In the Library of Congress classification system there are 21 main
classes based on subject which are denoted by letters of the English
alphabet. The letters of the alphabet that do not represent a main
category are I, O, W, X, and Y. Can you provide me with a reason as to
why when the LOC classification system was established that these
specific letters were chosen to be excluded from representing a class?
Any insights into how the LOC classification system was first
established, who had input into its creation, or why it was even
created would interest me as well but are not as important.
Thanks.

Hi kschmitt,

Well, I think you should win the "Most Interesting Question of the Day
Award"! Unfortunately, the answer to your question isn't quite so
interesting - the letters I, O, W, X and Y are being reserved for
future use.

Library of Congress Classification System (LCC):
"Basic features were taken from Charles Ammi Cutter's Expansive
Classification. LCC is an enumerative system built on 21 major
classes, each class being given an arbitrary capital letter between
A-Z, with 5 exceptions: I, O, W, X, Y (these appear at the second or
third level in the notation for various subclasses)."
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/desire/classification/class_4.htm

Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City, Missouri:
"The letters I, O, W, X, and Y are not being used right now because
they are reserved for further expansion of the classification system."
http://www.umkc.edu/lib/Instruction/MNLsubjguides/LCC.htm

St. Charles Community College:
"At the present time, the letters I, O, W, X, and Y are not used but
are reserved for further expansion."
http://www.stchas.edu/library/student.shtml

Univerity of Bahrain:
"The letters I,O,W,X and Y are not being used. These are available for
future expansion and for classifying knowledge yet to be discovered."
http://www.uob.bh/library/bolin.htm

>>>>>>

In regards to the history of the classification system, it can be
traced back to Herbert Putnam, who sought to develope a national
library which would be accessible to all Americans - a library with
hospitality.

Defining Moments:
"From Nov. 16 to Dec. 7, 1896, on the eve of the Library of Congress's
move from the U.S. Capitol building to its own separate structure
(today's Jefferson Building), the U.S. Congress held hearings about
the Library's "condition" and future."
"Putnam wholeheartedly endorsed Dewey's description of the desirable
role of a national library as 'a center to which the libraries of the
whole country can turn for inspiration, guidance and practical help,
which can be rendered so economically and efficiently in no other
possible way.'"
"Putnam... in a talk titled "What May Be Done for Libraries by the
Nation," he declared, "If there is any way in which our National
Library may 'reach out' from Washington, it should reach out.'"
http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9908/biback.html

Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress:
"Librarian Putnam's extension of the Library's classification and
cataloging schemes to the rest of the nation helped "democratize"
knowledge, nationally and internationally, for it established
bibliographic standards and encouraged cooperative endeavors among
librarians and scholars. This sharing of the Library's "bibliographic
apparatus" helped shape and systematize intellectual activity in
America and propelled the Library of Congress into a position of
leadership among the world's research institutions."

"The Library originally used Jefferson's own 44-category fixed
location system. In 1899 the Librarian of Congress Dr. Herbert Putnam
and his Chief Cataloger Charles Martel decided to start a new
classification system for the collections of the Library of Congress
(established 1800). Basic features were taken from Charles Ammi
Cutter's Expansive Classification. Cutter's classification was never
widely used but his system of alphanumeric classes drew some attention
at the time and was even considered for the Columbia College Library
in 1882. Cutter's author number tables did find wide acceptance and
were used at Columbia to form second lines of DDC and CC call
numbers."
http://libaxp.hartford.edu/llr/publications/LIBOFCON/CLASSFIC.HTM

"The classification was originally developed by Herbert Putnam with
the advice of Charles Ammi Cutter in 1897 before he assumed the
librarianship of Congress. It was influenced by Cutter Expansive
Classification and DDC, designed for the use by the Library of
Congress. The new system replaced a fixed location system developed by
Thomas Jefferson. By the time of Putnam's departure from his post in
1939 all the classes except K (Law) and parts of B (Philosophy and
Religion) were well developed. It has been criticized as lacking a
sound theoretical basis; many of the classification decisions were
driven by the particular practical needs of that library, rather than
considerations of rationality."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress_Classification

"The Library of Congress Classification scheme was developed by James
C.M. Hanson and implemented by Charles Martel for the Library of
Congress around the turn of the 20th century. It was based on and
influenced by the classification scheme devised by Charles Ammi
Cutter. Hanson and Martel did not see the system as a "scientific
order of subjects" but rather a "convenient sequence of the various
groups ... of books" (Report of the Librarian of Congress for the
Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1901 , p. 234). It was originally devised
as the classification only for the Library of Congress, but it has
been adopted by many libraries, including most academic and research
libraries in the United States."
http://www.hds.harvard.edu/library/general/classification.html

Cutter, Charles Ammi:
"...Cutter's most significant contribution to the field of Library and
Information Studies was his system of Expansive Classification.
Despite the fact that it was never widely adopted, it strongly
influenced the development of the Library of Congress classification
system. Also, the system of author numbers he devised continues in
wide use and still bears his name."
http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/C/cutter%5Ccutter.html

Library of Congress call numbers:
"The third element or line of the call number is the one which gives
people the most trouble. This line is called the Cutter number and it
is a letter followed by a decimal number. A Cutter number "C5" is read
as "C.5" and would be shelved after a Cutter number "C498'. Sometimes
there are two Cutter number lines. Once again, regard the Cutter
number alphabetically and then by decimal number."
http://www.lib.vt.edu/research/libinst/callnumbers.html

Library of Congress Classification An Introductory Outline:
http://www.shsu.edu/~lis_fwh/lccclass.html

Additional Links:

Cutter expansive classification:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/lccall/cuttguide.htm

see: About the Cataloging Directorate:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/

How may I contact LC with cataloging questions, comments, and queries?
"Please see the Library of Congress Help Desk Web page. You can use
the interactive forms there to Catalog/Authority Record Errors or
email us general questions and comments using the General Inquiries
link"
http://www.loc.gov/help/help-desk.html

We've enjoyed researching your question. If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to post a clarification request before
closing/rating our answer and we'll be happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used:

Library of Congress classification system "I, O, W, X, and Y"
Library of Congress classification system 
Library of Congress classification system "letters not used"
Library of Congress classification system history
Library of Congress classification system Putnam
Library of Congress classification system Cutter

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 12 Jun 2004 07:35 PDT

Hi kschmitt,

Sorry, I seem to have omitted one of the main links that I wanted to
give you - have a look:

Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress:
"Librarian Putnam's extension of the Library's classification and
cataloging schemes to the rest of the nation helped "democratize"
knowledge, nationally and internationally, for it established
bibliographic standards and encouraged cooperative endeavors among
librarians and scholars. This sharing of the Library's "bibliographic
apparatus" helped shape and systematize intellectual activity in
America and propelled the Library of Congress into a position of
leadership among the world's research institutions."
http://www.loc.gov/loc/legacy/loc.html

Regards,
hummer

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kschmitt-ga on 13 Jun 2004 19:00 PDT

Thank you for your efforts I appreciate it.
I was hoping you might be able to tell me why the letters chosen not
to represent a class were those 5 specific ones instead of something
that might make more sense like excluding the last 5 letters of the
alphabet. W, X, and Y are little used at times and near the end of the
alphabet, the exclusion of those letters is somewhat less suprising.
On the other hand the exclusion of I and O somewhat mystify me and I
was hoping someone like Putnam left a notation somewhere on why he
decided to exclude them.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 13 Jun 2004 19:11 PDT

Hi kschmitt,

My kind colleague and friend, Pinkfreud, found the following link
which explains that the I and O would be easily mistaken for numbers.
I'm sorry to say that we haven't been able to find an explanation for
W, X, and Y, but I will try to find out for you Monday.

ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science:
"The set of characters or symbols used in the notation of a given
classification system. In Dewey Decimal Classification, the arabic
numerals 0-9 are used (decimal notation). In Library of Congress
Classification, the letters of the English alphabet are used
(alphabetic notation), minus the letters O and I, which are easily
mistaken for the numerals zero and one. As a general rule, the shorter
the base, the longer the notation representing a given class. Compare
with base number."
://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:uE9HuV8hmowJ:lu.com/odlis/odlis_b.cfm++%22(alphabetic+notation),+minus+the+letters+O+and+I,+which+are+easily+mistaken+for+the%22&hl=en

Regards,
hummer

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 18 Jun 2004 06:12 PDT

Hi kschmitt,

I received a reply to my Libary of Congress enquiry from LC's
Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO). Briefly, there are no
historical records stating why W, X, and Y were left vacant after
1899. At one point, X and YA have been used internally by Special
Collections, and W is used by the National Library of Medicine.

Regards,
hummer

Excellent, prompt,and thorough research. Thanks

Dear kschmitt-ga,

Thank you for the nice note and rating - I'm happy you are happy with
the results of your query.

I've posted an enquiry with the Library of Congress in regards to W,
X, & Y - I'll let you know when I hear back from them (probably will
take all week).

Take care,
hummer