I, O, W, X, and Y in the Library of Congress classification system.

January 6th, 2009
  • In the Library of Congress classification system there are 21 main classes based on subject which are denoted by letters of the English alphabet. The letters of the alphabet that do not represent a main category are I, O, W, X, and Y. Can you provide me with a reason as to why when the LOC classification system was established that these specific letters were chosen to be excluded from representing a class? Any insights into how the LOC classification system was first established, who had input into its creation, or why it was even created would interest me as well but are not as important. Thanks.


  • Hi kschmitt, I received a reply to my Libary of Congress enquiry from LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO). Briefly, there are no historical records stating why W, X, and Y were left vacant after 1899. At one point, X and YA have been used internally by Special Collections, and W is used by the National Library of Medicine. Regards, hummer


  • Hi kschmitt, Well, I think you should win the "Most Interesting Question of the Day Award"! Unfortunately, the answer to your question isn't quite so interesting - the letters I, O, W, X and Y are being reserved for future use. Library of Congress Classification System (LCC): "Basic features were taken from Charles Ammi Cutter's Expansive Classification. LCC is an enumerative system built on 21 major classes, each class being given an arbitrary capital letter between A-Z, with 5 exceptions: I, O, W, X, Y (these appear at the second or third level in the notation for various subclasses)." http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/desire/classification/class_4.htm Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City, Missouri: "The letters I, O, W, X, and Y are not being used right now because they are reserved for further expansion of the classification system." http://www.umkc.edu/lib/Instruction/MNLsubjguides/LCC.htm St. Charles Community College: "At the present time, the letters I, O, W, X, and Y are not used but are reserved for further expansion." http://www.stchas.edu/library/student.shtml Univerity of Bahrain: "The letters I,O,W,X and Y are not being used. These are available for future expansion and for classifying knowledge yet to be discovered." http://www.uob.bh/library/bolin.htm >>>>>> In regards to the history of the classification system, it can be traced back to Herbert Putnam, who sought to develope a national library which would be accessible to all Americans - a library with hospitality. Defining Moments: "From Nov. 16 to Dec. 7, 1896, on the eve of the Library of Congress's move from the U.S. Capitol building to its own separate structure (today's Jefferson Building), the U.S. Congress held hearings about the Library's "condition" and future." "Putnam wholeheartedly endorsed Dewey's description of the desirable role of a national library as 'a center to which the libraries of the whole country can turn for inspiration, guidance and practical help, which can be rendered so economically and efficiently in no other possible way.'" "Putnam... in a talk titled "What May Be Done for Libraries by the Nation," he declared, "If there is any way in which our National Library may 'reach out' from Washington, it should reach out.'" http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9908/biback.html Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress: "Librarian Putnam's extension of the Library's classification and cataloging schemes to the rest of the nation helped "democratize" knowledge, nationally and internationally, for it established bibliographic standards and encouraged cooperative endeavors among librarians and scholars. This sharing of the Library's "bibliographic apparatus" helped shape and systematize intellectual activity in America and propelled the Library of Congress into a position of leadership among the world's research institutions." "The Library originally used Jefferson's own 44-category fixed location system. In 1899 the Librarian of Congress Dr. Herbert Putnam and his Chief Cataloger Charles Martel decided to start a new classification system for the collections of the Library of Congress (established 1800). Basic features were taken from Charles Ammi Cutter's Expansive Classification. Cutter's classification was never widely used but his system of alphanumeric classes drew some attention at the time and was even considered for the Columbia College Library in 1882. Cutter's author number tables did find wide acceptance and were used at Columbia to form second lines of DDC and CC call numbers." http://libaxp.hartford.edu/llr/publications/LIBOFCON/CLASSFIC.HTM "The classification was originally developed by Herbert Putnam with the advice of Charles Ammi Cutter in 1897 before he assumed the librarianship of Congress. It was influenced by Cutter Expansive Classification and DDC, designed for the use by the Library of Congress. The new system replaced a fixed location system developed by Thomas Jefferson. By the time of Putnam's departure from his post in 1939 all the classes except K (Law) and parts of B (Philosophy and Religion) were well developed. It has been criticized as lacking a sound theoretical basis; many of the classification decisions were driven by the particular practical needs of that library, rather than considerations of rationality." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_Classification "The Library of Congress Classification scheme was developed by James C.M. Hanson and implemented by Charles Martel for the Library of Congress around the turn of the 20th century. It was based on and influenced by the classification scheme devised by Charles Ammi Cutter. Hanson and Martel did not see the system as a "scientific order of subjects" but rather a "convenient sequence of the various groups ... of books" (Report of the Librarian of Congress for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1901 , p. 234). It was originally devised as the classification only for the Library of Congress, but it has been adopted by many libraries, including most academic and research libraries in the United States." http://www.hds.harvard.edu/library/general/classification.html Cutter, Charles Ammi: "...Cutter's most significant contribution to the field of Library and Information Studies was his system of Expansive Classification. Despite the fact that it was never widely adopted, it strongly influenced the development of the Library of Congress classification system. Also, the system of author numbers he devised continues in wide use and still bears his name." http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/C/cutter%5Ccutter.html Library of Congress call numbers: "The third element or line of the call number is the one which gives people the most trouble. This line is called the Cutter number and it is a letter followed by a decimal number. A Cutter number "C5" is read as "C.5" and would be shelved after a Cutter number "C498'. Sometimes there are two Cutter number lines. Once again, regard the Cutter number alphabetically and then by decimal number." http://www.lib.vt.edu/research/libinst/callnumbers.html Library of Congress Classification An Introductory Outline: http://www.shsu.edu/~lis_fwh/lccclass.html Additional Links: Cutter expansive classification: http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/lccall/cuttguide.htm see: About the Cataloging Directorate: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/ How may I contact LC with cataloging questions, comments, and queries? "Please see the Library of Congress Help Desk Web page. You can use the interactive forms there to Catalog/Authority Record Errors or email us general questions and comments using the General Inquiries link" http://www.loc.gov/help/help-desk.html We've enjoyed researching your question. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to post a clarification request before closing/rating our answer and we'll be happy to reply. Thank you, hummer Google Search Terms Used: Library of Congress classification system "I, O, W, X, and Y" Library of Congress classification system Library of Congress classification system "letters not used" Library of Congress classification system history Library of Congress classification system Putnam Library of Congress classification system Cutter


  • Dear kschmitt-ga, Thank you for the nice note and rating - I'm happy you are happy with the results of your query. I've posted an enquiry with the Library of Congress in regards to W, X, & Y - I'll let you know when I hear back from them (probably will take all week). Take care, hummer


  • Excellent, prompt,and thorough research. Thanks


  • Hi kschmitt, Sorry, I seem to have omitted one of the main links that I wanted to give you - have a look: Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress: "Librarian Putnam's extension of the Library's classification and cataloging schemes to the rest of the nation helped "democratize" knowledge, nationally and internationally, for it established bibliographic standards and encouraged cooperative endeavors among librarians and scholars. This sharing of the Library's "bibliographic apparatus" helped shape and systematize intellectual activity in America and propelled the Library of Congress into a position of leadership among the world's research institutions." http://www.loc.gov/loc/legacy/loc.html Regards, hummer


  • Hi kschmitt, My kind colleague and friend, Pinkfreud, found the following link which explains that the I and O would be easily mistaken for numbers. I'm sorry to say that we haven't been able to find an explanation for W, X, and Y, but I will try to find out for you Monday. ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science: "The set of characters or symbols used in the notation of a given classification system. In Dewey Decimal Classification, the arabic numerals 0-9 are used (decimal notation). In Library of Congress Classification, the letters of the English alphabet are used (alphabetic notation), minus the letters O and I, which are easily mistaken for the numerals zero and one. As a general rule, the shorter the base, the longer the notation representing a given class. Compare with base number." ://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:uE9HuV8hmowJ:lu.com/odlis/odlis_b.cfm++%22(alphabetic+notation),+minus+the+letters+O+and+I,+which+are+easily+mistaken+for+the%22&hl=en Regards, hummer


  • Thank you for your efforts I appreciate it. I was hoping you might be able to tell me why the letters chosen not to represent a class were those 5 specific ones instead of something that might make more sense like excluding the last 5 letters of the alphabet. W, X, and Y are little used at times and near the end of the alphabet, the exclusion of those letters is somewhat less suprising. On the other hand the exclusion of I and O somewhat mystify me and I was hoping someone like Putnam left a notation somewhere on why he decided to exclude them.







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