PROCEDURE FOR CATALOGING BELLES-LETTRES
Books included in this category are works of the imagination written by a single
author. They can generally be classified as fiction, poetry, or drama. Anthologies are
excluded.
All headings should be in the NAF; if not, NACO the name, or refer it to your
supervisor.
ENTRY VERIFICATION
As with LC copy, verify that any copy in the book exactly matches the book in
hand. If not, re-search RLIN for matching copy. Treat series in the same manner as you
would an LC book.
NAF SEARCHING
Search all name and corporate headings in the NAF. If the author or any added
entries (such as editors or translators) are not in the NAF, NACO the name or refer it to
your supervisor.
CALL NUMBERS
Structure: A call number for a literary work is always made up of three
elements—the class number (or literary author number), the book number, and the year.
In almost all cases, the class number consists of two letters (the first is always P), a 4digit number, and a first cutter based on the author’s surname. Example:
PS3509.L43$bF6 1990
This call number breaks down as follows: PS is for American literature. PS3509 is for
American authors flourishing between 1900-1960 whose surname begins with the letter
E. The L comes from the second letter of the author’s surname (in this case, T.S. Eliot).
(In some cases the first cutter is based on the first letter of the author’s surname.) The 43
is a number which places Eliot alphabetically within the sequence of authors whose
surname begins with E followed by L. Thus PS3509.L43 is T.S. Eliot’s literary author
number—a number assigned to all his literary works and to all works about him. The
second cutter number (or “book number”), which is always in $b, is based on the title of
the particular work being cataloged (in this case, Four quartets). The year is, of course,
the year of publication.
Verification: On the NAF record for the author there may be an 053 field present;
this indicates the established call number for that author. When an 053 field is present,
always use that number. If there is no 053, check NOTIS for other literary works by that
author. If we have cataloged other literary works by that author, use the number we have
assigned. If we have no literary works by that author, search RLIN under the author’s
name, looking for LC records for literary works. If found, use the number on the LC
record. If there are no LC records for the author, check for member copy records that
have assigned a literary author number.
If no call number is established in the NAF, NOTIS, or by LC in RLIN, special
care must be taken when using a number found on a member copy record. For the
purposes of this task, we will assume that the member library has assigned the author to
the correct nationality and time period (if you’re at all in doubt, let me know). What we
need to ensure is that the number fits in alphabetically with other authors in NOTIS.
Example: You have a book by a Melvin Anderson; member copy gives it the class
number PR6051.N4. Search in NOTIS by call number, stopping after the first letter after
the decimal point (fin cl PR6051n; omit the decimal point in the search). There are no
records with that number. By looking at some of the records nearby, you see that:
PR6051.N395
PR6051.N398
PR6051.N453
=
=
=
Anderson, Linda
Anderson, Rachel
Andrewes, Georgina
You can see that Anderson, Melvin should fall between Anderson, Linda and Anderson,
Rachel; thus PR6051.N4 does not work for our collection. You need a number between
N395 and N398: since M is closer to L than to R in the alphabet, give Melvin the number
PR6051.N396
This is not an exact science—just try to leave adequate “room” on either side of your call
number for future growth. (N.B. Occasionally, our shelflist is itself out of alphabetical
order, making it impossible for you to fit your author in; in such cases, just take a stab or
consult your supervisor.)
Book number: Once the literary author number is found, assign a book number
based on the title in hand. Using the Cutter table, formulate a number based on the first
significant word in the title (i.e., ignore initial articles). Take the first letter of that word
and add at least two digits based on the subsequent letters. Examples:
Title: Morning sickness
Title: Euphoria
Title: Quick now
Book number: M67
Book number: E89
Book number: Q52
If we have cataloged other literary works by that author, do a call number search
on NOTIS to make sure that the number you are assigning does not conflict with an
already-assigned number and that the digits you assign in the book number place that title
in the correct alphabetical sequence. Example: you have a novel by Joyce Carol Oates
called Crooning. Based on the above procedure, you assign it the number
PS3565.A8$bC76. But when you do a call number search on NOTIS under PS3565a8
you find that the book number C7 has been assigned to a book called Crossing the
border. Since Crooning alphabetizes before Crossing, you need to change your book
number to something like C68.
TRANSLATIONS
If your book is a translation, there are additional elements required on the catalog
record:

041. There should be an 041 in the catalog record showing the language of the
translation in $a and the original language in $h. If you can’t determine the
original language, use “und” (undetermined). Examples:
041 1 eng $h ita for an English translation of an Italian original
041 1 spa $h und for a Spanish translation of an undetermined original

240. There should also be a uniform title (240) showing the original title
followed by a $l and the language of the translation. Check NOTIS, then
RLIN for the original title. If no original title can be found, skip the 240.

Call number. Check to see if Princeton or LC has cataloged a variant edition
(original or other translation), in which case you should use that book number.
Then add 2 digits to the book number from the Translation table (if there is no
uniform title, do not use the Translation table; cutter for the translated title).

700. There should be an added entry for the translator if he/she appears on the
title page.
COLLECTED AND SELECTED WORKS
If your book contains an author’s complete works or a selection of previously
published works, two elements of the catalog record need attention:
240. A collective uniform title is needed whenever the title proper is not
distinctive. A title is considered not distinctive when it consists only of generic terms
such as “selected,” “collected,” “novels,” “poems,” and the author’s name. Examples:
Title: Selected poems of John Keats. Not distinctive. Uniform title needed.
Title: The sky above : the best short stories of Joe Blow. Distinctive. No uniform
title needed.
Use the following collective uniform titles:
Works.$f[date]
Plays
Poems
Short stories
For the author’s complete works.
For the author’s collected plays
For the author’s collected poems
For the author’s collected short stories
In addition, the collective uniform titles above (except “Works”) may carry the addition
“$kSelections” for selections from the author’s works in that form. Examples:
100
Blow, Joe.
240 10 Poems.$k Selections
245 10 Selected poems of Joe Blow.
100
Call, Blaine.
240 10 Plays
245 14 The complete plays of Blaine Call.
101
Tortilla, Oscar.
240 10 Works.$f1999
245 10 Oscar Tortilla : the complete works
Call number. Complete works of an author are given the author’s literary author number
and a date—no second cutter. For collected works in one form add a second cutter from
Table 40 (.xA14-.xA19) and the date. For selections, use the second cutter .A6 and the
date. Examples:
Complete works of T.S. Eliot
Complete plays of T.S.Eliot
Selected poems of T.S. Eliot
PS3509.L43 1999
PS3509.L43A19 1999
PS3509.L43A6 1999
SUBJECT HEADINGS
In most cases, subject headings are not assigned to belles-lettres. However, if
your copy has subject headings, keep them as long as they are tagged 600, 610, 630, 650,
or 651 with the second indicator 0. The final subdivision in each subject string should be
–Fiction, --Poetry, or –Drama, as appropriate. Individual works of belles-lettres
should never have form headings such as English poetry or Short stories, American.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
The above procedure assumes that your author is subdivided by Table 40 of the
Language and literature tables—by far the most common table applied to literary
authors. If, in checking NOTIS or RLIN for a literary author number, you find a number
with only one cutter or numbers where the book number always begins with the letter A
regardless of the title of the book, bring the book to me.
If you find Princeton or LC copy for a variant edition of the same title you are
cataloging, use the identical call number found on that record, varying the year of
publication and/or adding or deleting translation digits. Also use any subject headings
found on those records.
If the title of your work begins with the letter A or Z, you must take into account
the fact that Table 40 provides the range A61-Z458 for individual titles. Works
beginning with these letters need to be cuttered differently from the other letters. The
following are guidelines for works beginning with A:
Aa-Af
Ag-Al
Am-Ar
As-Az
A6-699
A7-799
A8-899
A9-999
Thus a book about titled About face would get a book number such as A63; a
book titled Arrest me! might get A89. There are no such guidelines for the letter Z (use
your judgment!).