Home → Cataloging in NC Cardinal → Appendices → Appendix F: 082 Tag (Dewey Decimal Classification Number)
Last Updated 01/27/2025
The =082 field is used for the recommended Dewey Decimal Classification Number. The second indicator values distinguish between content assigned by the Library of Congress (LoC) and content assigned by an organization other than LoC.
If the second indicator is 0, then the classification number was assigned by LoC.
If the second indicator is 4, then the classification number was assigned by an agency, organization, or individual other than LoC.
For example:
=082 00$a230.044 displays a classification number that was assigned by LoC.
While:
=082 04$a230 displays a classification number that was assigned by an agency, organization, or individual other than LoC.
The =082 field should not be deleted, as noted elsewhere in the Knowledge Book here and here.
As noted above, a =082 field should not be deleted from a record, but there may be times where a cataloger has evidence that a different classification number is more accurate than the one already listed in the record.
In such situations, the cataloger should still not delete the existing =082, nor should they change the classification number listed in that =082 field. This is especially true if the classification number was assigned by LoC (which you will be able to tell by the second indicator being 0, as described above).
Instead, the cataloger should add an additional =082 field with their classification number, and they should use 4 as the second indicator. This will help other catalogers to know that while this call number may also be relevant to the material in question, it was not assigned by LoC, and they may choose which classification number they feel best represents the item and fits with their collection.
Similarly, if a cataloger comes across a record that has a =082 field with a second indicator of 4, and the cataloger knows what the LoC-assigned classification number is, the cataloger should add an additional =082 field with a second indicator of 0 that lists the LoC-assigned classification number. They should not delete the previous =082 field with the second indicator of 4.
So, using the examples listed above, a cataloger may come across a record with two =082 fields that look like this:
=082 00$a230.044
=082 04$a230
This is perfectly acceptable, as a MARC record can have multiple =082 fields, and, in some cases, the same material can potentially have two (or more) wildly different, but still relevant and accurate, classification numbers.