Locate Books in the Library

How to find materials using Library of Congress  

Most academic libraries use the Library of Congress classification system for their collections, as we do here at Rod Library.

1. Re-arrange the call number in vertical format (as it will appear on the book spine).

PR 

1110

.W6

P3

1989

2. Look for the location. Rod Library UNI Stacks are located on the 3rd and 4th Floors. 

• Call numbers starting with A-J are on the 3rd Floor. 
• Call numbers starting with K-Z are on the 4th Floor.

3. Special LC collection codes:

• There are also LC books in IRTS in Schindler. The call number will start with IRTS, with another line below it designating the specific collection.
• Some Rod Library books are kept on special oversized bookshelves.  These call numbers start with OVERSIZE. These are on the 4th floor.
• UNI MATH ED refers to the Math Education Lab located in Wright 209.

4. The important thing to remember with Library of Congress numbers is "Nothing comes before something." That means P all by itself comes at the beginning of the P section, followed by PA, PB, etc.  This also applies to numbers after a decimal point. So .W6 will come after .W59 and before .W61. In the example above, the last line is the publication year; most but not all LC numbers will include this.

Additional resources

If you REALLY want to learn about using the Library of Congress Classification System, you can download LC Easy 4.0 through IT's campus software library. LC Easy provides training and practice on the Library of Congress Classification System. It's designed for new library staff, providing an introductory tutorial and lots of practice, as well as corrective feedback and intervention when necessary. It provides a variety of challenges and offers helpful hints. LC Easy 4.0 also works well for library staff who have been away for some time or are looking for a refresher.