How to Read Call Numbers

A call number can be thought of as an "address" which tells you where the item "lives" in our building. The system of "addresses"
used at Cochran Library is called the Library of Congress system. Most of the material in Cochran Library is shelved by Library of Congress
call numbers. Notably, newspapers and journals in the periodicals room are not. They are shelved alphabetically by title.

The Library of Congress call number system is an alpha-numeric sytem. To read the call number, simply note the first letter or letters
of the call number. "A" would be shelved before "AB," "AB" before "AC," etc. Numbers follow the initial letter or letters. These numbers
are read as whole numbers. A call number of "AP2" will be shelved before "AP4." AP4 comes before AP44. Therefore, the following
items are in call number order:

The third element or line of the call number is the one which gives people the most trouble. This line is called the Cutter number and it is
a letter followed by a decimal number. A Cutter number "C5" is read as "C.5" and would be shelved after a Cutter number "C498'. Sometimes
there are two Cutter number lines. Once again, regard the Cutter number alphabetically and then by decimal number. Therefore, the following
items are in call number order:

Dates may often be added at the end of the call number. These dates usually reflect the publication year and can indicate differences in edition.
Dates are read chronologically, so they usually cause no confusion..

The LC system (as Library of Congress is called for short) lets librarians group books together by subject. Scan the following chart to see which
letters represent your areas of interest. Keep in mind that this is a simplified version of the LC system.

Library of Congress Classification System

Call numbers are located on these floors:

Floor	Call Numbers
Stack Level One	A - N6499
Stack Level Two	N6500 - PZ
Stack Level Three	Q - Z

 
 
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