Classmark

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A notation assigned to a library book that shows its subject classification and where it is shelved
2. The alphanumeric code printed on a library item to indicate the category and position of its shelf
3. A symbol or number system used by libraries to group books by subject and locate them on shelves

Etymology: "Classmark" is a library term for the code, usually a combination of letters and numbers, printed on a book's spine or catalogue record that tells you where it sits on the shelves. The word is a plain compound of "class" and "mark," and its meaning follows directly from those two parts. In a library, a book is grouped into a class, a subject category such as history or botany, and the mark is the symbol that identifies that category and the item's position within it. Put together, the classmark is the mark that indicates a book's class. The word belongs to the vocabulary of library cataloguing, which developed its own specialist terms as collections grew and shelving systems became more formal. Its transparent structure means that anyone who knows the two elements can grasp the sense at once, which is typical of technical coinages built from ordinary English words.

Synonyms: call number, shelfmark