The Library of Congress: An In-Depth-ish Overview
The Library of Congress (LOC) serves as the national library of the United States and is recognized as the most extensive library in the world. Although it does not possess a copy of every book published in the country, its vast collection comprises over 164 million items. These items are housed on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves.
The collections of the LOC include a wide range of materials:
- Over 38 million books and other printed materials
- 3.6 million recordings
- 14 million photographs
- 5.5 million maps
- 8.1 million pieces of sheet music
- 70 million manuscripts
Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN)
The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a system for numbering cataloged items within the LOC. It is a unique identifier assigned to the catalog record for a book, not the physical book itself. Consequently, a single LCCN can apply to multiple formats (e.g., hardback and paperback) or new editions of the same title, as long as they share the same bibliographic data.
It is important to note that the LCCN is distinct from the Library of Congress Classification system. It does not relate to the content of a book and is not a call number used to locate a specific item on a shelf.
Librarians worldwide utilize the LCCN as a unique identifier to access correct cataloging data, which is made available by the Library of Congress and other third-party services.
History of the LCCN
The LCCN system has been in use since 1898. Its original acronym, LCCN, stood for Library of Congress Card Number. At that time, the LOC would create cards containing bibliographic information for their own catalog and sell duplicate sets to other libraries. Each set of these cards was assigned a serial number for identification. Over time, the name evolved to other variations, including the Library of Congress Catalog Card Number.
Cataloging in Publication (CIP)
The Cataloging in Publication (CIP) Program is a service provided by the Library of Congress to aid the nation’s libraries. The program’s purpose is to catalog books in advance of their publication.
Publishers submit applications through the Library of Congress PrePub Book Link. In response, the Library creates and provides a bibliographic record for the publication, which is then sent back to the publisher to be included in the final book.
