LC Call Numbers - No Space
What is this?
Most LC call numbers have more than one component (cutters, dates), and there should be a space between some of those components. If a call number does not have a space, something may have gone wrong.
Why is this trouble?
A call number with this pattern may be an indicator that it has been
truncated, maybe by having the second part of the call number in a wrong
subfield. For example, a call number coded in holdings as
$h DP157 $b .R33 (with a $b instead of $i) might display in
the catalog (and be transferred to the spine label) as:
DP 157
A call number with this pattern may not be an LC call number at all,
for example KEY as the call number for a local record for
circulating keys in the library. Such a call number might appear in the
middle of library reports by call number:
KEQ1068.Z85 R54 KEY KF1.A2 C66
A call number with this pattern may be incomplete in the bibliographic record, including a class number (indicating subject) but no item number (like a cutter for main entry), like:
050 _4 $a Z733.B14
A call number with this pattern may be complete but somehow had all of its spaces removed, making it difficult to interpret and find on the shelf:
QH450.S501980(that 1980 is a year)QH442G40
While these issues may or may not cause problems for shelving, they may be an indicator that the resource was not cataloged carefully.
Exceptions
There may be valid call numbers matching this pattern but they are unusual and could often be improved with the addition of a cutter and/or year.
How 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 "No Space" analysis.
If you can search or filter your call numbers by regular expression, look
for call numbers that do not match the expression / /.