Most of the books in Smiley Memorial Library are organized using the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system. LCC uses a system of classes and subclasses to organize books by subject (See Library of Congress Classification Outline for more information).
As part of this system, each book or resource is assigned a Library of Congress (LC) call number. Call numbers are essentially a book's address and tell you where you can find the book on the library's shelves.
LC call numbers will appear in the library's catalog records and on labels fixed to the spine (sometimes the front cover) of each book.
Most of the library's resources are organized using LCC. This includes the general collection, popular fiction, popular nonfiction, adult graphic novels, reference, and etcetera. Exceptions include:
Below is an example of a Library of Congress call number, as it would appear on a spine label. The call number appears in five separate lines:
PN
2287
.M33
A3
2022
In this example:
An example of a call number, as it would appear in the library catalog, is PN2287 .M33 A3 2022.
In this example:
Each book on the Library's shelves will feature a spine label that signifies a call number. In the Library of Congress Classification system, call numbers are made up of a series of letters, decimals, and numbers. On the spine label, call numbers will typically have four to five lines, such as in the example above. In the library's catalog, this same call number will be written on one line (PS3618.E5479 S48 2018) but it will still read in the same format. The following slides will walk you through how to read a LCC call number. You can use the arrows to navigate through the slides.
2. The second line of a call number is a whole number that is read numerically. Keep in mind that this line can have a decimal. An example LC call number order for this line could be 15, 15.1, 24, 89, 89.3, 89.9, 91, 103, 345, 4789, 6787.
3. The 3rd line is typically the cutter number, a feature which can signify the author's last name, the title of the book, or some related element. Please know that sometimes the number from the whole number line can be decimalized and continued on the third line. The cutter line will always start with a letter and end with number(s). First, the letter is read alphabetically. Next, the following numbers are read as a decimal. .E120, for example, would be shelved before .E3. It can be helpful to imagine extra zeros at the end (ex: .E120 and .E300)
4. Call numbers can have one to two cutter numbers. This example has a second cutter number which is highlighted in yellow. This cutter number will be read the same way as before: with the letter read alphabetically and the subsequent numbers read as a decimal.
5. Line 5 is the publication year for the book. This line is read in chronological order (ex. 1990, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2022, 2024).
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