Chapter 4 Using Call Numbers

Table of Contents

Call numbers are exact addresses. They let you easily find a single item out of thousands in the library!

The call number tells you the location of a book in the Library the same way a street address tells you how to find a specific house. Like a street address, the call number gives you information from the very general (subject of the book) to the very specific (exact location on the shelves).

The call number appears on the spine of that book. In the library catalog, the call number is written horizontally. On the book spine, it appears vertically, making it easier to find a specific call number on the shelves.

This is from the Cabrillo College library catalog record for a book titled Roman Sculpture written by Diane Kleiner:

Main stacks -- the bulk of the collection is here; these are books you can check out

Reference Area -- books you consult (e.g., encyclopedias); these cannot be checked out.

Folio -- oversized books located on larger shelves; folio stacks are between the end of the Main stacks and the video collection

Reserve Desk -- materials for special reading assignments; request these at Circulation Desk

Call Number    Library of Congress (LC) call numbers begin with letters that represent the 21 subject divisions that make up the LC classification system. We introduced the LC classification system back in Chapter 1 when we were talking about how it creates an organizational structure for access to information resources. Here's a recap of the LC's major subject divisions:

Following the initial letters are numbers that help define the subject of the material. Consider this call number:

This call number system allows materials on related subjects to be shelved in the same area. For example, if a patron goes to the book shelves to locate the call number NB 115 .K57 1992, other books on Roman sculpture would be found nearby.

Call numbers are ordered line by line:

• The first line is a letter or letter, and signals a primary alphabetical arrangement (i.e., L comes before N, which comes before NB, which comes before P)
• The second line of the call number is a whole number (i.e., 100 is before 115). This represents the major sub-topic.
• The third line of the call number is a letter and some numbers. The letter is the first letter of the author's last name. The number that follows is decimal number (i.e., .S65 comes before .S8). The decimal number means that a newly published book can be assigned a call number that will place it very specifically between books that are already on the shelves. Pretty clever, no?

Status indicates the availability of the book. CHECK SHELVES means that the book should be in the library on the shelves; go check! A DUE date (e.g., 12-14-03) indicates the book has been checked out and is due back by that date. If a book you want is out, you may request that a hold be placed on it. You will be notified when the book is returned. Click on at the bottom of the book's catalog record.

Have you ever wondered where we got the term "call number?" It comes from the early days in libraries, when ordinary people were not allowed to browse the shelves -- the library stacks were "closed." To get a book, you would go to a gate and call out its number to a library worker. Or, you would fill out a "call slip" and the book would be fetched for you. Though closed stacks are a thing of the past in most libraries, the term "call number" has stuck, and still means the exact location of an item on the shelves.