What is the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification System?

United States Government publications are classified by the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification System. This system was developed in the library of the Government Printing Office between 1895 and 1903. Like other classification schemes, the SuDoc system has expanded as the size and scope of the federal government has expanded.

The SuDoc system groups publications by government author. Government authors are federal departments, bureaus or agencies of the United States. Since the SuDocs system reflects the organizational structure of the federal government, government reorganization creates changes in the call number system. Thus, some series of publications can be located in several different places within a collection.

Examples of Reading SuDocs

Basic Reading

From the following illustration the searcher can know that this publication is a serial-specific issue 83-87 of the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.

• The first letter/letters of a SuDoc number represents a government department or agency (parent organization).
  • TD for Transportation Department
• The letters are followed by a number representing the agency as a whole, or a subordinate office. This figure is followed by a period.
  • TD4. for Federal Aviation Administration
• After the period, there is a number designating the series or category grouping of publications followed by a colon.
  • TD4.10/4: for FAA Airworthiness Directive Listing
• The numbers after the colon represent individual publications in the series.
  • TD4.10/4: 83-87 for issues 83-87

Advanced Reading

There are various sub member designations that give added information. Among these:

• Series Designations:
  • TD4.408 for an FAA manual
• Geographic Designations:
  • TD.408/22 for an FAA Michigan manual
• Book Numbers:
  • TD4.10:52 for an FAA monograph
• Volume Numbers:
  • TD4.10/4: 83/PT1
• Dates:
  • TD4.10: 980 (1980)
• Subject Cutter Numbers:
  • C 42 for Chemistry

Find Documents on the Shelf

Here are some rules you can follow when looking for document call numbers on the shelf:

• The arrangement is alphabetical letter by letter.
• The number between the period and the colon is a whole number, not a decimal.
• After the colon, new lines in the number are shown by slash marks (/).

Current SuDocs in Use (Note: These symbols are subject to change.)