When the book number cutters to title, and more than one work has the same title as the main entry, the book number is adjusted so the different works are arranged by imprint date. If the imprint date is the same, subarrange in the order of cataloging. (Slight modification of G100 #5).
Caution: for filing, the title is defined as extending to the first significant mark of punctuation. Since LC restricts "significant mark of punctuation" to either a period or a slash, subtitles (and parallel titles) are considered to be part of the title for filing purposes; essentially, the title is whatever precedes 245 ‡c if there is a ‡c; if no ‡c, the entire 245 field. In the example below, a title such as Sharks: a collection of pictures would file after QL638.9.S4595 irrespective of date. Since LC generally does not classify media items, the manual does not address GMDs; ignore them in filing.
Example following is the result of a (slightly edited) LC call number search in LCDB.
| LC Call number a|b | Author | Title Long | Imprint | Comments |
| QL638.9.S454 1987 | Sharks / consulting editor, John D. Stevens. | New York, N.Y. : Facts on File, 1987. | 1st. ed. * | |
| QL638.9.S454 1999 | Sharks / consulting editor, John D. Stevens. | New York, N.Y. : Checkmark Books, 1999. | 2nd ed.* | |
| QL638.9.S457 1998 | Sharks. | New York : Golden Books Pub. Col , 1998. | Cataloged first | |
| QL638.9.S458 1998 | Sharks. | Pleasantville, N.Y. : Reader's Digest Association, [c1998] | Same title, same imprint date, cataloged 2nd | |
| QL638.9.S459 1999 | Sharks! / consultant editor, Leighton Taylor. | San Francisco, CA : Weldon Owen, c1999. | ||
| QL638.9.S4595 2001 | Sharks / [created by Act Two ; main illustrations, Mike Atkinson. | New York : Scholastic, c2001. |
*If there is more than one edition of the same work, the same book number is assigned to all editions and the editions are subarranged by date.