Ask the Library: Reference

Tips for Finding Books on the Shelf

Anatomy of a Library of Congress Call Number                                                    

Book title:        Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam
Author:             Daniel C. Hallin

Call Number in Catalog: DS559.46 .H35 1986

            The first line describes the general subject area:
                    DS =  History of Asia
            The second line describes the specific subject of the book:
                    559.45 = Vietnamese Conflict
            The third line often represents the author's last name:
                    H35 = Hallin
            The last line represents the date of publication:
                    1986

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If the call number is: LB2395.C65 1991…..

     Read call numbers line by line.

     LB
     Read the first line in alphabetical order:
     A, B, BF, C, D... L, LA, LB, LC, M, ML...

     2395
     Read the second line as a whole number:
     1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1000, 2000, 2430, 2395, 2578…

     .C65
     The third line is a combination of a letter and numbers. Read the letter alphabetically. Read
     the number as a decimal, eg:        
     .C65 =  C  then .65
     Some call numbers have more than one combination letter/decimal number line

     1991
     The last line is the year the book was published. Read in chronological order:
     1985, 1991, 1992...

Library of Congress Classification Outline

Listed below are the letters and titles of the main classes of the Library of Congress Classification.