Hi Frank,

>I thought a classification number was a number or letter-number
>combination constructed from a library classification system (LCC, Dewey,
>or another) whereas a call number was a classification number plus a
>Cutter number and possible edition marker such as a year plus or minus
>other letter-number codes, or an accession number, used for locating an
>item on a shelf in a library

That's how my head librarian once described it for the benefit of the
confused. The call number, she said, was so-called from the days when
libraries had shelves to the top of very high ceilings. For shelving
and stocktaking purposes, one person would shin up a ladder and 'call'
the number to another person below. Or vice versa. The call number
being the shelving designation on the spine as opposed to just the classification
system number which denotes subject content. But you probaly know all this.
What makes the expression 'call number' confusing to some people is the
fact that it's not necessarily just a number.

Regards
Angela
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Angela Westwick, Cataloguer, Library
Auckland Institute of Technology
Private Bag 92006, Auckland, New Zealand
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(Fax 64-09-307-9977, Voice 64-09-307-9999 Extn. 8550)
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