Find Books (A step-by-step guide)
What is a Call Number?
Each book in the library is assigned its own call number, such as PR 6302 C6 R56. This call number is assigned and connected to the subject matter of the book.
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Begin your search alphabetically with the first letter of the call number. This book will be in the Ps.
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Next look for the second character, either a letter or a number. The call numbers are separated into letter and number chunks, such as PR, then 6302, then .C6, then R56. Follow that sequence until you have located the book.
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The call number ranges for each shelving unit can be found on the ends of the row.
How to Read a Call Number
The Krueger Library's Main Collection is on the second floor. Confirm the collection in which your library item resides (use the library's online catalog/OneSearch) then use the call number to find your item/book on the shelf.
What do the call numbers mean?
The WSU Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System to organize most of its books. The LCC system organizes books into twenty-one broad subject areas, which are represented by letters of the Roman Alphabet. Each letter and number in the call number signifies specific topics. For example, L is for Education, LC1036 will include books about Community Education.
To learn how the LCC System is divided into more specific subject areas, please click on the links below:
B – PHILOSOPHY. PSYCHOLOGY. RELIGION
C – AUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY
D – WORLD HISTORY AND HISTORY of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Etc.
G – GEOGRAPHY. ANTHROPOLOGY. RECREATION
Z – BIBLIOGRAPHY. LIBRARY SCIENCE. INFORMATION RESOURCES (General)
Dewey Classification System
The Dewey Decimal Classification System is used in the WSU Library's Curriculum Collection (1st floor). Most materials begin with a CU to identify the Curriculum Collection followed by a Dewey call number
Overview
000 Generalities & General Knowledge
100 Philosophy & Psychology
200 Religion
300 Social Sciences
400 Languages
500 Natural Sciences & Mathematics
600 Technology (Applied sciences)
700 The Arts & Recreation
800 Literature & Rhetoric
900 History & Geography
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"Dewey Decimal System Poster" by Maggie Appleton is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 |
SuDoc Classification System: Government Documents
The SuDoc classification system is organized by the agency, department, or unit in which an author works, not by the personal author. The SuDoc system is used to organize the Federal government documents within the WSU's collection. For the historical development of the SuDoc system
SuDoc = Superintendent of Documents Classification System was developed in GPO’s Public Documents Library between 1895 and 1903. Below is a list (not exhaustive).
AE National Archives
C Dept. of Commerce
CR Civil Rights Commission
D Dept. of Defense
E Dept. of Energy
ED Dept. of Education
EP Environmental Protection Agency
GA General Accounting Office
GP Government Publishing Office
HE Dept. of Health and Human Services
HH Dept. of Housing and Development
HS Dept. of Homeland Security
I Dept. of the Interior
ITC International Trade Commission
J Dept. of Justice
JU Judiciary (federal courts)
L Dept. of Labor
LC Library of Congress
NAS National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NF National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Humanities
NS National Science Foundation
P US Postal Service
PE Peace Corps
PM Office of Personnel Management
PR President of the United States
PREX Executive Office of the President
PRVP Vice President of the United States
S Dept. of State
SBA Small Business Administration
SE Securities and Exchange Commission
SI Smithsonian Institution
SSA Social Security Administration
T Dept. of the Treasury
TD Dept. of Transportation
VA Veterans Administration
X & Y Congress
