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http://pustaka.unp.ac.id/file/abstrak_kki/EBOOKS/LIBRARIES Learn Library of Congress Classification (Library Education Series).pdf
The Dewey Decimal number for the Library of Congress system is 025.433… and the LoC code would be… something in Z… maybe Z696
(The formatting for this page is so rough, i apologise! Will try to fix later)
The official guide to the Library of Congress (LoC) classification system is available on https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/.
However, that website does not seem to provide a method for a student to memorise the letter-based classes in a way that incorporates mnemonics or memorisation aids.
Therefore, I will try to fill that gap and figure out a way (hopefully a fun way!) to memorise the LoC classifications.
When I (I/me as in Jed, since this is what I tried when attempting an analysis) try to take a closer look at the LoC, I notice the following:
Additional details of subclassifications/subdivisions can be found in https://www.bscc.edu/Content/Uploads/bscc.edu/files/Library of Congress Classification System.pdf
Now that some broad mental compartmentalisations/rules of thumb have been established (21 classes, missing “IOWXY”, first 14 are humanities, last 7 are sciences), now comes the attempt at making a mnemonic/memory device for these 21 classes.
The best mnemonics incorporate some kind of logic or story that helps someone transform random, disordered information into something that is more intuitive.
In this case, alphabetical order (A-Z) is already intuitive so there is no need to make a mnemonic for that.
What needs to be memorised is the topic that is assigned to each of those A-Z (except IOWXY!) letters.
To figure these out, I wrote everything down with pen and a notepad and just scribbled several dozen attempts, which eventually led to figuring out the following mnenomics in the table below left after a few hours or so over a few days.
| Letter (Class) | Topic | Mnemonic |
|---|---|---|
| A | General Works | Anything or simply A for the beginning/most general representation of the alphabet |
| B | Philosopy, Psychology, Religion | Brain stuff 🧠🛐 |
| C | Auxilary sciences of history | Circa (the history term meaning ‘around’ a certain year) (~___BC or AD) |
| D | World History of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc. | Don’t include America 🗺️🚫🇺🇸 |
| E | History of the Americas | 🌎 idk |
| F | History of the Americas | 🌎 idk |
| G | Geography, Anthropology, Recreation | Geography of humanity (where humans are and what they do) |
| H (no I!) | Social Sciences | Humanities and Social Science |
| J | Political Science | idk tbh 🏛️ |
| K | Law | the King’s word is Law 👑⚖️ |
| L | Education | Learning and education 👨🎓 |
| M | Music and Books on Music | Music, duh 🎶 |
| N (no O!) | Fine Arts | Fine Arts 🎨 (N in Fine) |
| P | Language and Literature | Philology is the study of literature and language (or something). Alternatively, “Pens, Pencils, and Paper” which are used for language and literature 💬📝 |
| Q | Science | Questioning in Science ❓🤔 🔎 |
| R | Medicine | Rx (the medical abbreviation for ‘prescription’) 💊 💉 |
| S | Agriculture | Supply of food 🌽🚜 |
| T | Technology | Technology ⚙️ 🤖 🛠️ |
| U | Military Science | Unlimited power is what militaries desire (probably) ⚔️ 💥 |
| V (no WXY!) | Naval Science | Naval science 🚢 (V in Naval) |
| Z | Libary Science | z39.30 (a library technique for copy-cataloguing) 📚 |
Some other people in the world, such as the youtuber Elizabeth Hoover de Galvez, have created their own ways of memorising the letters and topics of the LoC system. Click the screenshot below to watch their methods and explanations on youtube!
For an in-depth introduction to the LoC system, check out Bobby Bothmann’s recorded webinar for the ALCTS (click the screenshot to watch it on youtube)
Alternatively, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4djuA5ZfOWE
Ideally, it should be possible to use these mnemonics to estimate a classification just by looking at title or cover of a book
As for the structure of a call number created via Library of Congress classification, multiple institutions provide concise tips in decoding the printed into.
From the University of California, Santa Cruz (click the image to enlarge it)
From the University of Mississippi
The Moys Classification Scheme, used by legal organisations and specialty legal libraries, expands on the K class of the LoC system.
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