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Call
Numbers:
What Do They Mean??
Call Numbers: Labels with Call Numbers are placed on the spines
of the books and are used to locate any specific title found in the
Library Catalog.
The first line of a call number
for a regular nonfiction (factual, as opposed to fiction) book is the
subject/location number.
Subject/location number for
skiing: 796.93
The second line is usually the first
three letters of the author's last name, e.g.: SMI,
for Smith.
Call Number for a book on
skiing by someone named Smith:
796.93
SMI
A third line may be added, usually
at the top, to indicate that a title is located in a special section of the
library (See Sections of the Library, below).
Call Number for a Reference
book on skiing by someone named Smith:
REF
796.93
SMI
College and
university libraries use the Library of Congress (LC) Classification system, which is
completely different. (To learn
more about the LC system, visit the Online Library Learning Center at <http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit03/libraries03_04.phtml>.)
Sections of the Library:
Nonfiction -
Nonfiction books contain factual information. This section includes the majority
of
our books, which are arranged in numerical order according to the Dewey
Decimal System, from 000-
999. Nonfiction books may be checked out for 20 school days. Certain types of
nonfiction books are
located in the special sections listed below.
Reference - This is a
collection of books which cannot be checked out. They are always found in the
Library,
in case someone needs to refer to them.
The first line of the
call number for all Reference books is always REF, to indicate their
location
within the Library. The second line of the call number
for Reference books is the Dewey subject
number, by which all of the Reference books are
arranged. The
third line will be the first 3 letters of
the author's last name.
Call Number for a Reference
book on skiing by someone named Smith:
REF
796.93
SMI
Biography -
Nonfiction (factual) books about people's lives are located in the Biography
section. This is
indicated by
the first line of the call number, which will be B or BIO. The second line of
the call number
is the subject of the book - which in this case is the person
about whom the book is written (or
'biographee'). So the second line of the call
number will be the first three letters of that person's last name.
Call number for a biography of Thomas
Jefferson:
B
JEF
Fiction/Short Stories -
Novels and collections of short stories are found in special sections of the
library.
Therefore,
each has a special location line in the call number to indicate where they are
shelved. The first
line of the
call number for novels is FIC, which is short for Fiction. Short story call
numbers begin with
SC, which stands
for Story Collection. As with the nonfiction call numbers, the second line of
fiction and
short story call
numbers is usually the first three letters of the author's last name.
Call number for a novel by Stephen King:
FIC
KIN
Call number for a book of short stories by Stephen King:
SC
KIN
Videos - The libraries
currently own videos in both videotape (VHS) and DVD formats, both of which may
be
checked out
for 5 school days (usually 1 week). Since these are
shelved separately,
the first line of the call
number for videos indicates both the location and the
format. The next line of the
call number for all
videos follows the same rule as for books - a Dewey subject
line or other location
symbol (such as B for
biography. The third line will be the first three letters
of the first main word of the title,
rather than author's
last name.
Call numbers for videotape and DVD copies of Spellbound:
VHS
DVD
372.63
372.63
SPE
SPE
Audiobooks - Many of the
novels read by our English classes are available to students in audio format,
either
as cassettes
(CAS) or CDs (CD), and may also be checked out for 5 school days (usually 1
week). These
have standard call numbers (that is, a Dewey subject
line and then the first three
letters of the author's last
name), with an added first line indicating both the
format and the location.
Call numbers for cassette and CD audiobooks, as well as for a print copy, of
The Scarlet Letter by
Nathaniel Hawthorne:
CD
CAS
FIC
FIC
FIC
HAW
HAW
HAW
Special Collections -
There are a number of special collections located in separate areas of the
library, as
indicated by
the first line of their call numbers, all of which may be checked out for the
standard 20 school
days. These include: GRA (graphic novels), PA
(picture art), and PRE
(preschool). The second line of the
call number will be a standard Dewey subject
number; the third is usually the
first three letters of the
author's last name.
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