Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), as the name implies, is assigned by the US Library of Congress. It is actually a reference number to locate the bibliographic data, or catalog record, for a specific work in the Library of Congress (LoC). It is not, as some publishing newcomers tend to believe, a call number for finding a specific edition or format of a particular title. Therefore, you only need one LCCN to cover a hardback and paperback for the same title or to cover new editions of the same title.
The LCCN's purpose is to help the LoC maintain its catalog records and to help other librarians acquire LoC cataloging data as an aid to creating their own catalog entries for new acquisitions.
Library Book Shelving
The LCCN is included on the book's copyright page, and all recently assigned LCCNs should be printed without hyphens (the initial four digits for books entered into the LoC catalog since 2000 represent the year the LCCN was assigned).
You can acquire an LCCN only from the LoC through one of these two programs:
Cataloging-in-Publication (CIP) program: provides a complete bibliographic record created by the LoC for books not yet published, which is then printed on the book's copyright page (CIP data includes the LCCN). Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program: provides a LoC-assigned LCCN if the publisher requests it and is approved for it, but it will not include any bibliographic data.
So, which program should you use? You probably won't have much choice if you are self-published or run a very small publishing company that primarily publishes your own books.
According to the LoC itself on its CIP Program page:
"Only U. S. publishers who publish titles that are most likely to be widely acquired by U.S. libraries are eligible to participate in the CIP program. Book vendors, distributors, printers, production houses and other intermediaries are ineligible. Publishers who have published the works of fewer than three different authors are ineligible. Self-publishers (i.e. authors and editors who pay for or subsidize publication of their own works; who often do not publish the works of more than three different authors; and whose works are rarely widely acquired by the nation's libraries) are ineligible."
According to the LoC's PCN Program page:
"Only U.S. book publishers are eligible to participate in the PCN program. These publishers must list a U.S. place of publication on the title page or copyright page of their books and maintain an editorial office in the U.S. capable of answering substantive bibliographic questions."
Getting that LCCN through the PCN program is a two-step process: first apply for a PCN account (might take up to two weeks) and then apply for a PCN (LCCN) for your book (they say this might take 1-2 weeks but we usually get ours within a day or so).
Once you have an LCCN through the PCN program, you can always pay somebody to create the CIP data. This data cannot be labeled "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication" on the book's title page but, instead, must be clearly labeled "Publisher Cataloging-in-Publication" (PCIP).
Is PCIP worth paying for? Although there are differences of opinion on whether its presence will lead to more library sales, a CIP block is an inexpensive addition that may help sell books to libraries and may make your self- or micro-publishing business appear more established, professional, and knowledgeable. Probably the biggest advantage to having PCIP data for your book is that it may get your book cataloged faster and out on the shelves of libraries faster than books for which the librarians have to create the cataloging data.
Whether you choose to buy PCIP data or not, be sure to get your LCCN from the Library of Congress and include it on your copyright page.
It is, after all, free.
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