POLICY
The National Library of Canada (NLC) uses a special classification scheme to classify all Canadian Literature in one range of numbers, PS8001-8599. OCLC records containing these numbers are frequently produced or modified by them, so NLC will appear in a subfield a or c of the 040 field.
In the United States we have traditionally classified Canadian literature according to the language it was written in: PR9180-9199.3 for English, PQ 3900-3919.2 for French, and PM1-2711 for Native (Indian and Aleut) languages. Modern Candian Indians writing in English or French are typically classed in PR or PQ, although some modern bilingual works and works of criticism may be in PM.
In order to avoid split files in the catalog and on the shelves, please use the appropriate PR, PQ, or PM classification number instead of PS. If the first record you find for a work of Canadian literature has only the PS number, please check OCLC for other records, records for other editions, or records for other books by the same author. Please also check CLSI to see if we have any other books by that author. If you have any questions, please refer them to a cataloger.