Literature : Belletristic Works, Criticism and Interpretation, and Biography
Last content review: 2026-02-09
Workflows
Belletristic Works
At YUL, belletristic works referred to as literary work (fiction, poetry, drama and sometimes general essays usually of a personal nature) by individual author.
Provide full-level cataloging and assign encoding level: “Blank” for full-level
YUL policy:
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are not required when creating an original cataloging record, but their use is encouraged.
Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) are required.
See also:
Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (PDF)
Subject Heading Manual (SHM), H 1156 Literatures
Subject Heading Manual (SHM), H 1775 Literature: General
Subject Heading Manual (SHM), H 1780 Literature: Drama
Subject Heading Manual (SHM), H 1790 Literature: Fiction
Subject Heading Manual (SHM), H 1800 Literature: Poetry
Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), F 632 — Literary Authors
Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), F 634 — Literary Collections
Example 1: Single work
OCLC# 1433677610
Example 2: Compilation of works
OCLC# 1450556325 (Collection of two novels by single author)
OCLC# 1081353545 (Collection of two novels by single author)
OCLC #1393440069
Example 3: Translation of single work
OCLC# 1484906134
OCLC# 1464286171
Juvenile Belletristic
Effective Feb. 2005, PZ call numbers are now assigned for juvenile belle lettres to all juvenile and young adult fiction books in any language, including: general multi-genre collections of juvenile belles-lettres, picture storybooks, alphabet and counting books with a storyline, stories in rhyme, illustrated song texts for children, juvenile folk tales, and traditional nursery rhymes. Juvenile fiction and folklore in English are classified under PZ5–PZ10.3, while other languages use corresponding ranges for the same purpose. Juvenile poetry, drama, humor, and comic books should be classified according to the P–PT literature schedules.
Provide full-level cataloging and assign encoding level: “Blank” for full-level
YUL policy:
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are not required when creating an original cataloging record, but their use is encouraged.
Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) are required.
Example: Juvenile belle lettre
OCLC# 37975719
OCLC# 767824903
OCLC# 1479533463 (Anthologies of juvenile literature)
Literary Collection or Anthology
Provide full-level cataloging, assign encoding level: “Blank” for full-level.
YUL policy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) are required.
See also:
Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (PDF)
RDA Refresher Performance Support: Compilation of Works by Different Creators
Subject Heading Manual, H 1156 Literatures
Subject Heading Manual, H 1775 Literature: General
Subject Heading Manual, H 1780 Literature: Drama
Subject Heading Manual, H 1790 Literature: Fiction
Subject Heading Manual, H 1800 Literature: Poetry
Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), F 634 — Literary Collections
Example 1: Compilation of works by different authors with collective title
OCLC# 1460295754
OCLC # 1237832278
Example 2: Compilations of works by different authors without collective title
OCLC# <TBD>
Criticism and Interpretation and Biography
Provide full-level cataloging, assign encoding level: “Blank” for full-level
Library of Congress Subject Heading is required.
Assign appropriate Library of Congress Genre Term Form as appropriate
See also:
Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (PDF)
Subject Heading Manual, H 1156 Literatures
Subject Heading Manual, H 1775 Literature: General
Subject Heading Manual, H 1780 Literature: Drama
Subject Heading Manual, H 1790 Literature: Fiction
Subject Heading Manual, H 1800 Literature: Poetry
Library of Classification for Literature
See also:
Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), F 632 — Literary Authors
Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), F 633 — Literary Authors: Subarrangement of Works
Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), F 634 — Literary Collections
General Outline Western Literature Call Numbers for Individual Authors
PB1201-1329 | Celtic languages & literatures (e.g. Gaelic, Welsh) |
PC3801-3976 | Catalan language & literature |
PH5001-5490 | Basque |
PQ | Romance literature (e.g. French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) |
PR | English literature |
PS | American literature |
PT | Germanic literature (including Dutch and Scandinavian literature) |
Topics and Authors: Within each class are topics (e.g., PS214 for American literature -- 19th century) and numbers for individual authors (e.g., PS1541 for Emily Dickinson).
Grouping by Period:
Period Assignment: Authors are grouped by period within national literature, assigned individual numbers in alphabetical order.
Pre-20th Century Authors: Assigned ranges based on the volume of material (e.g., Shakespeare: PR2750-3112, Goethe: PT1891-2239).
20th Century Authors: Assigned a single Cutter number, based on the second letter of the author's last name (e.g., William Faulkner: PS3511.A86).
Cutter Numbers:
20th Century: Based on the second letter of the author's last name (e.g., PS3511 for authors whose last names begin with 'F').
Special Cases: Authors from countries where the language is a colonial legacy use a single number followed by A-Z (e.g., Salman Rushdie: PR9499.3.R8).
21st Century Authors: Begin publishing in 2001 or later, typically follow the 20th-century pattern for Cutter numbers (e.g., French-Canadian: PQ3919.3.A-Z).
Subarrangement of Works (Table P-PZ 40):
Collected Works
Translations (of the works, not individual titles)
Selected Works
Separate Works (alphabetically by title, translations, followed by books about the specific work)
Bibliography and General Criticism
Cutter Numbers Table P-PZ40 | Descriptions |
|---|---|
| Collected work. Including collected works in specific genres |
P-PZ40 .x date | By date |
| Translations (Collected or selected) |
P-PZ40 .xA199 | Modern versions of early authors in the same language. By date |
P-PZ40 .xA1995 | Polyglot. By date |
P-PZ40 .xA2 | English. By date |
P-PZ40 .xA3 | French. By date |
P-PZ40 .xA4 | German. By date |
P-PZ40 .xA5-.xA59 | Other. By language (alphabetically) and date |
P-PZ40 .xA6 | Selected works. Selections. By date |
P-PZ40 .xA61-.xZ458 | Separate works. By title |
| Biography and criticism |
P-PZ40 .xZ4581-.xZ4589 | Periodicals. Societies. Serials |
P-PZ40 .xZ459 | Dictionaries, indexes, etc. By date |
P-PZ40 .xZ46 | Autobiography, journals, memoirs. By date |
P-PZ40 .xZ48 | Letters (Collections). By date Including collections of letters to and from particular individuals |
P-PZ40 .xZ5-.xZ999 | General works |
Single Cutter Authors
Most twentieth and twenty-first century authors writing will have a single Cutter number. Different works are distinguished by a 3rd line cuttered to the book’s title.
Example of works by an author with a single number is the 20th century novelist D.H. Lawrence.
A 1996 edition of his novel Sons and lovers has the call number: 050 #4 $a PR6023.A93 $b S6 1996
PR6023 | In the LC classification, PR6000-6049 is English literature, 1900-1960 is for English literature, 1900-1960 for authors with last name beginning with the letter L. |
.A83 | Author Cutter (to the 2nd letter of the author’s name, Lawrence) |
S6 | Book number/Cutter for title of work: Sons and loves |
1999 | Date of publication. (The practice of adding a date to the call number dates from the ‘70’s) |
Example of Literary Author Number and Cutter Based on Table P–PZ40 for D.H. Lawrence.
Manifestations | Call Number and Comments |
|---|---|
240 10 $a Proses. 245 10 $a Collected writings of D.H. Lawrence. | PR6023 $b .A93 2006 Collected work. By date |
240 10 $a Plays. 245 14 $aThe plays / $c D.H. Lawrence ; edited by Hans-Wilhelm Schwarze and John Worthen. | PR6023 $b .A93 1999 Collected work in specific genres. By date |
240 10 $a Works. $k Selections 245 10 $a D.H. Lawrence : $b selected poetry and non-fictional prose / $c edited by John Lucas. | PR6023.A93 $b A6 1990 Selected works. Selections. By date A6 assigned for selections in multiple forms. |
240 1# $a Essays. $k Selections 245 10 $a Late essays / $c D.H. Lawrence. | PR6023.A93 $b A6 2004 A6 assigned for selections in a single form |
245 14 $a The widowing of Mrs. Holroyd and other plays / $c D.H. Lawrence. | PR6023.A93 $b W536 2001 Compilations of selected plays. The manifestation title is used in place of the conventional collective title Plays. Selections (see: PCC Policy on Compilations of Work by One Agent) |
245 10 $a Aaron's rod / $c D.H. Lawrence ; edited by Mara Kalnins. | PR6023.A93 $b A65 1988 For titles beginning with the letter “A,” use the cutter number range A61–A##. |
100 10 $a Baker, Paul G. $q (Paul Geoffrey), $e author. 245 12 $a A reassessment of D.H. Lawrence's Aaron's rod / $c by Paul G. Baker. 600 10 $a Lawrence, D. H. $q (David Herbert), $d 1885-1930, $t Aaron’s rod. | PR6023.A93 $b A6533 1983 The number 3 is added to the base cutter number A65 to represent the subject Aaron's Rod. The additional 3 reflects the cutter number for the author, Baker. |
100 10 $a Miller, Henry, $d 1891-1980, $e author. 245 10 $t Notes on "Aaron's rod" and other notes on Lawrence from the Paris notebooks / $c Henry Miller, edited by Seamus Cooney. 600 10 $a Lawrence, D. H. $q (David Herbert), $d 1885-1930, $t Aaron’s rod. | PR6023.A93 $b A6535 1983 The number 3 is added to the base cutter A65 to represent the subject Aaron's Rod. The subsequent '5' positions Henry Miller alphabetically after Baker, Paul G. (Paul Geoffrey) |
245 10 $a Amores : poems / $c by D.H. Lawrence. | PR6023.A93 $b A7 1916 A named collection of poems is filed as a separate work.xA61-.xZ485 rather than under selections (A6). |
245 10 $a Sons and lovers / $c D.H. Lawrence ; edited by Helen Baron and Carl Baron. | PR6023.A93 $b S6 1992 Separate works. By title |
245 10 $a Sons and lovers / $c D.H. Lawrence ; edited with an introduction by David Trotter. | PR6023.A93 $b S6 1995 Different editions of the same work published in different years differentiated by date. |
245 Etudes lawrenciennes. | PR6023.A93 $b Z4582 Serials are now assigned .xZ4581-.xZ4589; the LC number range for periodicals dates from the late 80's. Although the number can be accepted as is, it is not considered good practice locally to end the book number on 1 or 2; if the number had been assigned locally, it would probably have been Z45828. Prior to that time LC classed periodical titles under General works about the author Z5-Z9999; hence the D.H. Lawrence review, LCCN 75015429, cataloged in the mid 70's, has been assigned: PR6023.A93 $b Z6234. |
245 14 $aThe New Mexico journals of D.H. Lawrence. (made up example) | PR6023.A93 $b Z46 1925 This is a made-up example since Lawrence never wrote an autobiography and there are no published journals or diaries by him. Autobiography is now assigned a single number, Z46. |
245 12 $a A writer's journal / $c D.H. Lawrence. (made up example) | PR6023.A93 $b Z46 2012 Former practice would have assigned: PR6023.A93 $b Z478 2012 |
Selected letters / D.H. Lawrence ; selected by Richard Aldington, with an introduction by Aldous Huxley. | PR6023.A93 $b Z48 1996b Z48 used for all correspondence; differentiated by date. No other edition of Lawrence's letters held by LC, so unclear why the "b" work letter has been added. |
245 14 $a The selected letters of D.H. Lawrence / $c compiled and edited by James T. Boulton. | PR6023.A93 $b Z48 1997 Letters (Collections). By date |
245 14 $a The letters of D.H. Lawrence & Amy Lowell, 1914-1925. | PR6023.A93 $b Z48 1985 Letters (Collections). By date. Including collections of letters to and from particular individuals |
100 10 $a Carswell, Catherine, $d 1879-1946, $e author. 245 14 $a The savage pilgrimage : $b a narrative of D.H. Lawrence / $c by Catherine Carswell ; with a memoir of the author by John Carswelly. | PR6023.A93 $b Z6 1981 General work (biography) about D.H. Lawrence; available range is Z5-Z999. |
100 10 $a Kinkead-Weekes, Mark, $e author. 245 10 $a Beyond gossip : $b D.H. Lawrence's writing life / $c Mark Kinkead-Weekes. | PR6023.A93 $b Z6378 1995 Z6378=Kinkead-Weekes/Beyond gossip General work (biography) about D.H. Lawrence; available range is Z5-Z999. |
100 10 $a Kinkead-Weekes, Mark, $e author. 245 10 $a D.H. Lawrence, triumph to exile, 1912-1922 $b / Mark Kinkead-Weekes. | PR6023.A93 $b Z6379 1996 Z6379=Kinkead-Weekes/D.H. Lawrence General work (biography) about D.H. Lawrence; available range is Z5-Z999. |
100 10 $a Potter, Stephen, $d 1900-1969, $e author. 245 10 $a D.H. Lawrence, a first study / $c by Stephen Potter. | PR6023.A93 $b Z8 1982 General work (literary criticism) about D.H. Lawrence; available range is Z5-Z999. |
100 10 $a Strathern, Paul, $d 1940- $e author. 245 10 $a D.H. Lawrence in 90 minutes / $c Paul Strathern. | PR6023.A93 $b Z92445 2005 General work (literary criticism) about D.H. Lawrence; available range is Z5-Z999. |
100 10 $a Worthen, John, $e author. 245 10 $a D.H. Lawrence : $b a literary life / $c John Worthen. | PR6023.A93 $b Z955 1989 General work (biography) about D. H. Lawrence; available range is Z5-Z999. |
Filling and Arrangement LC Class number Single Author
See also: Classification and Shelflisting Manual (CSM), G 100 — Filing Rules
The number must respect the alphabetical sequence of the author numbers previously established.
Treat prefixes in names as separate words unless they are joined directly or by an apostrophe with no space. Use the established form of the name for filing; if an initial article is part of that form, it counts (e.g., El-Ayoutty files under E, not A). If El-Ayoutty is a single Cutter author, the Cutter begins with L.
What you see is what you file.
Do not ignore the u in Qu- names.
Do not file Mc as Mac.
Do not convert umlauts (ü = u, ö = o).
File abbreviations as written (e.g., St. files as ST, not Saint).
File single surnames before compound surnames; file given names before surnames. Treat hyphenated compound surnames as separate words.
Follow LC Shelflisting Manual examples for prefixes and spelling (e.g., Darby before D’Arcy; MacDonald before Marshall before McGrath).