So you’re looking for the perfect resource in the catalog and you’ve found it—a government document located in Stack Level F. Only the call number looks funny. Really funny. Something like this:
C 61.2:M 34/9
What you have is a SuDoc (Superintendent of Documents) number. Although it resembles how we organize our other materials in the library, by the Library of Congress, it’s quite different. Let’s break it down.
The system follows what we call a provenance system—documents are arranged by the creating agency. Therefore, SuDoc numbers that begin with A are Department of Agriculture publications, C is Commerce and JU for Judiciary. See the entire list here. Exceptions are X and Y which are reserved for Congress.
The important thing to remember is that these documents are NOT arranged by subject area. So…you won’t necessarily find climate data in the same location—it’ll be spread across multiple agencies.
Remember:
- The first number after the letter is the sub-agency. C = Department of Commerce; C 3 = Census Bureau (a sub-agency within the Department of Commerce).
- The SuDoc system is not a decimal system. Any number after a period is treated as a whole number. For example, read 224 as a whole number in C 3.224. This will make it easier when you look for SuDocs on the shelf.
- If in doubt, Ask-A-Librarian!
Ashley Stark
Sources:
Federal Depository Library Program. (2004, May 24). An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System. Retrieved from http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/explain.html
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