 3.134/2:/C 83/2/994
The letter or letters beginning the number are simply treated
alphabetically (A comes before AE which comes before C, etc.). Again,
these are abbreviations for the issuing government agencies.
After the initial letter(s), the following numbers on either side
of the period (.) but before the slash (/) or colon (:) are both
read as whole numbers. Do NOT treat the second number as a decimal.
The following are in correct order, left to right:
| J 45.9/2:AG 8 |
J 45.18/9:F 7 |
J 45.429:23/985 |
J 45.4186:46 |
In SuDoc call numbers, after the initial letters, sections (which
are read as a complete unit) are divided by periods (.) or colons
(:), which are unique to the SuDocs Classification System. Within
a section, there can be divisions separated by slashes (/) or hyphens
(-). Read one section at a time in order and usually an item will
be easily located on the shelf.
A few other things to remember:
With all SuDoc call numbers (and even within individual sections),
nothing comes before something. For example,
SE 5.9:3 is shelved before SE 5.9:3 SUPP. 1
When a string of numbers is followed by words or abbreviations,
the words go in alphabetical order:
C 15.2:R 57/2/978-82/SUPP comes before C 15.2:R
57/2/978-82/UPDATE
When call numbers match up to a punctuation point and letters
follow, then items are shelved alphabetically.
The following is a partial list of issuing agencies by letter:
A ..............Agriculture Department
AE............National Archives and Records Administration
C..............Commerce Department
C3............Census
CR...........Civil Rights Commission
CS...........Civil Service Commission
D..............Defense Department
E...............Energy Department
ED............Education Department
EP............Environmental Protection Agency
FR............Federal Reserve System
FT.............Federal Trade Commission
GA............General Accounting
GP............Government Printing Office
GS............General Services Administration
HE............Health and Human Services Department
HH............Housing and Urban Development Department
I.................Interior Department
I 19...........U.S. Geological Survey
IC..............Interstate Commerce Commission
J................Justice Department
Ju..............Judiciary (Courts of the United States)
L.................Labor Department
LC..............Library of Congress
LR..............National Labor Relations Board
NA..............National Academy of Sciences
NAS...........National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NS.............National Science Foundation
P................United States Postal Service
PE..............Peace Corps
Pr................President of the United States
PrEx............Executive Office of the President
S..................State Department
SBA.............Small Business Administration
SE................Securities and Exchange Commission
SI..................Smithsonian Institution
T....................Treasury Department
T 22...............Internal Revenue Service
TD..................Transportation Department
VA...................Veterans Administration
X and Y......... Congress
Y1...................House and Senate Reports and Documents
Y4...................Congressional Committees, Hearings
Comments,
questions, etc.
Last updated on
07/08/2002
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