7-8. LC Cutter Table & Wiggle Room

7. When cutters need to be assigned or adjusted, follow the LC Cutter Table. For many years SML used its own cutter table which was slightly out of synch with the LC table. This has sometimes resulted in difficulties integrating new call numbers from LC and member copy into the YUL file. As a PCC contributing library whose call numbers will be used by other libraries' shared cataloging units, it makes sense to follow what is generally recognized as standard practice here. The LC cutter table is in SCM: Shelflisting (it can also be accessed directly through a link on the Cataloger's Desktop Infobase list), and on the Cataloging at Yale web page/Tools & Resources at:

http://web.library.yale.edu/cataloging/lc-cutter-table

LC CUTTER TABLE       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

After initial vowels for the second letter:

 

B

D

L-M

N

P

R

S-T

U-Y
 

use number

  

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9
                     

(2)

After initial letter S for the second letter:

  

A

CH

E

H-I

M-P

T

U

W-Z
 

use number:

  

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9
                     

(3)

After initial letters Qu for the second letter:

  

A

E

I

O

R

T

Y

  
 

use number:

  

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

  
 

For initial letters Qa-Qt use:

  

2-29

              
                     

(4)

After other initial consonants for the second letter:

  

A

E

I

O

R

U

Y

  
 

use number:

  

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

  
                     

(5)

For expansion for the letter:

  

A-D

E-H

I-L

M-O

P-S

T-Y

W-Z

  
 

use number:

  

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

  

  

To apply the table: Select the row that applies to the first letter of the word used for cuttering

  • A single letter at the head of a column implies a range of letters up to the next column, e.g. if column 2 is "d" and column 3 is "l-m", use column 2 for any letter d through k
  • For the second digit (and any subsequent digits), use row 5
  • When the book number is cuttered to a title beginning with a numeral, the range A12-A19 is assigned (see 18f below)
  • What you see is what you cutter; ignore diacritics. Cutter "Mc" as MC not MAC; cutter ö as O, not OE, and so on. If there is a large file arranged according to the earlier card filing rules where, e.g. MC was cuttered as MAC, start a new file. CAUTION: there are some exceptions. See18d. below.

Examples:

Vowels

  

S

  

Q

  

Consonant

  

Idaho

.I33

Sadron

.S23

Qiao

.Q27

Campbell

.C36

Inman

.I56

Schreiber

.S37

Quade

.Q33

Ceccaldi

.C43

Ipswich

.I67

Stinson

.S75

Qutub

.Q88

Cryer

.C79

8. WIGGLE ROOM. It is standard shelflisting practice not to use a 0 or 1 as the last digit of a cutter number. If the last digit is 0 or 1, cutter numbers that need to be inserted before the number ending in 0/1 may become very extended, and as a result a situation is created in an area of the file making it easier to misread the number and misshelve the book. The YUL file is of a size that certain basic strategies should be performed routinely to avoid 0/1 situations:

  • Avoid using single digits when assigning cutters. (Regrettably, LC continues to use single digits in some of its book numbers. Leave these numbers as is. However, member record cutters with single digits are OK to modify.)
  • Don't use a 2 as the last digit of a cutter number. If 2 is necessary to insert the number in the file, add another digit for wiggle room. (A digit larger than 2 please!)