March 2, 1994

Public Information: Peter Seligman (202)707-1314

---

Library of Congress Publishes New Edition of Symbols of American Libraries

The Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service has announced publication of the 14th edition of Symbols of American Libraries, the established standard in the library world and the only comprehensive list of library symbols available. The publication contains a list of short alphabetical codes developed by LC and used to identify libraries and other organizations in union catalogs, databases, and other compilations. It provides a master list needed for communication among libraries.

Symbols of American Libraries contains some 24,000 symbols plus references for many other identifiers that are obsolete or are variant forms of approved identifiers. Indexes make searching easy for users. Included are standard Nation Union Catalog (NUC) symbols, organization names, and alphabetical listings.

An improvement in the 14th edition makes searching by symbol a quicker process. All valid identifiers are now no more than eight characters, making each identifier unique when capitalization is ignored.

Symbols of American Libraries is used for identifying symbols in many union lists, including the following LC publications: NUC, NUC Books, the Music Catalog (microfiche), NUC Register of Additional Locations, New Serial Titles, and NUC Cartographic Materials. Names and addresses of institutions are complete for mailing purposes. The price is $28 in North America, $30 elsewhere.

Place orders with Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service, Customer Support Unit/Dept.DF, Washington, DC 20541-5017. Telephone: 1-800/255-3666 (toll-free in U.S.) or (202) 707-6100. TDD: (202) 707-0012. Fax: (202) 707-1334. Major credit cards are accepted.

# # #

PR 94-045
3/2/94
ISSN 0731-3527