The LCCN namespace
consists of identifiers, one corresponding to every assigned LCCN (Library
of Congress Control Number). Any LCCN may have various forms which
all normalize
to
a single
canonical form; only normalized values are included in the LCCN namespace.
An LCCN is an identifier assigned by
the Library of Congress for a metadata record (e.g., bibliographic record,
authority
record). LCCNs have three components: prefix, year, and serial number. The
prefix is optional; if present, it has one to three lowercase alphabetic characters.
(Prefixes are maintained in a controlled list.) The year is two or four digits.
(For 2000 and earlier the year is two digits, for 2001 and later, four digits.)
The serial number (after normalization) is six digits. (An un-normalized
LCCN may have a serial number of 1-6 digits, which is left-filled with zeros
when normalized.)
Syntax of a Normalized LCCN
A normalized LCCN is a character string eight to twelve characters in length.
(For purposes of this description characters are ordered from left to right
-- "first" means "leftmost".)
The rightmost eight characters are always digits.
If the length is 9, then the first character must be alphabetic.
If the length is 10, then the first two characters must be either both digits
or both alphabetic.
If the length is 11, then the first character must be alphabetic and
the next two characters must be either both digits or both alphabetic.
If the length is 12, then the first two characters must be alphabetic
and the remaining characters digits.
An LCCN is to be normalized to its canonical form described in the syntax description above, as follows:
Examples:
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