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  1. Home
  2. Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines
  3. Classification Guidelines for Digital Reproductions

Classification Guidelines for Digital Reproductions

  • Last Updated: July 15, 2022
  • Published: November 12, 2021

With the increasing availability of digital reproductions of older U.S. Government publications, GPO has developed procedures for assigning SuDocs classification numbers and depository item numbers to these publications as they are added to the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). Many of these digital reproductions represent publications that were never previously distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Others represent legacy publications that were distributed in a tangible format, such as print or microfiche.

GPO assigns SuDocs classification numbers and depository item numbers to all publications disseminated through the FDLP. Publications within scope of the Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) but not the FDLP receive a SuDocs classification number and no depository item number.

As noted in The Classification System: A Brief History, the SuDocs classification system was developed between 1895 and 1903 and groups publications together based on the publishing agency. Depository item numbers, which were developed after 1923, are used by Federal depository libraries to select publications they wish to receive at their library. However, depository item numbers did not appear in the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications until the early 1940s.

GPO staff will conduct research to determine if a publication is an unreported publication (not previously identified for the FDLP or C&I) or if it has been previously distributed in a tangible format to libraries in the FDLP. If a publication has been distributed in a tangible format, additional research will be conducted to determine the exact SuDocs class and depository item number, if any, assigned to the tangible version. If required, a SuDocs class number may be assigned to an unreported publication.

 Classification by Type of Digital Reproduction

Type of Publication Status SuDocs Number Item Number MARC 500 Note
Digital reproduction of a previously distributed publication SuDocs and item number are still active Same as tangible version Same as tangible version  
SuDocs and item number are inactive Same as tangible version Same as tangible version  
SuDocs number but no item number; distributed prior to 1940 and no item number assigned at time of distribution Same as tangible version No item number is included in the bibliographic record 'Distributed to Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) libraries prior to 1940. No FDLP  item number available.'
Digital reproduction of an unreported publication Falls under active SuDocs stem and item number Active SuDocs stem used and appropriate suffix assigned Item number of SuDocs stem included in the bibliographic record  
Falls under inactive SuDocs stem and item number Inactive SuDocs stem used and appropriate suffix assigned Item number of SuDocs stem included in the bibliographic record  
Falls under inactive SuDocs stem but predates item number Inactive SuDocs stem used and appropriate suffix assigned No item number is included in the bibliographic record "Publication pre-dates Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) item numbers. No FDLP item number has been assigned."
Unreported publication does not fall under existing SuDocs stem New SuDocs stem created and appropriate suffix assigned No item number is created if the agency is no longer active If no item number assigned, note should read: "Agency is no longer active. No Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) item number has been assigned."
  Item number created if agency is still active  

 

Classification Guidelines

  • Introduction to the Classification Guidelines
  • The Classification System: A Brief History
  • Structure of the Classification Number
    • Sorting in SuDocs Order
      • Example of a SuDocs Sort
  • Class Stems
    • Letter Author Symbols
    • New Agency Classes
    • Joint Publications from Different Agencies
    • Publications Prepared by One Agency for Another
    • Serials with Changing Publishers
    • Joint Publications Issued in Series
    • Subordinate Offices
      • First and Second Levels
      • Assignment of Classes 
      • Third and Fourth Levels
      • Joint Publications from Different Subagencies
      • Name Changes and Reorganizations
  • Category Classes
    • Most Frequently Used Category Classes
      • .1 - Annual reports
      • .2 - General publications
      • .8 - Handbooks, manuals, and guides
      • .11 - Maps and Charts
      • .12 - Posters
    • Less Frequent Category Classes
      • .3 - Bulletins
      • .4 - Circulars
      • .5 - Laws
      • .6 - Regulations, rules, and instructions
      • .7 - Press releases
      • .9 - Bibliographies and Lists of Publications
      • .10 - Directories
      • .13 - Forms
      • .14 - Addresses
  • Cutter Numbers
    • Cutter Table and Its Use
      • Filing Order for Cutter Numbers
      • Slash Numbers
      • Selecting Cutter Words
      • Words to Avoid when Cuttering
      • Sets With a Collective Title
      • Foreign Language Editions
      • Numbers in Titles
      • Cuttering Acronyms and Initialisms
    • Cuttering: Geographic Topics  
      • Cuttering Related Documents Covering the Same Subject but Different Geographic Area
      • General Subjects and Geographic Terms
      • Cuttering Geographic Terms Using Personal Names
      • Maps
      • Cuttering Multi-Part Geographic Names
      • State Cutter Numbers
    • State Cutter Numbers
  • Additions to Book Numbers
    • Dates
      • Year Format
      • Dates for Revised Editions
      • Punctuation in Dates or Date Ranges
    • Volume, Part, Chapter, and Section Numbers
      • Volume Number and Date: Which Comes First?
    • Words and Abbreviations
      • Foreign-language Publications
    • Multiple Word Phrases in a Suffix
    • Multiple Versions of a Publication
      • Corrected Copies of Numbered Volumes
    • Standard Abbreviations and Words
    • State Abbreviations
  • Classes by Publication Type
    • Corrections
    • Errata
    • Preliminary, Initial, Draft, and Final Reports
    • Reprints
    • Preprints and Separates
    • Summaries and Executive Summaries
    • Electronic Products
    • Sets with Multiple Publication Types
  • Monographic Series
    • Identifying a Monographic Series
    • Assigning New Series Classes
      • Series Related to Existing Classes by Subject
    • Structure of the Series Class
    • Departmental Series vs. Bureau Series
    • Series Book Numbers
      • Series Numbering
      • Unusual Series Numbering
      • Series Numbering and Revised Editions
      • Numbering System Changes
      • Two Series on One Publication
      • Series Number versus Agency Control Number
    • Letters and Phrases Appearing on Publications
    • Volumes, Parts, or Sections
    • Publications Which Are Not Series or Serials
      • Multipart Monographs versus Series
      • Other Situations
  • Continuing Resources
    • Identifying a Continuing Resource
    • Serials
    • Integrating Resources
    • Assigning New Continuing Resource Classes
      • Works Related to Category Classes
      • Works Related to Existing Classes by Subject
      • New Classes to Reflect Changes for Existing Serials
      • Serials within Series: Separate Class Approach
      • Serials with a Constant Series Number
    • Cuttering a Serial or, When Not to Establish a New Class Stem for a Serial
      • Serials within Series: Cuttering Approach
      • Publications of Short Duration
      • Other cases for Cuttering
    • Serials Designation
      • Number 1 for First Month Appears Annually
      • Date incorporated in Series Number
      • Volume and Number
    • Date
      • Annual (and Less Frequent) Publications  
      • Semiannual Publications
      • Publications Issued Three or More Times a Year
      • Variations in Publication Cycles
      • Release Date vs. Coverage Date
    • Special Issues of Serials
      • Supplements
      • Indexes
    • Frequently Revised Monographs Cataloged as Serials
  • Presidential Publications
    • Presidential Committees and Commissions
    • Presidential Commissions vs Presidential Initiatives
    • Permanent Agencies Reporting to the President
    • Vice President of the United States
  • Congressional and Legislative Branch Publications
    • Y 4. - Congressional Committee Publications
      • Constructing the Committee Designation
      • Reorganized Committees and Name Changes
      • Joint Hearings
      • Publications Prepared by One Committee for the Use of Another
      • Individual Book Numbers
    • Y 1.-: - Congress as a Whole, House and Senate as a Whole
      • Individual Book Numbers
      • House and Senate Documents and Reports
      • Y 1.1/2: - U. S. Congressional Serial Set
      • Y 1.2/5: - United States Code
    • Boards, Commissions, and Independent or Temporary Committees Established by Congress
      • Boards, Commissions, and Committees Established within the Executive Branch
      • Y 3. Boards and Commissions Outside the Executive Branch
    • Y 4.2: and Y 4.3: - Select and Special Committees (As Appointed)
    • Y 7.1: - Memorial Addresses
    • Y 9. - Speeches
    • Y 10: and Y 11: - Subordinate Offices
    • X 1.1: - Congressional Record
    • XJH: and XJS: - House and Senate Journals
    • Y and X General Issues
      • Serial Publications
      • Star Prints
      • Erratum/Errata
  • U.S. Participation in International Organizations
  • Cartographic Resources
    • Category Classes for Maps and Charts
    • General Rules
    • U.S. Geological Survey Maps
      • Coordinates
      • Map Reference Numbers
      • Northwest Quadrant 
      • Northeast Quadrant
      • Southwest Quadrant
      • Southeast Quadrant
      • Edition Date
    • Bureau of Land Management Maps
    • U.S. Forest Service Maps
      • Revision Dates
    • National Ocean Service Nautical Charts
    • Map Types
  • Classification Guidelines for Digital Reproductions
    •  Classification by Type of Digital Reproduction

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Please submit your questions about the Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines via askGPO by choosing the “Federal Depository Library Program” tile and selecting the category “Cataloging/Metadata (Policy and Records).

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