Newspaper Classification:
An Expansion of the Library of Congress “A”
Classification to Accommodate International
Newspapers
View/Download .pdf from UF Digital Library
Naomi Kietzke Young
Principal Serials Cataloger
George A. Smathers Libraries
University of Florida
Classifying Newspapers : an Expansion of the Library of Congress AN Schedule
Why devise a classification system for newspapers at all?
It may at first seem foolish to devise a system for the classification of newspapers. Catalogers who look to the Library of Congress (LC) as a guide to practice will find only limited warrant for such a system. The AN schedule has been reserved in the Library of Congress Classification (LCC), but never developed or used. A description of LC practice may be found in the classification schedules under AN:
Domestic newspapers at the Library of Congress are arranged in checklists and on shelves as follows: [1] By state; [2] By city, town, etc.; [3] By important word in title. Eighteenth century newspapers are arranged by first word of title (excluding the initial article of the title); [4] By date
Foreign newspapers at the Library of Congress are arranged in checklists and on the shelves as follows: [1] By country; [2] By city, town, etc.; [3] By first word in title (excluding the initial article of the title); [4] By date
Additionally, PN4899-5650 has been reserved for the history and description of individual newspapers.
So if LC doesn’t bother, why should we? There are arguments against going to the trouble of classifying newspapers. It is true that Freeland and Bailey’s study (2008) indicated that use of current print newspapers has dwindled significantly. And for current, print newspapers alone, an alphabetic arrangement might well suffice for all but the largest collections. Digital archives do not require a call number for sorting and retrieval. However, digitization projects have not yet approached anything like creating access for the entire corpus of newspaper production. Partially as a result of the Tasini decision (N.Y. Times Co. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483, 505 (2001)), many digitized collections contain only some articles, omitting advertisements, freelancer-created articles and syndicated content. Furthermore, digitization projects are not yet practical in much of the developing world (Loubser, 2006), and there are doubts about the viability of digital formats for long-term preservation. As Brown and Fenton (2006, p.65) contend:
“Preservation microfilming reduces the potential of significant risk of loss inherent in both the nature of the acidic hardcopy papers and in the digital repositories which need to be systematically backed up, refreshed and/or migrated to ensure their ongoing accessibility. Microfilm then becomes an integral step in the expanding future of newspaper digitisation programs." Until and unless these shortcomings can be overcome, microfilm collections are likely to remain important for genealogists, social historians, and others seeking primary source material.
Why this classification system: The existing situation
The need for a new classification system for microfilm newspapers arose at the University of Florida when library renovations made it desirable to collocate several separate microform collections into a single location. Newspapers in these collections were classified in Library of Congress Classification (LCC), primarily the F schedule; Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and a DDC-like, locally-created Florida History classification system. Some papers were shelved by title, and some reels that had scattered issues of various titles could only be used with the assistance of a curator. The collection managers of the Florida newspapers expressed a strong desire, based on observed patterns of use, for all the newspaper microfilm to be shelved in its own sequence. Library administration was strongly discouraging separate sequences of shelving within the collection, opting for a single A-Z LCC sequence. The only way we could avoid creating a separate sequence, or intershelving the newspaper film with other film in the same subject area was to create a sequence specifically for newspapers that would integrate seamlessly with the rest of the LCC materials in the collection. We decided that the best way to meet local needs was to develop the AN schedule, using a geographic hierarchical structure similar to that used in the MARC 752 field. We had initially intended this classification system primarily for the Florida newspapers, although a few regional newspapers of national interest were included. (One title, the Wall Street Journal, was not integrated into this system, as it was considered more appropriate to shelve it with other business and finance periodicals than with general newspapers.) However, the Selectors in our area studies departments wanted us to expand the system so that it covered their materials as well.
In order to expand the scheme to accommodate international papers, we adapted Table H8 from the LCC H schedule. This table arranged all regions and nations in a reasonably logical arrangement, although some areas (such as the Caribbean) were more compressed than what would be ideal, requiring decimal numbers, while in other places there were large gaps. Still, adapting an existing list was more expedient than creating a new one, and allows catalogers accustomed to LCC’s divisions of the world to find the desired country quickly. There are similar tables that could be used, but this one had a suitable degree of specificity for our needs.
For US and Canadian titles, each number has three Cutters: the first for the state or province, the second for the city or county, and the third for the title. City or county codes may be taken from the LCC G schedule, or derived according to the standard Cutter table. If the geographic area a paper serves is not immediately evident, check the 752 field of the catalog record to identify it. See the examples below.
Gainesville Sun, Gainesville, Florida
AN2 ← designates the item as a US newspaper
.F6 ← geographic Cutter for the state of Florida
G2 ← geographic Cutter for the city (can be derived from LCC G schedule)
G35 ← title Cutter
Edmonton Sun, Edmonton, Alberta
AN10 ← designates the item as a Canadian newspaper
.A3 ← geographic Cutter for province of Alberta
E36 ← derived Cutter for Edmonton
E37 ← title Cutter
The final Cutter is based on the first title cataloged (not necessarily the earliest title in the title history!), and retained for subsequent major changes in title as long as no mergers or splits were involved, in conformance with our general practice regarding serials.
A unique call number is assigned to the merged title, but retained for the subsequent titles, because there are no further mergers and splits
When the “family tree” of a newspaper is complex, call numbers may need to be changed. Numbering of the newspaper (if any exists apart from chronology) can be useful in determining possible titles to group together.
The problem of reels with scattered issues of various titles was particularly difficult to solve. We classified these according to the state, with a final cutter of Z99, and added an additional holding record to the records for the relevant titles where possible.
AN2 ← US newspaper
.F6 ← Florida
Z99 ← Miscellaneous titles
Refinements and options
Title selection
Libraries may choose to Cutter for title according to the first major word in the title after the name of the city, when the name of the city is the first major word. This would avoid creating long Cutters when there are several newspapers cataloged for a given area beginning with the name of the city or locale.
National newspapers
For national newspapers, rather than interfiling them with local newspapers published in the same city, classify with the AN number for the country of publication, then the Cutter .A1, then the title cutter This puts all national newspapers at the head of the sequence for their country of publication, but requires cataloger (or bibliographer) judgment about which titles should be considered “national.”
Expanding the scheme
Collections that have a focus on a specific regions or countries may wish to create additional tables for the states, provinces, or subdivisions of that country, or they may wish to exploit the gaps in the existing schedule to integrate greater specificity at the top-level classification number.
Works Cited
Table 1: Regions and Countries
Append the number below to AN to create the base classification number.
2 United States*
10 Canada *
10.25 Saint Pierre and Miquelon Islands 11 Latin America -- General
15 Mexico
21 Central America -- General
26 Belize. British Honduras
31 Costa Rica
41 Guatemala
51 Honduras
61 Nicaragua
71 Panama
76 Panama Canal Zone
81 El Salvador
96 Bahamas
101 Cuba
111 Haiti
116 Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo
121 Jamaica
131 Puerto Rico
141 Virgin Islands of the United States
142 British West Indies. English-Speaking Caribbean
142.5 Barbados
144 Leeward Islands -- General
144.2 Anguilla
144.4 Antigua and Barbuda
144.6 Monserrat
144.8 Saint Kitts-Nevis
145 Windward Islands – General
145.3 Dominica
145.5 Grenada
145.7 Saint Lucia
145.9 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
146 Trinidad and Tobago
147 Netherlands Antilles. Dutch West Indies--General
147.5 Aruba
147.6 Bonaire
147.7 Curaçao
147.8 Saba
147.85 Saint Eustatius
147.9 Saint Martin
148 French West Indies -- General
149 Guadeloupe
150 Martinique
151 South America-- General
161 Argentina
171 Bolivia
181 Brazil
191 Chile
201 Colombia
211 Ecuador
230 Guianas -- General
230.3 Guyana. British Guiana
230.5 Suriname. Dutch Guiana
230.7 French Guiana
231 Paraguay
241 Peru
251 Uruguay
261 Venezuela
280 Europe and European Union - General
280.5 European Economic Community countries
280.7 Eastern Europe. Central Europe
280.8 Commonwealth countries
281 Great Britain -- General
285 England
290 Scotland
295 Wales
300.3 Ireland. Irish Republic
320 Austria
320.3 Czechoslovakia. Czech Republic
320.4 Slovakia
320.5 Hungary
320.9 Liechtenstein
340 France
340.5 Monaco
360 Germany Including West Germany
360.5 East Germany
390 Italy
390.3 San Marino
390.5 Malta
400 Benelux countries. Low countries -General
401 Belgium
411 Netherlands
415 Luxembourg
430 Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet republics
430.2 Russia (Federation)
430.7 Belarus
430.8 Moldova
430.9 Ukraine
435 Finland
439.6 Baltic States -- General
439.7 Estonia
439.8 Latvia
439.9 Lithuania
440 Scandinavia -General
441 Denmark
451 Iceland
461 Norway
471 Sweden
490 Spain
490.3 Andorra
490.5 Gibraltar
491-500 Portugal
501-510 Switzerland
520 Balkan States -- General
520.5 Albania
521 Bulgaria
531 Yugoslavia. Serbia and Montenegro
Class here works on Yugoslavia as a whole during the period 1918-1992 as well as on the country of Serbia and Montenegro during the period 2003-2006. Class works about an individual republic or locality with the republic, regardless of time period covered.
536 Serbia
536.5 Montenegro
537 Slovenia
538 Croatia
539 Bosnia and Hercegovina
540 Macedonia (Republic)
550 Romania
550.5 Greece
550.7 Mediterranean Region. Southern Europe
550.8 Black Sea Region
551 Asia -- General
556 Middle East. Near East -- General
556.15 Caucasus -- General
556.2 Armenia
556.3 Azerbaijan
556.4 Georgia (Republic)
556.5 Turkey
557 Cyprus
558 Syria
559 Lebanon
560 Israel. Palestine
560.5 West Bank
560.7 Gaza Strip
561 Jordan
562 Arabian Peninsula. Arabia. Persian Gulf States --General
563 Saudi Arabia
564 Yemen Including the Yemen Arab Republic prior to 1990
564.5 Yemen (People's Democratic Republic). Southern Yemen. Aden (Colony and Protectorate)
565 Oman. Muscat and Oman
566 United Arab Emirates. Trucial States
567 Qatar
568 Bahrain
569 Kuwait
570 Iraq
570.2 Iran
570.22 Central Asia --General
570.23 Kazakhstan
570.24 Kyrgyzstan
570.25 Tajikistan
570.26 Turkmenistan
570.27 Uzbekistan
570.3 South Asia -- General
570.6 Afghanistan
570.7 Burma. Myanmar
570.8 Sri Lanka. Ceylon
570.9 Nepal
590 India
590.3 Bhutan
590.5 Pakistan
590.6 Bangladesh
590.8 Southeast Asia. Indochina Including French Indochina -- General
600.3 Kampuchea. Cambodia
600.4 Laos
600.5 Vietnam
600.55 Thailand
600.6 Malaysia. Malaya
600.67 Singapore
600.68 Brunei
610 Indonesia
610.3 Timor-Leste. East Timor
615 Philippines
621 East Asia. Far East -- General
625 Japan
630.5 Korea Including South Korea
630.6 North Korea (Democratic People's Republic)
630.8 Outer Mongolia. Mongolian People's Republic
635 China
641 Macau
646 Taiwan. Formosa
655 Hong Kong
666 Arab countries (Collective)
668 Islamic countries (Collective)
680 Africa Including Sub-Saharan Africa -- General
681 North Africa --General
682 Morocco
683 Algeria
684 Tunisia
685 Libya
686 Egypt. United Arab Republic
687 Sudan
688 Northeast Africa -- General
688.9 Eritrea
689 Ethiopia
690 Somalia Including British and Italian Somaliland
691 Djibouti. French Territory of the Afars and Isas
692 Southeast Africa Including East Africa -- General
693 Kenya
694 Uganda
695 Rwanda
696 Burundi
697 Tanzania. Tanganyika. Zanzibar
698 Mozambique
699 Madagascar. Malagasy Republic
700 Southern Africa -- General
701 South Africa
702 Rhodesia Including Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia)
703 Zambia. Northern Rhodesia
704 Lesotho. Basutoland
705 Swaziland
706 Botswana. Bechuanaland
707 Malawi. Nyasaland
708 Namibia. Southwest Africa
709 Central Africa. Equatorial Africa -- General
710 Angola
711 Zaire. Congo (Democratic Republic)
712 Equatorial Guinea
713 Sao Tome and Principe
714 French-speaking Equatorial Africa. French Congo
715 Gabon
716 Congo (Brazzaville). Middle Congo
717 Central African Republic. Ubangi-Shari
718 Chad
719 Cameroon
720 West Africa. West Coast -- General
720.5 Sahel
721 French-speaking West Africa
722 Benin. Dahomey
723 Togo
724 Niger
725 Côte d'Ivoire. Ivory Coast
726 Guinea
727 Mali
728 Burkina Faso. Upper Volta
729 Senegal
730 Mauritania
731 Nigeria
732 Ghana
733 Sierra Leone
734 Gambia
735 Liberia
736 Guinea-Bissau. Portuguese Guinea
737 Western Sahara. Spanish Sahara
737.85 Atlantic Area. Atlantic Ocean islands General
738 Azores
738.3 Bermuda
738.5 Madeira Islands
738.7 Canary Islands
738.9 Cape Verde Islands
739 Saint Helena
739.3 Tristan da Cunha
739.5 Falkland Islands
739.6 Indian Ocean islands -- General
739.7 Maldive Islands
739.9 Seychelles
740 Comoros
740.3 Mauritius
740.5 Réunion
740.7 Kerguelen Islands
740.8 Mayotte
750 Australia
830.5 New Zealand
830.7 Pacific Area. Pacific Ocean islands General
830.9 Melanesia
831 Trust Territory of the Pacific. Micronesia
831.2 Marshall Islands
831.3 Mariana Islands Including Northern Mariana Islands
831.4 Palau
831.5 Guam
832 Papua New Guinea
832.3 Kiribati. Gilbert Islands
832.33 Nauru
832.35 Tuvalu. Ellice Islands
833 Solomon Islands
834 New Caledonia
835 Vanuatu. New Hebrides
836 Fiji Islands
837 Tonga
837.5 Cook Islands
838 Samoan Islands -- General
838 American Samoa
839 Samoa. Western Samoa
839.5 French Polynesia
840 Arctic regions -- General
842.5 Greenland
842.7 Antarctic regions
*For the first cutter for these countries, see Table 2.
Table 2: Cutters for States and Provinces (from the Classification and Shelving Manual: Shelflisting)
Alabama .A2
Alaska .A4
Arizona .A6
Arkansas .A8
California .C2
Colorado .C6
Connecticut .C8
Delaware .D3
Florida .F6
Georgia .G4
Hawaii .H3
Idaho .I2
Illinois .I3
Indiana .I6
Iowa .I8
Kansas .K2
Kentucky .K4
Louisiana .L8
Maine .M2
Maryland .M3
Massachusetts .M4
Michigan .M5
Minnesota .M6
Mississippi .M7
Missouri .M8
Montana .M9
Nebraska .N2
Nevada .N3
New Hampshire .N4
New Jersey .N5
New Mexico .N6
New York .N7
North Carolina .N8
North Dakota .N9
Ohio .O3
Oklahoma .O5
Oregon .O7
Pennsylvania .P4
Rhode Island .R4
South Carolina .S6
South Dakota .S8
Tennessee .T2
Texas .T4
Utah .U8
Vermont .V5
Virginia .V8
Washington (D.C. .W18
Washington (State) .W2
West Virginia .W4
Wisconsin .W6
Wyoming .W8
Canada (Provinces)
Alberta .A3
British Columbia .B8
Manitoba .M3
New Brunswick .N5
Newfoundland .N6
Northwest Territories .N7
Nova Scotia .N8
Nunavut .N9
Ontario .O6
Prince Edward Island .P8
Quebec (Province) .Q3
Saskatchewan .S2
Yukon Territory .Y8
|
