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    Library & Information Science Academic Blog

    LIS Education Network

    Library & Information Science Academic Blog
    LIBRARIAN’S TOOLKIT · DDC

    DDC Cutter–Sanborn Generator

    Look up an author or title in the Cutter–Sanborn table, then build a book number for your DDC label.

    Cutter–Sanborn Three-Figure · 12,327 table entries
    01 Your filing entry

    Use the established surname. A heading such as “Mankiw, N. Gregory” is also accepted.

    Can refine common surnames; for example, Smith and Smith, John have different table positions.

    Try:
    Add a title mark optional

    Leave blank to use the title’s first filing letter. Enter a shelf-checked mark if your library needs more letters. Local title-mark rules take priority.

    Build a DDC label optional

    Enter a class number you have already assigned. The tool does not determine a book’s subject classification.

    Use a reviewed Cutter cataloguer’s choice

    Enter an established or shelf-checked number without a title mark. This is identified as librarian entered. Changing the filing text or given names clears it.

    Use the table your library follows. This assistant uses a bundled open-source transcription of the Cutter–Sanborn Three-Figure table. DDC libraries may use other tables or local extensions; check your established shelf sequence before assignment.

    About the lookup, source & limits

    The tool selects the last printed anchor at or before your filing text. It preserves word spacing, treats the author comma as a surname/given-name boundary, ignores periods and apostrophes, and simplifies Latin diacritics. The table’s given-name abbreviation Wm. is compared as William. Enter the established filing form; the tool does not guess surnames, invert names, expand other abbreviations, or choose a main entry.

    Some table entries have one or two digits. Their printed values are kept without padding. This is a Three-Figure table lookup, not LC’s letter-to-digit method or OCLC’s expanded Four-Figure table. Source differences, missing-number intervals, and special numeric filing need librarian review.

    DDC class numbers must be supplied by the librarian. Optional title marks are local book-number aids. This tool does not search catalogues, identify collisions, or implement every filing rule. All calculations run in your browser; entered text is not stored or transmitted by the plugin.

    Dataset & MIT license University reference table