Workflow for Literature: Belletristic Works, Criticism and Interpretation, and Biography

1. Determine if cataloging for the item has an 050 00 call number.  If it does, accept the number as is.  No shelflisting needed.

• If the cataloging for the item does not have an 050 00 number but has an 050 _4 or 090 (member copy), then determine if the class number is an LC literature class. If it isn't (the subjects indicate the book is on linguistics, philology, etc.), process like any other non-literature call number. If the number is a literature class, go to 2.
• If there is no 050 _4 or 090, go to 3.

2. From the 050/090, determine:

• whether the book is belletristic (fiction, poetry, drama, sometimes general essays usually of a personal nature) or a work of "criticism and interpretation" or biography (the subjects or lack of them will generally determine this).
• whether the call number is constructed in the form CLASS-AUTHOR CUTTER-BOOK NUMBER (single Cutter author).

If the author is not of the single Cutter type, i.e. it is a single number author like Emily Dickinson or a multi-number author like Shakespeare, accept the number in 050 _4 or 090.

If no LCC number has been assigned, have the number checked on ClassWeb if it is a work (collected works or separate work) by the author. For single number authors like Dickinson, if it is biography, criticism, etc, and the pattern has already been established (other works about the author have already been cataloged) follow the pattern already set up in Orbis, adjusting the book number if necessary.

• whether the book is juvenile belletristic (PZ). If the number wasn't assigned by LC, accept the number. If the book is juvenile/young adult and there is no call number, send it to the no call number shelf.

3. If the author name is used as a main entry or a subject without subdivisions, use the Orbis Retrieve Authorities function to open the authority record (if it is in Orbis). Otherwise, use a Staff-Name search on the author’s name to see to see if the author is represented in Orbis.

• If the author is a single Cutter type, use (in order of preference) the 053/050 00 Cutter or the 852 Cutter if the author is represented in Orbis. The book number should be accepted as is.
• If the 050 _4/090 number is PZ class, use the number but shelflist it against the LC Online catalog rather than the Orbis catalog.
• If there are no cataloged works by the author in Orbis, check in LC Online Catalog or LC Authorities to see if LC has established a number for the author. If LC has established the author, use the LC number; the book number should be accepted as is.
• If there are no cataloged works by the single Cutter author in Orbis, and LC Online Catalog or LC Authorities indicate that LC has not established a Cutter for the author, shelflist the 050 4/090 author number against the Orbis OPAC. Once you have saved a call number entered in the staff MFHD record, note that the Refresh button in Web Voyage will re-display the sequence with the new number inserted. The number must respect the alphabetical sequence of the author numbers previously established. Two authors may not have the same number unless they publish under a single name  (e.g. Ellery Queen).* If there are split files caused by trailing X numbers, ignore the X numbers when determining the filing sequence; however, note that if one of the X numbers is for your author, you should prefer the author Cutter used by LC 050 00.

*It is possible that LC will have claimed a number already used by Yale for a different author. Provisionally, the decision is to use the same number for two different authors (in practice this has already happened with some authors due to human error). However, there may be situations where we will need to reclass; in that case the items with the Yale number should be reclassed.

• If you don't have an 050 4/090, and a search in Orbis or LC Online Catalog or LC Authorities shows that the author is not a single Cutter type (pre-20th century), refer to 2b.

4. For authors already assigned a Cutter in Orbis, it is no longer necessary to determine if Orbis has earlier editions of the work; it is no longer necessary to check for an edition of the original if you have a translation. Since we accept member book numbers as is; we accept that we are no longer committed to keeping editions and translations together.

5. In general, it is no longer necessary to keep book numbers in sequence.

6. If the author number is established and the book is about an individual work by the author, accept the member book number as is. If a new number for a book about a work is needed, check Orbis to determine the book number used at Yale for that work, add 3 and additional digit(s) for the main entry.

7. If the item cataloged being cataloged is about the author’s works in general (or a biography, autobiography, or correspondence), accept the member copy book number as is without trying to reconcile it with the existing shelf sequence. Do not use the old SML notation (Z9/Z5/Z6/Z7). If a new book number needs to be assigned, create the number from the unofficial table or shelflist against the OPAC, whichever is easier.