LibGuides: Library Help: Call Numbers

Dewey Decimal Classification System

Dewey Decimal
The Community College of Philadelphia Library is based on the Dewey Decimal system. "Dewey Decimal System – A Guide to Call Numbers" from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library goes into more detail.

For example, to find the book As Sociology Meets History, by C. Tilly (call number 907.2 T579a, 1981):

907.2 T579a, 1981

Locate the first three digits.
Locate any digits following the decimal point. Remember that it is a decimal system, so 907.2 comes after 907.18.
When you have located the number in full, look for the letter, then the next set of numbers.
Check that the last letter and number are correct, to make sure you have the right book and edition.

In the Catalog:		On the Item Label:
Reference Area	031 E56, 1994	R 031 E56 1994
Main Stacks	712.5 R895g	712.5 R895g
Leisure Reading (Front of the Library)	Shelved alphabetically by author's last name

Library of Congress
The Library of Congress system is utilized in many other college and university libraries. This is a list from Wikipedia.
How to read call numbers in an academic library
A project of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
Library of Congress Classification Outline
"Letters and titles of the main classes of the Library of Congress Classification. Click on any class to view an outline of its subclasses." Used mainly by catalogers in libraries.

The shelf location, i.e., the "unique address" of the book.
This shows the exact position of the item within the library, and the subject area.
The subject classification (for example: 800 Literature, 900 History & Geography, etc.).
This attempts to place items on the same subject together.
The classification scheme used in our Library is the Dewey Decimal Classification.
The link between the catalog and the shelves.
All items listed in the catalog have a call number which is used, along with location (the "neighborhood"), to find the item on the shelves.

Check the reshelving areas. Also check around the photocopiers.
Look around the study tables and carrels where another user may have left it.
Double check the catalog - did you write the call number down correctly? Is it checked out? In Reference? On Reserve?
If you have looked for it several times on different days, ask the Librarian at the Information Desk for help or to start a "Missing Item" search for you.