Building Cutter Numbers An Overview Webinar Cheryl Boettcher
Building Cutter Numbers: An Overview Webinar Cheryl Boettcher Tarsala, Ph. D. September 12, 2014
Webinar Outline 1. Principles and Types of Cuttering 2. How to Use the Cutter-Sanborn Table 3. Varied Uses for Cuttering in LCC 4. Basic Use of the LC Cutter Table Tarsala * Slide 2
Principles “This notation is designed to keep books on the shelves alfabeted by authors. ” • Alphanumeric codes – Letter(s) A-Z + Numbers (1 -999+/-) • Numbers are decimals • Reduces cognitive load for shelving and filing Tarsala * Slide 3 Photo of Charles Ammi Cutter source: Wikimedia Commons Quote: LJ July 1887, p. 251
Little House Authors Tarsala * Slide 4 Book covers from Harper. Collins “Little House” series
Little House Authors Cutter Tarsala * Slide 5 Full Last Name Title (Author) WIL Farmer Boy (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WIL Farmer Boy Goes West (Williams, Heather) WIL Little House in Brookfield (Wilkes, Maria D. ) WIL Little House in the Big Woods (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WIL Little House in the Highlands (Wiley, Melissa) WIL Little House on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WIL Little Town on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WIL Mary Ingalls on Her Own (Willard, Elizabeth Kimmel)
Little House Authors Full Last Name Tarsala * Slide 6 Title (Author) WILDER WIL Farmer Boy (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WILDER WIL Little House in the Big Woods (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WILDER WIL Little House on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WILDER WIL Little Town on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) WILEY WIL Little House in the Highlands (Wiley, Melissa) WILKES WIL Little House in Brookfield (Wilkes, Maria D. ) WILLARD WIL Mary Ingalls on Her Own (Willard, Elizabeth Kimmel) WILLIAMS WIL Farmer Boy Goes West (Williams, Heather)
Cuttered Little House Authors Cuttered Title (Author) W 673 f WILDER WIL Farmer Boy (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) W 673ℓhb WILDER WIL Little House in the Big Woods (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) W 673ℓhp WILDER WIL Little House on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) W 673ℓt WILDER WIL Little Town on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) W 676ℓ WILEY WIL Little House in the Highlands (Wiley, Melissa) W 682ℓ WILKES WIL Little House in Brookfield (Wilkes, Maria D. ) W 692 m WILLARD WIL Mary Ingalls on Her Own (Willard, Elizabeth Kimmel) W 723 f WILLIAMS WIL Farmer Boy Goes West (Williams, Heather) Tarsala * Slide 7
Types of Cuttering • Standalone Cutter Tables – Cutter two-figure – Cutter three-figure – Cutter-Sanborn • Cutters for Library of Congress Classification Tarsala * Slide 8 image source openclipart. org by Nina Geometrieva
Availability of Standalone Cutter Tables • Complicated by copyright – 1969 Swanson-Swift Revision • Available from Hargrave House or used – All three variants on 15 -inch cardboard • OCLC’s cuttering program – OCLC Four-figure Cutter and Cutter-Sanborn • Non-U. S. websites – Only Cutter-Sanborn three-figure Tarsala * Slide 9 Cover images Left: Original Cutter-Sanborn table, ca. 1920 -1940, dist. by H. R. Huntting Co. Right: Swanson-Swift Revision (1969), printed 1976, dist. by Hargrave House
Cuttering Steps 1. Scan the alphabetical list to identify where the word you wish to cutter falls. 2. If it matches an entry exactly, choose that number. 3. If it falls in between two entries, choose the entry above where it should file. 4. Each cutter number represents all possible names beginning with the exactly listed entry and ending just before the next listed entry. 5. Place a capital letter representing the first letter of the word before the number. Tarsala * Slide 10
How to Use the Cutter-Sanborn Table Tarsala * Slide 11 Images of Cutter-Sanborn Three-Figure Author Table (Swanson-Swift Revision), p. 23.
Cutter-Sanborn Practice Potti Tarsala * Slide 12 859 871 Image Detail from Cutter-Sanborn Three -Figure Author Table (Swanson. Swift Revision), p. 23.
DIY Expansion • Titles or corporate body names American Art Association American Art Bureau American Art Clay Company American Art Corporation Amer Ames M Amh Amin Ammir 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 • Non-European words with j’s, q’s, x’s and z’s, especially Arabic and Pinyin Xa 1 Xi Xan 2 Xi Xav 3 a Xe 4 Xi o • But … only under the same ng Xen 5 Xer 6 classification number Xl 7 Xu 8 Xy 9 Tarsala * Slide 13
Why the Swanson-Swift Revision Was Needed Tarsala * Slide 14 • Did not change the numbering, only the presentation Image: Original Cutter-Sanborn table, • 1969 ca. 1920 -1940, dist. by H. R. Huntting Co.
Work marks • Lower-case letters placed at the end of a cutter number used to subarrange titles • Letters after cutter can signal other aspects of the work • Script “ℓ” [Unicode U+2113] • Instructions are available in the front of the Cutter-Sanborn (Swanson-Swift)table – Cutter’s “Explanation” pamphlets freely available via Google Books, Internet Archive, etc. Tarsala * Slide 16
“Two-figure” Special Issues • No online versions of these tables except OCLC • For vowels, use two letters before the number – Ed 98 • For the letter S, use two letters before the number – Sm 64 • For words beginning with the letters Sc, use three letters before the number – Sch 56 • Also includes Cutter three-figures – Not for Cutter-Sanborn Tarsala * Slide 15
Last Words From Charles Ammi Cutter “Some persons are apprehensive that this decimal arrangement will be hard to use. … It may be so sometimes; I can only say that I never had any difficulty with any one, boy or girl, man or woman, when the arrangement is explained as it is above. ” Tarsala * Slide 17 Charles A. Cutter, Explanation of the alphabetic-order marks (two-figure tables) (1911), p. 5.
USING CUTTERING WITH CLASSIFICATION Tarsala * Slide 18 Library of Congress logo from Wikimedia Commons
Cutters in LC Call Numbers • A Library of Congress call number may have one, two, or three cutter numbers – Rarely: none – Three are used only in Class G for maps • The first one is always preceded by a period • Subsequent ones are not • One letter + one or two digits – Rarely: three or more • LC Cutters file decimally, with or without the period in front of them • There are no work marks Tarsala * Slide 19
How is Cuttering Used in LCC? • Author’s last name • Topic words UH 30 Military Cyclists. F 8 = Fürstenberg TS 755 Gemstones. P 3 = Pearls • Geographical Place Names • Subarranging Types of Works Tarsala * Slide 20 G 2972 Atlas. T 3 = Tahiti GV 884 Basketball players. J 63 Magic Johnson A 3 = Autobiography
Types of LC Cutter Tables • General Use • • Biography Table Regions and Countries Translations Table XL for literary “Z” cutters Tarsala * Slide 21
Availability of LC Cutter Tables • Online Toolboxes • Library of Congress Classification and Shelflisting Manual – PDF Downloads from Library of Congress (free) – Through Cataloger’s Desktop (subscription) • Printed – Cataloging Textbooks – Lois Mai Chan’s Guide to the Library of Congress Classification Tarsala * Slide 22
Basic Practice with LC Cutters Tarsala * Slide 23 Image from Library of Congress Classification and Shelflisting Manual, sheet G 63
The Name of the Game is Shelflisting “Since the table provides only a general framework for the assignment of numbers, the symbol for a particular name or work is constant only under a particular class number. ” Lois Mai Chan Tarsala * Slide 24 Photo of Lois Mai Chan from Library of Congress Cataloging Directorate, 2001. Quote: Chan’s Cataloging and Classification, 2 nd ed, p. 288.
Shelflisting in Practice Make newcomers fit with existing numbers to preserve alphabetical order LC Call Number Author/Title SF 426. 5. B 35 2012 Baines, Rebecca Everything Dogs SF 426. 5. B 37 1987 Bare, Colleen Stanley To Love a Dog SF 426. 5. B 375 2000 Barner, Bob Walk the Dog SF 426. 5. B 38 1990 Barrett, Norman S. Dogs SF 426. 5 ? ? 2014 Barzoi, Sam A Special Dog SF 426. 5. B 45 2006 Bennett, Leonie My Dog’s a Mommy SF 426. 5. B 47 2001 Berman, Ruth My Pet Dog SF 426. 5. B 53 2000 Blankenhorn, Rebecca World of Dogs SF 426. 5. B 63 2007 Bodden, Valerie Dogs Tarsala * Slide 25
Shelflisting in Practice Make newcomers fit with existing numbers to preserve alphabetical order LC Call Number “Correct” Cutter Author/Title SF 426. 5. B 35 2012 . B 35 Baines, Rebecca Everything Dogs SF 426. 5. B 37 1987 . B 37 Bare, Colleen Stanley To Love a Dog SF 426. 5. B 375 2000 . B 376 Barner, Bob Walk the Dog SF 426. 5. B 38 1990 . B 377 Barrett, Norman S. Dogs SF 426. 5. B 385 2014 . B 379 Barzoi, Sam A Special Dog SF 426. 5. B 45 2006 . B 46 Bennett, Leonie My Dog’s a Mommy SF 426. 5. B 47 2001 . B 47 Berman, Ruth My Pet Dog SF 426. 5. B 53 2000 . B 53 Blankenhorn, Rebecca World of Dogs SF 426. 5. B 63 2007 . B 63 Bodden, Valerie Dogs Tarsala * Slide 26
For a more advanced understanding of LC cuttering, register for my Library of Congress Classification e. Course opening October 6, 2014 Tarsala * Slide 27 Image: Manual of Library Classification and Shelf Arrangement (1898), p. 167. Internet Archive Book Images
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