Converting to the Library of Congress System

Progress Report: As of May 1, 2008, the conversion is about 68% complete. The project is ahead of schedule and on budget.

Call Number Subject Status Temporary Location Final Location
A General Completed Upper Stack Level
B - BX 2199 Philosophy, Psychology, Religion Completed Upper Stack Level
BX 2200 - BX 4999 Religion In process Upper Stack Level
BX 5999 - BX 9999 Religion New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Upper Stack Level
C History New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Upper Stack Level
D - E 184 History Completed Upper Stack Level
E 185 - E 799 American History New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Upper Stack level
E 800 - F American History, Canadian, Mexican, South American History Completed Upper Stack Level
G Geography, Anthropology, Sports Completed Upper Stack Level
H - HF 1499 Business Completed Upper Stack Level
HF 1500 - HF 5679 Business New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Upper Stack Level
HF 5680 - HG Business Completed Upper Stack Level
HJ - HQ 75 Social Sciences Completed Main Stack Level
HQ 76 - HQ 1149 Social Sciences New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
HQ 1150 - HV 6549 Social Sciences Completed Main Stack Level
HV 6550 - HX Social Sciences New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
J-JA Political Science New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
JC - JK 1799 Political Science In process Main Stack Level
JK 1800 - JZ Political Science Completed Main Stack Level
K - KF 4699 Law In process Main Stack Level
KF 4700 - KZ Law New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
L, LA, LB 1 - LB 1025 Education New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
LB 1026 - LB 1189 Education Completed Main Stack Level
LB 1190 - LC 4179 Education New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
LV 4180 - LZ Education Completed Main Stack Level
M Music Completed Reading Room
N Art Completed Reading Room
P - PN 499 Literature New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
PN 500 - PN 1999 Literature, Film Completed Main Stack Level
PN 2000 - PN 9999 Literature, Film New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Main Stack Level
PQ, PR 1 - PR 6011 Literature Completed Main Stack Level
PR 6012 - PT Literature Completed Lower Stack Level
Q, QA  1 - QA 19 Science In process Lower Stack Level
QA 20 - QC Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Lower Stack Level
QD - QE Chemistry, Geology Completed Lower Stack Level
QH - QL 750 Biology, Zoology New books only Lower Stack Level: Holding Area 2 Lower Stack Level
QL 751 - QZ Zoology, Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology Completed Lower Stack Level
R Nursing Completed Lower Stack Level
S Agriculture Completed Bishop Quarter Room
T Technology Completed Bishop Quarter Room
U - V Military and Naval Science Completed Lower Stack Level
Z Bibliography, Information Science Completed Lower Stack Level

 

What is the Conversion? All books at the Library are being recataloged and relabeled with the Library of Congress (LC) system, replacing the old Dewey Decimal system.

What is the Library of Congress system? The LC system uses a combination of letters and numbers to arrange materials by subjects. The Library has a separate Web page that provides details on the LC system.

Project Dates: Beginning in July, 2007, the Library began converting its existing collection in stages which will take about 18-24 months. All new books will be cataloged using LC.

Reasons for the Conversion:

  • Most American college and university libraries use LC. Almost all new faculty and transfer students are unfamiliar with using Dewey and for many years they have reported problems in finding materials on the shelves.
  • LC’s alpha-numeric system makes it easier to find materials on the shelves. Patrons, staff and even librarians have difficulties in locating books with long Dewey numbers. In addition, through the years the Dewey system has been changed many times, resulting in similar books being scattered throughout the stacks. By converting to LC, many of these titles will be brought together, making searching much easier.
  • During the conversion process the Library will be able to inventory the entire collection and identify missing, misshelved, or lost items.

What Will Be Converted: Almost all books (about 80,000 items) located at both the Chicago and Orland Park campuses will be converted to LC.

What Will Not Be Converted: Books stored in off-site storage unless they are returned for use, and materials in the audio-visual and juvenile collections.

Problems Faculty and Students Can Expect: Every book needs to be recataloged, relabeled and moved. Due to space limitations, it will be sometimes necessary to move books to a temporary location and then to their final stack locations. The Library will keep updated location information on its catalog, Web site and in the facility to help patrons find items.