LC Call Numbers - Lower Upper
What is this?
One pattern that can show up in LC call numbers in catalogs is a lowercase letter, followed by any number of characters, followed by an uppercase letter, like this:
DP257 .xQ84D829.Ge N47 1944PQ4835.Pa846 N6 1953E744 n .G567 1984G440 .M362jS
Why is this trouble?
A call number with this pattern may cause confusion with shelving or finding a book. Which of these comes first?
DP DP 157 157 .xQ84 .R33
A call number with this pattern may be a non-standard (older?) use of
the P schedule, like PQ4835.Pa846 N6 1953 for a book by
Pavese. PQ4835 is for Italian authors (1900-1960) with last
names starting with P-Pz, and the first cutter should start with the
second letter. A well-formed modern call number for this title would
be PQ4835.A846 N68 1953, placing it closer to books by
Pastonchi than books by Porreca (where the older call number would probably
be shelved), and also should not cause shelving confusion.
Many call numbers ending with a lowercase letter followed by an
uppercase letter appear to be a lowercase letter for the title of the work,
followed by an uppercase letter for the language. For example,
G440 .M362jS was the call number for the Spanish translation
of a book by Félix Martí Ibáñez called Journey around myself.
A well-formed modern call number for this title would be
G440 .M3618 1967. Call numbers like these may cause confusion
in shelving if there are similar call numbers nearby.
Exceptions
There may be good call numbers matching this pattern, such as in enumeration or distinguishing words:
PA25 .H24 Abt.10 T.5S566 .A34 Answer Book
You may also see this pattern in call numbers containing a year, like:
DA352 1586a .A45How to Find
If you are in Alma, there is an analysis to search for this issue in the "Looking for Trouble" folder. Go to the "LC Call Numbers" folder and look for the "Lower Upper" analysis.
If you can search or filter your call numbers by regular expression, use the expression /[a-z].*[A-Z]/.