Call Numbers are like an address for a book on a shelf.
Each Call Numbers means something. There is a number for every specific subject.
If you browse books on either side of the one you want, you may find additional books that are of interest.
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The Library of Congress classification system groups together books on similar subjects by call numbers beginning with letters which represent the different subjects. Library of Congress call numbers are used in most college libraries.
1. Go in alphabetical order. For example, N comes before NA on the shelves. The more specific the number, the more specific the subject.
2. Find the number range within the section. The second line is a number from 1 to 9000. It may have a decimal.
3. Look at the first row with a letter and a number. The remaining lines contain a letter followed by a number. Go in alphabetical order. These numbers are in decimal order, so P67 would be between P6 and P8. Some call numbers will have multiple lines to further specify additional information, including subject, title, and author.
Please ask for assistance from Library workers if you need it!
The Location, Call Number, and Status information appear in the search results.
You may need to select the Item Record to see an item's current status.
The Location, Call Number, and Status information will appear in a box on the left-hand side.
It also appears at the bottom of the page (not shown below)
The purpose of a library classification system is to bring related material together in way that will help users locate items of interest to them. Library classification systems organize material by broad subject area. Each item is assigned a call number, which is like an address on a street.
LC is used by most academic libraries. It was developed in 1901 as a response to the fact that the Library of Congress collection had grown from several thousand volumes to over a million. They formulated the system based on an actual collection of books rather than a theoretical construct.
| LC Outline | ||
| A General Works | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion | C Auxiliary Sciences of History |
| D History (includes Travel) | E America | F United States. Canada. Latin America |
| G Geography | H Social Sciences | J Political Science |
| K Law | L Education | M Music |
| N Fine Art | P Language & Literature | Q Science |
| R Medicine | S Agriculture | T Technology |
| U Military Science | V Naval Science | Z Books and Bibliographies |
For a more detailed description of the LC call numbers most heavily used in the Millard Sheets Library, see Call Number Subject Guide.
Example of an LC Call Number for the following book:
Techno.Seduction: An Exhibition of Multimedia Installation Work by Forty Artists by Robert Rindler
| N | Books about art |
| 6512.5 | Specific topic, usually country, time period, or type of art |
| I56 | Further breakdown of topic; in this case, installation art. Often this line is used for the artist or author number. |
| R56 | In this case, this is the author number (Rindler) |
The Dewey Classification is used by most public libraries. Melvil Dewey tried to create a system in which all knowledge was theoretically ordered in a logical way. That is, closely related subjects would be near each other. Unfortunately, many new subjects have come into existence since Dewey invented the DDC, causing some problems with this approach. For instance, there were no computers in his time. The only way to expand a Dewey number is through the addition of numbers after the decimal point. The result can be very long and complicated numbers for some subjects.
| Dewey Outline | |
| 000 General Works | 100 Philosophy |
| 200 Religion | 300 Social Sciences |
| 400 Languages | 500 Pure Science |
| 600 Technology | 700 The Arts |
| 800 Literature | 900 Geography and History |
Example of a Dewey Call Number for the same book listed above:
Techno.Seduction: An Exhibition of Multimedia Installation Work by Forty Artists by Robert Rindler
| 709.73 | Subject is art history. The .73 is the sub-category American art and artists. |
| RIN | The first 3 letters of the author's last name (Rindler). |
Look carefully at the call number. It is sometimes preceded on the top line by words such as:
They designate separate areas within the library where books are located (shelf locations):
If there is no special designation, the item is most probably in the Main Campus Book Stacks. A staff member will point you in the right direction or retrieve the materials for you. Please ask.
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