beebeecannon replied to your post:
What’s my favorite book, you ask? PZ 3 .H875 M57...
Oh interesting. I thought it was standard across the board… Gotta learn more about cataloging
Just because a library uses the Library of Congress system to organize their books doesn’t mean they have to follow ALL of the rules and label things the EXACT same way.
For instance, specialized libraries can choose to expand call numbers if there are too many of the same call number but the books are all different. Adding extra letters or adding numbers after the decimal point increases specificity in these weird situations. Libraries may also choose to shorten call numbers for the exact opposite reason.
Sometimes the same book has a different call number in another library because that library cataloged it based on what that particular library finds to be the most important aspect of the book.
In the case of Les Miserables, there are two commonly known call number designations one starts out with PQ and one with PZ.
Both start with P, which makes sense because P is the designation for Fiction.
In the case of PQ, the library has identified that the book is Fiction-French Literature. Depending on the number after the PQ would then tell you the type of fiction (ie. Historical, Poetry, Drama, etc.)
In the case of PZ, the library has identified that the book is Fiction-Juvenile Belles Lettre. Belles Lettres approximately means “fine writing” in French so that particular library felt the need to emphasize the “classical” aspect of the book, rather than the origin of the book. The numbers after PZ would tell you more about the type of book (ie. the year it was published, the way it is written, the subject matter etc.)
So yeah! Long story short, just because two libraries use the same system, doesn’t mean that a book will be shelved in the same place because libraries have different priorities depending on the patrons they serve!
