Library of Congress Online Catalog: Help Pages

  Online Catalog Home

  About the Catalog
  FAQs - What's New
  Known Problems

  UNICODE:
  Displaying Non-Roman
  Characters

  SEARCHING:
  Basic Searching
  - Title
  - Author/Creator Browse
  - Subject Browse
  - Keyword
  - Command Keyword
  - Call No. Browse (LC)
  - Call No. Browse (Other)
  - LCCN-ISBN-ISSN
  - Series/Uniform Title
  - Author/Creator by Title
  Guided Searching


  Limiting Searches
  Search History
  Boolean Searching

  INDEX CODES:
  for Guided Searches
  for Command Keyword

  SEARCH RESULTS:
  Brief Record
  Subjects/Content
  Full Record
  MARC Tags


  Headings List
  Titles List
  Titles List (Keyword)
  References/Scope Notes
  Save, Print, Email

  OTHER TOPICS:
  Headings List Types
  Material Types
  Database Selection
  Icons, Buttons & Tabs
  Session Time-Outs

A Basic Search - LCCN-ISBN-ISSN retrieves materials by standard numbers.
Image of the Search Type window

Basic Search -
LCCN-ISBN-ISSN

The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) can all be used to retrieve unique records from the Library of Congress Online Catalog.


NOTE:
Search limits
are available.
Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are not availble.

Number Search Examples:

To Search Number Type... Enter Search As...

LCCN 89-456
(numbers assigned before 1/1/2001)

89000456
-- When entering LCCNs, always omit the hyphen.
-- If the portion following the hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to make it 6 characters in length.
-- The total length should be 8 characters.
LCCN 2001-1114
(numbers assigned after 1/1/2001)
2001001114
-- When entering LCCNs, always omit the hyphen.
-- If the portion following the hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to make it 6 characters in length.
-- The total length should be 10 characters.

LCCN gm 71-2450
(include the alpha prefix to the LCCN if known)

gm71002450
-- Include the prefix, if known
-- When entering LCCNs, always omit the hyphen.
-- If the portion following the hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to make it 6 characters in length.
-- The total length should be 8 characters.
ISSN 1094-1304 1094-1304
-- Always include the hyphen and do not enclose the search string in quotation marks.
ISBN 0-553-37783-3
ISBN 978-0-97526-433-0
0553377833
9780975274330
-- Always omit all hyphens and spaces.
-- It is not necessary to enclose the search statement in quotation marks.
-- The total length may be 10 or 13 characters.*
* learn more about 13-digit ISBNs

Search Tips:

  • Searches are automatically truncated and retrieve catalog records that match partial numbers: (8900011 retrieves "89000118", "89000119", etc.). Note that partial numbers take significantly longer to retrieve.
  • Note that the format of the LCCN changed for numbers assigned after January 1, 2001. LCCNs assigned since that date now have a 4 digit year portion (2001) followed by a six digit item number (001114). This number would be searched 2001001114.
    -- Numbers assigned before Jan. 1, 2001, were NOT changed to the new format, and should still be searched in the two digit year, 6 digit item number format (89000456).

Alternative Search Options:

Use Basic Search - Command or Guided Search with the appropriate index codes to search for numbers in combination with other search elements

Use the browser's [Back] button to resume searching.

>>Top of Page

 

  Still Need Help?
  Ask a Librarian

  Reporting Catalog Errors?
  Error Report Form

Library of Congress Online Catalog  
- catalog.loc.gov  
Library of Congress Authorities  
- authorities.loc.gov  
Library of Congress Home Page  
- www.loc.gov  
November 17, 2005