FAQs: U.S. Government Document (SuDoc) Sorting

Publications of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) are assigned SuDoc numbers which are classification or call numbers that libraries use for shelving. These numbers are assigned so that publications of particular government agencies are shelved together, within the group of publications or within the government agency, and related publications are shelved together.

There is no one stated standard for sorting SuDoc numbers. The GPO simply states that libraries should adopt a system easily understood by patrons and staff, and apply it consistently. In general, SirsiDynix adopts the following rules for sorting.

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Letters sort before numbers

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Treat all numbers as whole numbers

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“Nothing” sorts before “something”

The outcome of the call number sort is as if each element of the call number is sorted separately, rather than character by character, as in other call number schemes. Dashes and slashes are used as element delimiters; dashes will sort lower than slashes. Additionally, SirsiDynix Symphony forces all letters to upper case for sorting, so case does not affect the call number sort.

How SuDoc Call Numbers are Constructed

SuDoc call numbers begin with letters (1-4 letters) that represent the publishing agency/department.

For example:

A Department of Agriculture

PREX Executive Office of the President

X Congress

The numbers that follow are for the subordinate bureaus, offices, etc., usually no more than 3 digits long.

For example:

C 2.12

C 23C

C 55.3

The subordinate number is followed by a period or dot, and then another number to uniquely identify the particular publication or series.

For example:

C 1.4

C 1.12

C 1.122

For related publications, such as an edition of the publication, the subordinate number may be followed by a slash and then more letters or numbers.

For example:

D 3.186

D 3.186/3

D 3.186/7-3

The base call number described so far is the class stem and ends with a colon. Following the colon is a book number which is constructed in a variety of different ways.

For example:

CR 1.2:ED 8/10

CR 1.2:UN 3/2004

HE 20.7009/2-2:47/RR-2

When a space follows the first colon (first left to right) the SirsiDynix Symphony shelving key is built as though the space is not included in the call number.

SuDoc Sorting Examples

The following is an example of how letters are sorted before numbers. An ASCII sort would sort the 9 before the A, but a SuDoc sort places letters before numbers.

EP 1.23:A 62 A 1.35:

EP 1.23:91-44

The following is an example of numbers are treated as whole numbers. An ASCII sort would place 12 and 122 before 3.

D1.1:

D1.3:

D1.12:

D1.33:

D1.122:

The following is an example of “nothing” before “something.” Note that the sort must be the same regardless of what comes after the colon.

C 55.309/2:

C 55.309/2-2:

C 55.309/2-8:

C 55.309/2-10:

Exceptions to the SuDoc Sort

There are several exceptions to the SuDoc sort.

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Special rules for sorting dates past the class stem are not applied.

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Special rules for distinguishing between words and letters are not applied.

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Call numbers are 40 characters in length, and the shelving keys are 80 characters. In SirsiDynix Symphony, call numbers are sorted according to the shelving key. If the shelving key exceeds 80 characters, SirsiDynix Symphony will not attempt to sort the key after the 80th character.