Understanding Government Document Call Numbers
Library call numbers which begin with the prefix "US" indicate a United States federal government document. These documents use a different call number system than the regular book collections at the UB Libraries. The Superintendent of Documents ("SuDocs") Classification System groups federal documents by the government department or agency that produced them. Each department and agency is assigned a unique letter code. The table below contains examples of selected departments and agencies whose documents may be found in the UB Libraries.
Code |
Department / Agency |
A |
Agriculture Department |
AE |
National Archives and Records Administration |
C |
Commerce Department |
C 3 |
Census Bureau |
D |
Defense Department |
E |
Energy Department |
ED |
Education Department |
EP |
Environmental Protection Agency |
FR |
Federal Reserve Board |
FT |
Federal Trade Commission |
GA |
General Accounting Office |
GS |
General Services Administration |
HE |
Health and Human Services |
HS |
Homeland Security |
I |
Interior Department |
I 19 |
U.S. Geological Survey |
J |
Justice Department |
JU |
Judiciary |
L |
Labor Department |
LC |
Library of Congress |
NAS |
National Aeronautic and Space Administration |
PR |
President of the United States |
PrEx |
Executive Office of the President |
S |
State Department |
SBA |
Small Business Administration |
SE |
Securities and Exchange Commission |
T |
Treasury Department |
T 22 |
Internal Revenue Service |
TD |
Transportation Department |
VA |
Veterans' Affairs |
X |
Congress |
Y |
Congress |
Y 4 |
Congressional Committees/Hearings |
The remaining letters and numbers in a SuDocs call number contain additional information which will be necessary to locate the document on the library shelf, including the subordinate office and type of publication. It is important to note the entire SuDocs call number before attempting to locate a federal government document on the shelf in the UB Libraries.









