A while back, I knew an author was asking about getting a Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN). What is that? What does it mean?
An LCCN is free & relatively easy to get. You must have your ISBN to get it (which is an issue in itself since some authors own their ISBN while other times a platform, like Amazon, owns it—honestly I don’t know all the rules about it).
One LCCN suffices for any format, which is nice.
This IS a cataloging record, but it is NOT determined by topic or content of the book. A Library of Congress Control Number is NOT the same as Library of Congress Classification.
So, just as an ISBN number helps with tracking but looks pretty random, so too LCCN.
Here is a link to directions.
For a more thorough approach, here is a Library of Congress link for their Author/Self-Publisher User Guide. This includes both the Preassigned Control Number (PCM) Program and PrePub Book Link (PPBL), as well as LCCN info.
I’m not an expert on this, but I was glad to see Lutherans pooling resources to help another Lutheran author out. THAT’s exactly what I love to see! 😀
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