Classifying CYAC Material
Subject Cataloging | Children’s and Young Adults’ Cataloging Program (CYAC)
Generally, either the Library of Congress Classification or Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) is used to arrange juvenile material. These systems allow you to arrange books and other library materials by topic. Items cataloged by the Library of Congress are assigned an LC Classification number, displayed in the 050 field, and a DDC number, displayed in the 082 field. Regardless of which you choose to use, you must follow the practices and procedures outlined in each system, although there is nothing wrong with making adjustments to suit your patrons in your local catalog.
Library of Congress Classification PZ
The majority of juvenile fiction cataloged by the CYAC Program is classed in PZ7, which is a general number for “Juvenile belles lettres” or juvenile fiction, for authors whose first works have been published between 1870 and 2014. General juvenile fiction by authors whose first works are published in 2015 and beyond are classed in PZ7.1. This classification number is followed by a “Cutter number” that, in most cases, arranges the books by author. For each author’s books, a work mark subarranges the books by title. The final element of a call number is the year of publication. More information about this can be found in the Shelflisting document.
Other PZ numbers you may see include PZ5 for collections of works by different authors, PZ7.5 for novels in verse, PZ7.7 for graphic novels, PZ8 for traditional fairy tales, PZ8.1 for folklore and legends, PZ8.2 for fables, PZ8.3 for nursery rhymes and stories in rhyme, PZ10.3 for realistic animal stories, PZ10.4 for sign language and Braille books, and PZ10.5 for polyglot books written in three or more languages. Higher PZ numbers are used for juvenile fiction in foreign languages.
All of these classification numbers are used for fictional juvenile materials only.
Dewey numbers vs. E and Fic
[E] and [Fic] appear on CYAC records in the 082, Dewey Decimal Classification number field.
[E] is used for easy fiction intended for children through grade 3 or age 8. With the exception of alphabet and counting books, [E] is not used on nonfiction material. [Fic] applies to fiction for children beyond grade 3 or age 8, as well as young adults through high school. These designations are added by CYAC catalogers.
Traditional folklore and fairy tales, poetry, and certain other works are classed by the Dewey Section at the Library of Congress in the same numbers used for adult works on those topics.
