LESSON 5 CONTENTS:

Learning Objectives

Part One: The Organization of Library Materials

I. Preface to Part One

II. Subject Headings
* Subdivisions
* Types of Subdivisions
* Library of Congress Subject Headings

III. Classification Systems
* The Dewey Decimal Classification System
* The Library of Congress Classification System
* General Principles of Classification Systems

IV. Call Numbers

V. Part One Summary: The Complex Job of Organizing a Library

Part Two: The Online Catalog: Key to the Library’s Collection

VI. Preface to Part Two

VII. The Online Catalog – Key to the Library’s Collection
* The Structure of Online Catalogs
* Searching Online Catalogs
* The Peninsula Library system (PLS) Online Catalog

VIII. Key Points to Remember

Lesson Five Quiz

Lesson Five Exercise

IV. CALL NUMBERS

The final organizational tool that libraries use to organize their collections is the call number. A call number is a combination of letters and numbers assigned to a book to indicate its shelving location. It is an "address" that allows you to find that item in the library. Call numbers are found on the spine of the book and on bibliographic records.

But more important than merely being an "address" for a book, call numbers identify the primary subject of a book, thus making it possible for books on the same subject to be grouped together. Call numbers are derived from the letters and numbers of the classification system being used by a particular library, either Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress. Since Skyline Library uses the LC system, let's examine the two parts of an LC call number:

• A class number -- a letter or letters indicating broad subject area plus a number indicating a narrower subject area

• An author number -- a combination of letters and numbers that specify an author. This makes it possible to arrange books alphabetically by author within each class.

Sometimes a call number will end with a year, indicating the date of that book's edition.

Here is an example of the parts of an LC call number:

F 369		class number (i.e. F369)
.D24		author number
1971		edition date

This call number corresponds to the book Louisiana: A Narrative History, by Edwin Davis, published in 1971. Note how each element in a call number has a meaning and helps describe the book, either in terms of subject, author, or date.