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Call Numbers Explained In a library, books are organized by call
number. A call number classifies a book by its subject
and tells you where it is located on the shelves. Think of it as the book's address.
And although we'll talk about books in this tutorial, remember that call numbers are used
on almost all the items in the library. The King Library is unusual because it is
both a public library and a university library. Because of this, it uses two different classification
systems. That is, two different types of call numbers.
The first is the Dewey Decimal System, which is used to classify public library books.
These books are located on the first, third and fourth floors.
In the Dewey system, nonfiction books are organized first by number then alphabetically.
Each number stands for a specific topic. For example, 510 is the number for mathematics.
Fiction books are organized alphabetically by the author's last name.
The second method is the Library of Congress Classification system, which is used to identify
university library books. These books are located on the remaining floors
of the library. The Library of Congress system uses a combination
of letters and numbers, which stand for a specific subject. For example, "QA" designates
mathematics. The numbers following limit the subject some
more. So "QA445" is the call number for books on geometry.
Often you'll see one or two numbers after the first decimal point.
If there are two, the first one further narrows the subject of the book. And the second represents
the author or organization that created the book. The final number is the year the book
was published: 2007. Using the library catalog, you can search
on both Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress call numbers. This means you can look at all
the books in a specific classification.