Superintendent of Documents Classification, commonly called as SuDocs
or SuDoc,
is a system of
library classification
A library classification is a system of organization of knowledge by which library resources are arranged and ordered systematically. Library classifications are a notational system that represents the order of topics in the classification and al ...
developed and maintained by the
United States Government Publishing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...
. Unlike
Library of Congress Classification The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for shelving books in a library. LCC is mainly used by large research and academic librar ...
,
Dewey Decimal Classification
The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject.
Section 4.1 ...
, or
Universal Decimal Classification
The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) is a bibliographic and library classification representing the systematic arrangement of all branches of human knowledge organized as a coherent system in which knowledge fields are related and inter-link ...
, SuDocs is not a universal system. Rather, it is intended for use only with publications of the
Federal Government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
.
SuDocs call numbers are assigned by the Government Publishing Office as new publications are produced. Many libraries that participate in the
Federal Depository Library Program
The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. As of April 2021, there are 1,114 depository libraries in the United States and its ter ...
employ SuDocs to classify their collections.
History
Superintendent of Documents Classification took form around 1891, when
Adelaide Hasse
Adelaide Rosalie Hasse (September 13, 1868 – July 28, 1953) is listed as one of the "100 most important leaders we had in the 20th century" in the December 1999 edition of ''American Libraries''. She is credited with having developed the Superi ...
was given the task of organizing the government publications held at the
Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...
. Rather than organize publications by subject, she instead organized them by provenance, that is, the government agency that issued them.
Hasse applied the system she developed to a list of publications of the
Department of Agriculture in 1895.
Her system was adopted by the office of the Superintendent of Documents in 1895. William Leander Post, head of the Government Printing Office's Public Documents Library, assigned new symbols for government agencies, allowing for the expansion of the system to accommodate all federal agencies.
Structure
SuDocs call numbers consist of two main parts: a class stem, and a suffix. The class stem brings together related publications, while the suffix is a unique identifier for a publication. The example below breaks down the part of a SuDocs call number using the example of
Cybersecurity: deterrence policy', with the call number LC 14.23:R 47011.
Departments and agencies
Departments and agencies are assigned letter author symbols. As of 2022, the following letter author symbols are in use:
X and Y are used for the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
. Boards and agencies created by Congress (as opposed to by the Executive Branch) are assigned call numbers beginning with Y 3,
and publications of congressional committees are assigned call numbers beginning with Y 4.
Subordinate offices
Subordinate offices are designated by numbers. The number 1 is reserved for the parent agency, while later numbers are used for subordinate bureaus and offices. For example, I 1 designates the main office of the
Department of the Interior, while I 19 designates the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
, I 29 designates the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, and I 33 designates the
U.S. Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...
.
These latter three examples are all divisions of the Department of the Interior.
Subordinate office numbers generally range from 1-99, although the Department of Defense uses higher numbers.
There is a space between the letter author symbol and the subordinate office.
Category classes
Category classes are used to group together the types of publications that federal agencies commonly issue. The numbers 1-14 are reserved for the most commonly created publications:
# Annual reports
# General publications (i.e. publications that do not fall into other classes and which are not part of series)
# Bulletins
# Circulars
# Laws
# Regulations, rules, and instructions
# Press releases
# Handbooks, manuals, and guides
# Bibliographies and lists of publications
# Directories
# Maps and charts
# Posters
# Forms
# Addresses
Numbers after 14 are assigned to
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
. Publications in the series ''CRS Reports'' are assigned the number 23, as shown in the example above.
Book numbers
The final component of the call number is the book number. Depending on the type of publication, this may be a
Cutter number, a volume number, or some other special designation reserved for the series in question.
Related classification systems
The
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
equivalent of SuDocs is the
CODOC
CODOC is a system of library classification developed at the University of Guelph in the 1960s and 1970s. CODOC is a syllabic abbreviation formed from the words ''co''operative ''doc''uments. Unlike Library of Congress Classification, Dewey Decima ...
system, which was created in 1966 at the
University of Guelph
, mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities"
, established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922)
, type = Public university
, chancellor ...
. A number of U.S. states, including
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, and
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
employ similar provenance-based classification systems to organize their state publications.
References
External Links
Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines from the Federal Depository Library Program{{Library classification systems
Library cataloging and classification