Definition

The Library of Congress control number (LCCN) and/or canceled or invalid LCCNs. The LC control number was formerly called the LC card number, and they were first issued in 1898. Before January 2001, LCCNs consisted of a three-character prefix (often containing blanks), a two-digit year, a six-digit serial number, and a trailing blank. This number was often displayed with a hyphen separating the year and the serial number. After December 2000, LCCNs consist of a two-character prefix (often containing blanks), a four-digit year, and a six-digit serial number.

Guidelines

Use the following guidelines to enter LCCNs in subfields ǂa, ǂb, or ǂz:

• Post-2000 LCCNs. Enter a new LCCN or edit an existing LCCN with or without blanks in the prefix followed by the four-digit year, an optional hyphen, and the serial number. OCLC displays the LCCN without a hyphen.

  Example	Enter post-2000 LCCNs	Display
  No prefix	2001-234 or 2001-000234 or 2001000234 or __2001000234	__2001000234
  1 character prefix	a2002-3456 or a2002-003456 or a2002003456 or a_2002003456	a_2002003456
  2 character prefix	sn2003-45678 or sn2003-045678 or sn2003045678	sn2003045678
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Pre-2001 LCCNs. Enter a new LCCN or edit an existing LCCN with or without blanks in the prefix followed by the two-digit year, an optional hyphen, the serial number, and an optional trailing blank at the end. OCLC displays the LCCN without a hyphen.

  Example	Enter pre-2001 LCCNs	Display
  No prefix	34-5678 or 34-005678 or 34005678 or ___34005678	___34005678_
  1 character prefix	e45-67 or e45-000067 or e45000067 or e__45000067	e__45000067_
  2 character prefix	sn85-678 or sn85-000678 or sn85000678 or sn_85000678	sn_85000678_
  3 character prefix	agr25-3 or agr25-000003 or agr25000003	agr25000003_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Prefixes. Enter alphabetic prefixes with or without trailing blanks as lowercase letters immediately preceding the number. Do not enter LCCNs with the prefix nuc. Prefixes can be no longer than three characters in pre-2001 LCCNs and no longer than two characters in post-2000 LCCNs.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  E25-20	e25-20 or e25-000020 or e25000020	e__25000020_
  SA68-11761	sa68-11761 or sa68-011761 or sa68011761	sa_68011761_
  Agr22-346	agr22-346 or agr22-000346 or agr22000346	agr22000346_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Prefixes with four or more characters. Alphabetic prefixes with four or more characters are not valid. If such a prefix is found in LC copy, substitute the corresponding three-character equivalent in place of the original prefix as shown.

  Original prefix	Enter prefix
  AFLN	afl
  CA Dupl	cad
  MicA	mid
  Micp	mie
  MicpA	mif
  PhoM	php
  PhomA	phq

• Single-digit years. If a pre-2001 LCCN contains a single-digit year, enter an initial 0 to produce a two-digit year. If you do not enter an initial 0, but do add a hyphen following the year, the system supplies the initial 0 in LCCNs without a prefix. If the LCCN contains an alphabetic prefix and a single-digit year, you must enter the initial 0 to produce a two-digit year.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  2-8520	2-8520 or 02-8520 or 02-008520 or 02008520	___02008520_
  Agr3-1285	agr03-1285 or agr03-001285 or agr03001285	agr03001285_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Leading zeros following the hyphen. When the hyphen is present, you may enter or omit leading zeros in the serial number following the hyphen. If you do not enter the leading zeros, the system supplies them. If you do not enter the hyphen, you must enter the leading zeros.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  74-01513	74-1513 or 74-001513 or 74001513	___74001513_
  2001-34	2001-34 or 2001-000034 or 2001000034	__2001000034
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Entering pre-1902 LCCNs. Before 1902, LC used various styles for LCCNs. For information about pre-1902 LCCNs that are not described here, contact the Library of Congress (LC Policy and Standards Division) or OCLC.

  • Cards issued in 1898. Some LCCNs issued in 1898 lack the year or have the prefix C and no year. Enter such LCCNs with the prefix and year as c98.

    LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
    398	c98-398 or c98-000398 or c98000398	c__98000398_
    C-245	c98-245 or c98-000245 or c98000245	c__98000245_
    Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

  • Cards issued in 1901. Some LCCNs issued in 1901 have no year but have alphabetic prefixes other than C. Others may be preceded by 1. Enter the alphabetic prefix in lowercase letters followed by 01, the optional hyphen, and the rest of the number.

    LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
    F-3144	f01-3144 or f01-003144 or f01003144	f__01003144_
    Rc-2100	rc01-2100 or rc01-002100 or rc01002100	rc_01002100_
    1-Rc-990	rc01-990 or rc01-000990 or rc01000990	rc_01000990_
    D-245	d01-245 or d01-000245 or d01000245	d__01000245_
    1-Z-245	z01-245 or z01-000245 or z01000245	z__01000245_
    Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Suffixes printed after or below the LCCN. Do not enter suffixes.

• Alphabetic or phrase identifiers. Do not enter the alphabetic identifier CD or phrases such as Additions, Exception, Provisional, Cancel, and Brief Cataloging.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  64-7345CD	64-7345 or 64-007345 or 64007345	___64007345_
  2-10372 Additions	02-10372 or 02-010372 or 02010372	___02010372_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Trailing asterisks, single daggers, or double daggers. Enter the LCCN only.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  8-30156*	8-30156 or 08-30156 or 08-030156 or 08030156	___08030156_
  4-26834 †	4-26834 or 04-26834 or 04-026834 or 04026834	___04026834_
  63-29455 ‡	63-29455 or 63-029455 or 63029455	___63029455_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Additional hyphens and slashes with trailing characters. The LCCN may be followed by a second hyphen and a single digit, by a second hyphen with an M and a single digit, or by a slash and a single digit. Do not enter second hyphens, slashes, or any of the characters following second hyphens or slashes.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  1-6360-1	1-6360 or 01-6360 or 01-006360 or 01006360	___01006360_
  F-795-7	f01-795 or f01-000795 or f01000795	f__01000795_
  2-2628-M2	2-2628 or 02-2628 or 02-002628 or 02002628	___02002628_
  3-1444/4	3-1444 or 03-1444 or 03-001444 or 03001444	___03001444_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

• Revision information. Do not enter:
  • Rev or revised following the LCCN to the right of the printing symbol.
  • Unrev'd following the LCCN.

  • Revision dates. The printing symbol (located to the right of the rod hole on LC cards) may include the revision date.

  LC copy	Enter LCCNs	Display
  74-237323 rev	74-237323 or 74237323	___74237323_
  74-5491 74[r75]rev	74-5491 or 74-005491 or 74005491	___74005491_
  F-1260 Revised [r35b2]	f01-1260 or f01-001260 or f01001260	f__01001260_
  1-1238 rev2	01-1238 or 01-001238 or 01001238	___01001238_
  68-3612 R [r77]rev4	68-3612 or 68-003612 or 68003612	___68003612_
  46-16977 rev2* ‡	46-16977 or 46-016977 or 46016977	___46016977_
  CA8-3172 Unrev'd	ca08-3172 or ca08-003172 or ca08003172	ca_08003172_
  Note: The underscore represents a blank space in this table.

Records for serials and integrating resources that are part of the CONSER database (field 042 subfield ǂa coded as pcc, msc, nlc, nsdp, etc.) must contain a valid LCCN. CONSER uses some special prefixes for LCCNs in some records.

Pseudo LCCNs

LC and CONSER participants used LCCNs prefixed with sc, sf, and sn, referred to as pseudo LCCNs, as follows:

• LCCNs with the prefix sc were used prior to 2000 in records for serials authenticated by LC, but not held by LC.
• LCCNs with the prefix sf were used prior to 2000 in records for serials authenticated by LC and held by LC, but given less-than-full cataloging.
• LCCNs with the prefix sn were used prior to 2000 in records for serials authenticated by CONSER participants and the National Serials Data Program (NSDP). LCCNs with the prefix sn were also used prior to 1984 for serials authenticated by LC and held by LC, but given less-than-full cataloging. LCCNs with the prefix sn are currently used by LC and the United States Newspaper Program (USNP) for cataloging newspapers.

Prior to May 1999, LC assigned unprefixed LCCNs to records for serials previously authenticated with pseudo LCCNs. The unprefixed LCCN would be added to subfield ǂa and the pseudo LCCN moved to subfield ǂz. LC now retains the pseudo LCCN in previously authenticated records it uses for cataloging.

LAC LCCNs

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) records for serials that are part of the CONSER database use LCCNs prefixed with ce, cf, and cn as follows:

• LCCNs with the prefix ce are used in records for bilingual serials cataloged in English
• LCCNs with the prefix cf are used in records for bilingual serials cataloged in French
• LCCNs with the prefix cn are used in records for non-bilingual serials cataloged in English or French

The LAC LCCNs used in the CONSER database are derived from the LAC control number in field 016. When a bilingual serial is cataloged in both English and French the same number will appear in each LCCN following the ce and cf prefixes.

1st Indicator

Undefined. The 1st indicator position is undefined and contains a blank.

	Undefined

2nd Indicator

Undefined. The 2nd indicator position is undefined and contains a blank.

	Undefined

Subfields

A canceled or invalid LCCN must be entered in subfield ǂz, not subfield ǂa. If in doubt, use subfield ǂz.

Indexing

For indexing and searching information, see Searching WorldCat Indexes, field 010.

MARC 21

For more information, including content designator history, see MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data, field 010.