6.10 Cataloging Overview

Cataloging greatly enhances accessibility and patron usage and is strongly recommended for all or part of the depository collection, including online publications. Your depository may wish to include its depository holdings in OCLC to enhance access and facilitate resource sharing.

Arrangement of depository materials should conform with professionally accepted library standards and the Instructions. The arrangement should facilitate the practical use of the depository collection.

There are many advantages to using the SuDocs classification system. Librarians have found the SuDocs class numbers to be a practical and economical method for organizing Federal Government documents, and most depositories arrange the majority of their documents holdings in SuDocs classification number order. However, Federal Government publications can easily be made an integral part of library collections under any other arrangement.

Publications may be arranged according to the SuDoc classification system, other classification systems, or a combination of systems. Arrangement of depository material in your parent library should facilitate the practical use of the collection. However, the catalog record should also include the SuDoc number when your library uses a different classification system.

GPO is recognized as the national authority for cataloging of U.S. Government publications and creates cataloging records for government publications in all formats. These cataloging records are then made available for use by the public and libraries through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). More information about GPO cataloging rules and procedures is available in the GPO Cataloging Guidelines and through the Cataloging and Indexing Program Web page.