Finding Materials in the York College Library

Finding Materials in the York College Library Most of the materials in the York College Library are arranged by Library of Congress call number, in at least three separate sections in the Library: Continue

Sections in the Library At York, most books are classified into one of three separate sections: Reference Circulating Oversized CONTINUE

Cautionary Note It must be emphasized that the Library of Congress system of classification is not logical or intuitive in any way. Thus, it will be necessary to write down the call number of a particular desired item. Continue

Library of Congress Call Number The Library of Congress call number is composed of letter(s) and number(s) followed by a decimal point and more letter(s) and number(s). In theory, all works on a similar subject are classified and shelved together, but this does not always happen. Note: The Library of Congress call numbers are usually written vertically, but whether written vertically or horizontally, they are arranged the same. Continue

LC Item 1 The first item in a Library of Congress call number is or are letters. It must be noted that single letters are on the shelves before multiple letters. An Example

LC Item 1: An Example In the Library of Congress system, books are arranged alphabetically according to the first letter in the call number. Thus, the shelves will begin with books whose call number begins with A, followed eventually by ones whose call numbers begin with B. Continue

LC Item 1a If an item has more than one letter at the beginning of its call number, it is further arranged by the second letter after the first, once again alphabetically. An Example

LC Item 1a: An Example If the call number of a work begins with A and another with AB, the first shelved book will be the one with the call number of A, the second will be the one with the call number beginning with AB. After the AB book, an AC book will be shelved. After all the A* call numbers, books with a call number beginning with B (etc.) will be shelved. Continue

LC Item 2 After the letter(s) the number(s) are found. The books with the same beginning letters in their call numbers are then arranged by consecutive number(s). Note: The numbers are from 1 to 9999. An Example

LC Item 2: An Example A book whose Library of Congress call number is A22 will be filed before one whose Library of Congress call number is A23. Continue

LC Item 3 Often, after the number in the call number, a decimal point and decimal number follow. The whole number and then the decimal are shelved numerically. Note: Technically, this is called the Cutter number. This is a decimal number, not a whole number. An Example

LC Item 3: An Example A book whose Library of Congress call number is AZ 210.44 comes before one whose Library of Congress call number is AZ 210.45 Continue

LC Item 4 After the decimal point and the number, often there is a letter (or letters) of the alphabet. Items are placed on the shelf by these letters (alphabetically) as the above items are (after the above items) and then by the number(s) (numerically) as the above items are. Remember, first to be considered is the initial letter(s), then the number(s), followed by the decimal point and the letter(s) / number(s). These are decimal numbers! Note: Technically, this is called a double Cutter number. An Example

LC Item 4: An Example A book whose Library of Congress call number is AB450.A39 is shelved before a book whose Library of Congress call number is AB450.B4. Both of these are filed before a book whose call number is AB450.BA41. Continue

LC Item 5 Often, following all the other items in the Library of Congress call number is either a date (such as 1990) which is usually the publication date of the work or another letter(s) and number. The books whose call numbers are identical except for the date are shelved numerically by date; those books whose call numbers are identical except for the letter/number combination are shelved according to the letter/number combination (as detailed above). An Example

LC Item 5: An Example If two items have identical Library of Congress call numbers except for the final item, these items are shelved according to the last item. For example: the book whose call number is LC223.A23 1990 is shelved before a work whose call number is LC223.A23 1999. Similarly, a work whose call number is LC223.A23 A6 is shelved before a work of one whose Library of Congress call number is LC223.A23 A611. Back to the Beginning

Reference Collection at York College At York College, the Reference Collection is on the third floor of the Library on the G wing. In the Reference Collection, items are arranged by Library of Congress call numbers. Back to Sections in the Library

Circulating Collection In the York College Library, the Circulating collection (those items that can be borrowed for three weeks and renewed for three weeks) are located on the second floor of the Library, on the G wing. The bestway to get to the Circulating collection is by using the staircase within the Library on the G wing. Back to Sections of the Library

Oversized Books In the York College Library, Oversized books are kept separately on the second floor of the Library. To gain access to them, a user should go to the second floor of the Library using the staircase in the G wing of the Library. The Oversized Collection is behind the user and to the right when s/he gets off the steps to the second floor inthe Library. Back to Sections of the Library

Quiz Place the following call numbers in proper order: Which one comes first? • PC 105.5 AD 123 • PC 105.4 AD 123 • P 105.5 AD123 • P 104.7 AD123 • PB 111.1 AD125

Correct! This call number is the first in the arrangement of items according to the Library of Congress arrangement. Click here to print out a completion certificate!

Certificate _____________ (fill in name) has successfully completed the demonstration on the arrangement of items in the York College Library according to the Library of Congress arrangement. If this computer is connected to a printer, to print this certificate, click the round button on the upper left corner of the display and choose print (current slide only). Otherwise, click the round button on the upper left portion of the display and savethe current slide to a disk. The certificate can then be printed out from the saved document.

Finding Materials in the York College Library