All books and media materials in the Library are arranged on the shelves according to the Library of Congress Classification system. A classification system is a method of arranging materials in different subject categories and assigning unique codes to each one so that they can be located on a library's shelves. The call number is the combination of numbers and letters located on the white label on the spine of each book. These numbers correspond to those in the results lists and labeled displays found in the online catalog.

Example:
If you needed to find a book on Windows ME, you might search by subject in the online catalog using the term "operating systems." The Labeled Display information for one of the books that you would find under that subject heading is the one shown below:

After locating this record, you would copy the entire call number, which is located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. The call number below appears as it would on the spine label of the book. Each line of the call number has a meaning. In the case of Windows Me: instant reference, this is what each set of numbers and letters mean:

QA ----- Mathematics: Computer Science
76.76 ----- Special Topics
.O63 -------- Operating Systems
W46 ----------- First Word of Title (for books with a named author, it would be a code for the author's last name)
2001 -------------- Year Published

All books that can be borrowed are located on the lower floor of the Library.


SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Special collections within the Library include a designation located above the call number. These are: REF. (reference books), MEDIA (videotapes, slides, audiotapes, and films), and Career Planning or CP (books on resumes, interviewing techniques, getting a job). Reference books (shelved in the Reference Room) and media programs (shelved in the Media Room) cannot be borrowed from the Library. Career Planning books can be borrowed and are located at the end of the book collection near the group study rooms.