Locating Call Numbers in the Library
A call number on the spine of a book is similar to a street address for a house, allowing for precise location of materials. Call numbers may seem confusing, but knowing how to use them will help you find where books are shelved in the library.
NOTE:
Pay attention to both the collection and call no. columns for each item in the library catalog. Both these pieces of data will help you identify where to locate particular items in the library.
There are other kinds of collections and call numbers in the library, so check with a librarian if you cannot locate what you need.
Library of Congress (LC) Classification System
The Library of Congress (LC) Classification System organizes books by
subject categories. In the Lone Star College-North Harris Library, LC call number books are found on the 2nd and 3rd floor as follows:
| LC Call Numbers |
Location |
| A-G Circulating Books |
2nd floor |
| H-Z Circulating Books |
3rd floor |
| All Reference Books |
3rd floor |
Books with LC numbers are shelved according to the following rules (examples are in order as they would be on a shelf):
First Line of Call Number: Shelved alphabetically
(e.g., A, B, BS, BT, P, PN, PQ, PR, etc.)
Second Line of Call Number : Shelved numerically (5 then 6, 50 comes after 49)
| PR PR PR PR |
| 6 64 645 6450 |
Third Line of Call Number: Shelved first by alphabet and then by decimal number (7 comes after 61):
|
PR PR PR PR |
|
64 64 64 64 |
|
.D49 .D5 .D678 .D71 |
Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification System
- United States Documents are filed by Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) numbers on the 3rd floor, on shelves or in the fiche cabinets near the reference collection.
- Documents are shelved and filed first alphabetically by letter designation of the sponsoring agency (e.g., E=Energy filed before ED=Department of Education).
- Then documents are organized numerically by section. All numbers are considered whole numbers not decimals (unlike LC call numbers). (e.g., HE 20.40: filed before HE 20.108).
- For more information on reading SuDoc numbers, see Mesa State College Tomlinson Library's SuDocs Classification System.