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 to find books. Books can provide a broad overview of a topic or in-depth information. You can search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword.
EXAMPLE:
Listed below are some examples of keywords you can use to search the library catalog.
The library has thousands of ebooks for you to use. Most of them can be found in the Library Catalog. When you first do your search, all the print books, ebooks, and videos will be mixed together.
If you just want to see ebooks, after you do your search, look at the filters on the lefthand side of the screen:
Different books come from different vendors, so the loan rules will vary. When you are off-campus, you will need to log in to read the book.
In some cases, you may have a class that uses a digital textbook that the library has scanned and offers through the catalog for a 2 hour checkout. Here is a video about how to use those textbooks.
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To download EBSCO eBooks view these instructions: Document or Slideshow |
