Research Guidance
Because scripture titles appear so frequently in items in the Church History Library’s collection, searching for the scriptures in the library catalog can be difficult. Here are some helpful hints to refine your searches to locate specific records.
Avoid Searching by Title
The Church History Library collection focuses on materials and publications that specifically pertain to the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture titles are commonly used on items about the scriptures and other reference aids. To ensure more accurate results, use the following suggested searches:
Search and Sort Results by Call Number
Call numbers are designed to place items in order according to subject, alphabetized author or title, and chronological print date. Searching and sorting by call number will narrow your search results and place them in order. This allows for easier navigation and assessment of the search results. (See the “Call Numbers” section on this page for additional information.)
Search by Language and Partial Call Number
When searching for scriptures printed in languages other than English, include the name of the language in your search.
Examples
M222.2 B724* Spanish
M222.2 B724* French
Any search results for scriptures published in other languages will include a three-letter language code in the call number.
Examples
M222.2 B724SPA 1952 (“SPA” indicates that the volume is published in Spanish.)
M222.92 B724MGL 2008 (“MGL” indicates the volume is published in Mongolian.)
Narrow and Expand Your Search Results
The Church History Library catalog includes options for filtering your search by digitized and non-digitized collections, record types, author/creator, publication dates, and so on. Using these filters will help you refine your search results to match your intended research goals.
Call Numbers
The library has a unique way of identifying differences in printings and bindings by using call numbers. This can help distinguish between different copies held by the library. Please see Decoding CHL Call Numbers for more information about how call numbers work.
Printings
Printing variations at the Church History Library are any copies of a work that have an identifiable indicator of a separate print run or edition. These include different printing dates, corrected errors in a text, differences in publication information, and so on.
Printing variations are identified by a letter added to the end of the publication year in the call number. These letters start at a and follow the alphabet as needed. The letters will only appear in the call numbers for all scriptures and pre-1931 publications created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The following are examples of print variations that may be encountered in the catalog.
Example:
M222.1 B724 2024a (The “a” denotes a printing date in 2024.)
M222.1 B724 2024b (The “b” denotes a different printing date in 2024.)
In the above example, the copies were printed in the same year but in different months. The order is not necessarily chronological.
Example:
M222.1 B724 1920a (The “a” denotes decor on the title page and a lack of publication date on the title page.)
M222.1 B724 1920b (The “b” denotes a different decor and the presence of the publication date on the title page.)
In the above example, both items have the same publication date, but they have differences in how the title page is formatted.
Some bibliographies will mention “states” when describing differences in the publications. The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association defines “states” as “print differences among an impression or issue, usually due to an error in printing or an attempt to correct an error” (RBMS Controlled Vocabularies).
Different states are also included as a printing difference. The “state” will be indicated in the bibliographic record along with bibliographical reference.
Bindings
Binding differences include multiple binding types and variations in the designs. Differences in binding are identified by “no. #” at the end of the call number. Unlike printing differences, the numeration starts with 2.
Example:
M273 S157b v.3 2024
M273 S157b v.3 2024 no. 2 (The “no. 2” denotes the same publication date but different binding or wrapper.)
Bindings and Printings Combined
On occasion, it is necessary to indicate differences in bindings within differences in printings. These use the same call number indicators previously mentioned and combine them in the call number.
Example:
M222.1 B724 2013a (The “a” denotes that there is more than one print date with this date assigned “a.”)
M222.1 B724 2013a no. 2 (This item contains the same print date as “a” but has a different binding.)
M222.1 B724 2013a no. 3 (This item contains the same print date as the previous two, but its binding differs from both of them.)
M222.1 B724 2013b (The “b” denotes a different print date within the same year.)
M222.1 B724 2013b no. 2 (This item contains the same print date as “b” but has a different binding.)
In the above examples, the items have the same publication date, but two copies have different print dates. These are indicated by the “a” and “b” after the 2013 year. Within these two different print dates, there were copies available in different binding types, indicated by the “no. 2” and “no. 3” after the “a” and “b.”