Sue & Radcliffe Killam Library

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A majority of books that you will come across in Killam Library are organized according to the  Library of Congress Classification System. Each book in Killam Library will have a call number. Call number labels are typically located on the lower part of the spine of the book. Some materials will have additional markings as part of the call number to denote their location. For example, reference materials will have REF above the call number label.

Think of the call number as the book's address on the shelf. The first line in a Library of Congress call number classifies the item by its subject according to the LC Classification System. The entire call number should be noted in order to locate the item.

• LC call numbers are first arranged alphabetically, according to the letter or letters at the beginning of the call number, which correspond to the subject matter of the item.
  • Example: Call numbers beginning with D are followed by DA, DB, DC, etc.

• Within the alphabetical section, books are arranged by the number(s) that follow. Notice that these numbers are regarded as whole numbers. For instance, DS 1200 comes after DS 345. Example: BA 56 before BA 234 before BA 234.57 before BA 234.8

• The next lines are alphabetic, then numeric as a decimal. The numerical part of this section is a decimal number, not a whole number. Use alphabetical order first, then the decimal extension to put the call numbers in correct sequence. (B3113 would come before B4, because 0.3113 is smaller than 0.4.)
  • Example: HV 1431 .B7 before HV 1431 .B83 before HV 1431 .F25 before HV 1431 .F7

• Editions are often arranged by date or by the date and letters.
  • Example: PS 3525 .I52 1971 before PS 3525 .I52 1973 before PS 3525 .I52 1973a