Finding Books in Academic Libraries

When you enter a university or college library for the first time, you might be overwhelmed by the number of books you find there. Understanding how the books are arranged can help take some of the mystery out of finding books in your college library. I hope that this explanation will help!

Books can be organized on library shelves in many different ways. How they are arranged often depends on the kind of library. See Aren't All Libraries the Same? for more details on the differences between libraries.

Public Libraries

In public libraries, there are often separate sections for mystery books, children's books, bestsellers, paperbacks, and biographies.

Fiction books are generally separated from the nonfiction books. The fiction books may be arranged by the author's last name. The nonfiction books are usually arranged by topic using the Dewey Decimal system.

Dewey Decimal System

The Dewey Decimal System, created by Melvil Dewey in 1873, uses ranges of numbers to represent different topics. Books are organized in the library by these different areas. Below is a list of the general topics covered in each range.

Overview of the Dewey Decimal Classification

000 Generalities
100 Philosophy & psychology
200 Religion
300 Social sciences
400 Language
500 Natural sciences & mathematics
600 Technology (Applied sciences)
700 The arts
800 Literature & rhetoric
900 Geography & history

Each book title in the library has its own call number assigned to it. A call number is used to locate a book on the shelf. A Dewey call number includes numbers that are code for what the book is about and letters or a combination of letters and numbers that identifies the author of the book.

In the Dewey system, books on psychology generally have call numbers beginning with 150-159.

The book, Interpretation of Dreams, by Sigmund Freud would have a call number such as:

154.634 F895

154 means the book is about the subconscious
.634 means it is focused on sleep phenomenon
F895 is the "code" for Freud

If you went to the 154 section of the library and browsed the area, you would find other books on dreams, interpretation of dreams, sleepwalking, etc. Browsing is a good way to find out what books are in the library - once you know what section to go to!

Academic Libraries

Academic libraries might have special sections for new books or bestsellers, or they might have separate floors or areas for rare books, government documents, media, or special collections. As a rule, however, the fiction books and the nonfiction books are shelved all together. Many academic libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System to organize books on the shelves (though some use the Dewey system).

Library of Congress Classification System

Each book title in the library has its own call number assigned to it. A call number is used to locate a book on the shelf. A Library of Congress call number includes a series of letters and numbers that are code for what the book is about and a combination of letters and numbers that identify the author of the book. Books are arranged in the library by these general areas.

Overview of the Library of Congress Classification System

A General Works
B Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
C Auxiliary Sciences of History
D History (General) and History of Europe
E History: America
F History: America
G Geography, Anthropology, Recreation
H Social Sciences
J Political Science
K Law
L Education
M Music and Books on Music
N Fine Arts
P Language and Literature
Q Science
R Medicine
S Agriculture
T Technology
U Military Science
V Naval Science
Z Bibliography, Library Science, Information Resources (General)

Notice that there is no "I" or "O." This is because it is too easy to confuse those letters with the numbers one and zero.

Within each section there are subsections. For example, psychology books are generally in the BF area, although books related to clinical psychology and psychiatry would be in the RC section since this area covers medical aspects of psychology.

You can get the complete Library of Congress Classification Scheme at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html

The book, Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud, would have a call number such as:

BF1078 F72

BF means the book is about a psychology topic
1078 means it is focused on dreaming
F72 is the "code" for Freud

If you went to the BF1078 section of the library and browsed the area you would find other books on dreaming and dream interpretation. Browsing is a good way to find out what books are in the library - once you know what section to go to!

One Final Note - Literature

In the Library of Congress system, novels and short stories are mostly found in the P section since this is the area for literature and language. Books that are written about specific authors or about specific books are shelved near the original works.

For example, the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain has a Library of Congress call number of PS1305 .A1 and a Dewey call number of 813.4 T969

A book that is a collection of essays about Huckleberry Finn like Readings on the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a Library of Congress call number of PS1305 .A1 and a Dewey call number of 813.4 R2275

A book about Mark Twain such as Mark Twain: A Short Introduction, would have a Library of Congress call number of PS1338 .R35 and a Dewey number of 818.409 T969

See how all of these books are in the same general area. If you need to find books about a novel, find out where the novel is shelved and then browse around that area.

More Information

Classification systems can sometimes be confusing. Check out these different Web sites and tutorials that can help you understand the Library of Congress and Dewey systems a little better. Understanding how books are arranged on the shelves will help prepare you to use academic libraries. Good luck!

Library of Congress Classification

How to Read Library of Congress Call Numbers (University System of Georgia)
One page summary of how to read a Library of Congress number.
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit03/libraries03_04.phtml

Understanding Library of Congress Call Numbers (Lake Sumter Community College)
Detailed description of how to interpret a call number.
http://www.lscc.edu/library/guides/callnos.aspx

SatchLCall
Developed by Michael Ford for the University of Pittsburgh Libraries.
Two slide shows and quizzes on Library of Congress classification.
http://www.pitt.edu/~ford29/SatchLCall/linking.html

Library of Congress Call Number Quiz
A five question quiz that focuses on putting call numbers in order. Developed by Joan Reitz at Western Connecticut University
http://people.wcsu.edu/reitzj/lcquiz/lcquiz.html

Dewey Decimal System


How to Read Dewey Decimal Call Numbers (University System of Georgia)
One page description of how to read a Dewey number.
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit03/libraries03_05.phtml


Order in the Library
Series of quizzes about how to use the Dewey system developed by the University of Texas at Austin. Spanish option. First, type in your name. Then, choose an animal caricature. Next, choose whether to do a quiz on sorting, shelving, or reordering. Finally, choose the level of play. A certificate of completion is generated.
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/s2s/utopia/library4/
src/library4.swf


OCLC Dewey Tutorial
A very detailed description of the history and structure of the Dewey system produced by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center). Uses Macromedia Flash.
http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/tour/