The Superintendant of Documents classification system. Patricia Amador, Sarah Davis,
Jim Holmes and Susan Mayer. LI804XO – Theory of Organization of Information
What is it?
http://www.cartoonstock.com
What is it?
• The Superintendent of Documents Classification system
(SuDocs) is an organizational system for government
publications to help with retrieval and storage in the Library
of Congress, regional depository libraries and other
information institutions.
•
Classification by provenance (government department)
•
Alphanumeric call number divided into two sections
Adelaide Hasse
Became the first
librarian of the
Superintendent
of Documents
office in 1895
Worked at the Los
Angeles Public
Library.
Organized
government
documents by
agency.
1868 - 1953
Government Printing Office
• Printing Act of 1895 – gathering, codification and
distribution of government documents.
• Established first iteration of SuDoc classification
scheme
• SuDoc classification officially adopted in 1903 by
Superintendant of Documents William Post
How are they used?
•
Government Printing Office – Each item produced
by the GPO is given a SuDoc call number.
•
GPO is responsible for disseminating its information to
federal depository libraries, Library of Congress and the
National Archives and Record Administration. Libraries
are responsible for maintaining collection.
•
SuDocs numbers connect bibliographies, indexes,
and document classification systems together.
SuDocs disadvantages
• Browsing is difficult compared with traditional
classification. Call number is confusing.
• Most library’s collections on microfiche
• Government agencies change name and affiliation
• Government offices currently publishing online
docs without SuDoc classification or call number
Reading a call number
• SuDoc numbers are divided into 2 parts, Class Stem
and Book Number.
Class Stem
Book Number
GP 3.29:P 88
Author
Symbol
Series
Designation
(The SuDoc number for the GPO Classification Manual: A Practical
Guide to the Superintendent of Documents Classification System)
Reading a call number – class stem
• Author symbol – 1st letters of department name
A – Department of Agriculture
LC – Library of Congress
NAS – NASA
X & Y – Congress. Z is not used.
• Subordinate offices – Originally alphabetical,
new offices assigned the next number as added
A 1 – Department of Agriculture, Main Office
A 21 – Department of Agriculture, Information Office
A 68 – Department of Agriculture, Rural Electrification Administration
Reading a call number – class stem
• Series Designation – separated by period NOT
decimal
.1 – Annual report
.2 – General publication
.3 – Bulletin…
• Slash descriptors further identify documents
/2 – related series
/rev – revision
/a – preprints and separates
For instance – “Preprints from Mineral Yearbook” – I 28.37/a:
Reading a call number – book number
• Follows colon (no space) using volume, series,
bulletin number or similar numerical designation
L 2.41/2:29/6 - call number for Employment and Earnings, vol. 29, # 6
• Annuals - last 3 numbers of year are used
A 1.1:990 - call number for Annual Report of Secretary of Agriculture (1990)
• Unnumbered publications use a subject cutter table
NAS 1.2:R 11 – call number for “Radioactive Heating of Vehicles Entering
the Earth’s atmosphere
How to build a SuDoc number
Hypothetical Bulletin #80 from the Government
Printing Office, main office, published in 1956
Class Stem – GPO, main office, bulletin
Book number – numerical designation, year
Department
Series
designation
Publication year
GP 1 .3: 80 /956
Subordinate
office
numerical
designation
Shelving SuDocs
SuDocs IS NOT a
decimal system
Shelve by year, then letters,
then non-year numbers
Arthur Lakes Library. (2009). Government Publications Classification – U.S. (SuDocs) and State of Colorado. Retrieved
February 10 2009 from http://library.mines.edu/instruction/sudoc.html
Beck, C. (2006). The new woman as librarian: The career of Adelaide Hasse. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Government Printing Office. (n.d.). An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System.
Retrieved Feb. 2, 2007 from http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/explain.html
Government Printing Office. (1978). Guidelines for the Depository Library System: as adopted by the Depository Library
Council to the Public Printer, October 18, 1977: with minimum standards for the depository library system, as adopted
October 22, 1976. Washington, D.C: United States Government Printing Office.
Hasse, A. R. (1997). An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System. Washington, D.C.: Depository
Administration Branch, Library Division, Library Program Services, U.S. G.P.O.
J. Robert Van Pelt and Opie Library. (2008, October 18). The Superintendent of Documents Classification System. Retrieved
February 10, 2009, from http://www.lib.mtu.edu/govdocs/sudocs.aspx
Miller, L.(2001). What document is this? An explanation of Superintendent of Documents Classification, Mississippi Libraries,
65(2), 55-56&64, Retrieved February 5, 2009, from Wilson Web database.
Robinson, J. (1998). Tapping the Government Grapevine: The User-Friendly Guide to U.S. Government Information Source.
Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.