ABSTRACT
The Library of Congress Classification (LCC), originally designed for classifying the Library’s own collection, is now used in a wide range of libraries, both in the United States and abroad. This entry recounts its history and development from its genesis to the present time, leading up to an explanation of LCC structure, tables, and notation. It then considers the system’s potential for wider application in the online age, through speculation on using LCC as a tool for (a) partitioning large files; (b) generating domain-specific taxonomies; and (c) integrating classification and controlled subject terms for improved retrieval in the online public access catalog (OPAC) and the Internet. Finally, analyzing both its strong and relatively weak features, it addresses the question of whether in its current state LCC is in all respects ready for playing such roles.
