Irving - Cider House Rules: Find Books

Ever wonder how books are shelved?

In this library we use The Library of Congress Classification System to organize books on the shelves. The LC SYSTEM organizes material in libraries according to twenty-one branches of knowledge called classes. The system uses letters to represent the twenty-one broad branches of knowledge. The letters I, O, W, X AND Y are not used.

 The twenty-one classes are:

A – GENERAL WORKS

B – PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION

C – AUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY

D – HISTORY: GENERAL & OUTSIDE THE AMERICAS

E – HISTORY: UNITED STATES

F – HISTORY: UNITED STATES LOCAL & AMERICAS

G – GEOGRAPHY, ANTHROPOLOGY, RECREATION

H – SOCIAL SCIENCE

J – POLITICAL SCIENCE

K – LAW

L – EDUCATION

M – MUSIC & BOOKS ON MUSIC

N – FINE ARTS

P – LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Q – SCIENCE

R – MEDICINE

S – AGRICULTURE

T – TECHNOLOGY

U – MILITARY SCIENCE

V – NAVAL SCIENCE

Z – BIBLIOGRAPHY, LIBRARY SCIENCE & INFORMATION RESOURCES

These twenty-one broad subject areas are further divided into more specific subject areas by adding one or two additional letters as well as some numbers. For a more detailed breakdown of any subject, go to the Library of Congress web page. 

So, How Do I Find a Book on the Shelf?

Try this exercise, which was put together by the librarians at Kent State University, to see if you have figured out the Library of Congress system!

Finding Books on Your Topic 

 

Once you have chosen a topic and done your background research you will be ready to conduct more comprehensive research using books.

Use the Library Catalog available on the Cerritos College Library Home Page to find books available in the Library. Books can provide a broad overview of a topic or in-depth information. You can search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword.

Listed below are some Library of Congress Subject Headings used in the catalog for books relating to John Irving and his work, The Cider House Rules. Use these terms to search by Subject. Remember, this list is by no means conclusive.

American literature	Abortion
American literature—20th century	Orphans
American literature—20th century—History and criticism	Racism
Authors, American Novelists, American - 20th century - Biography	Women’s Rights