1. WHAT DO ALL THOSE
NUMBERS MEAN ANYWAY?
UNDERSTANDING
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
CALL NUMBERS

2. ?
How are Books Arranged in Our Library
Library classification systems arrange books on the library shelves by
a. Author
b. Title
c. Year of Publication
d. Subject

3. ?
How are Books Arranged in Our Library
Library classification systems arrange books on the library shelves by
a. Author
b. Title
c. Year of Publication
d. Subject

4. Library of Congress Classification System
Arranges books and videos A - Z by Subject
A General Works
B Philosophy, Religion
C Auxiliary sciences of history, Biography
D History--Old World
E-F History--America
G Geography, Anthropology, Recreation
H Social Sciences
J Political Science
K Law
L Education
M Music scores 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

5. You’ve found a book with the call number
BC 15.5 .D4
How do you read this call number?
Main
BC
15.5
.D4

6. You’ve found a book with the call number
BC 15.5 .D4
How do you read this call number?
Location in the Library - Main or Ref or Video….
Main
BC
15.5
.D4

7. You’ve found a book with the call number
BC 15.5 .D4
How do you read this call number?
Location in the Library : Main or Ref or Video….
Broad LC Subject Area – read alphabetically A - Z
Main
BC
15.5
.D4

8. You’ve found a book with the call number
BC 15.5 .D4
How do you read this call number?
Location in the Library : Main or Ref or Video….
Broad Subject Area – read alphabetically A - Z
Narrower Subject Area – read as a regular number
Main
BC
15.5
.D4

9. You’ve found a book with the call number
BC 15.5 .D4
How do you read this call number?
Location in the Library : Main or Ref or Video….
Broad Subject Area – read alphabetically A - Z
Narrower Subject Area – read as a regular number
Main
BC Read the letter A – Z and the number as a decimal
15.5
.D4

10. Let’s put these in the right order
Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3

11. Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3
1

12. Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3
1 2

13. Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3
1 2 3

14. Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3
4 1 2 3

15. Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3
5 4 1 2 3

16. Main Main Main Main Main Main
BC BC B BC BC BC
15.5 15.5 351 15.5 2 10
.D31 .D3 .C3 .D4 .C3 .C3
5 4 1 6 2 3

17. If you can put these books spines in order,
you can find books in our Library !