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Homelessness: Find Books

Where is That Book?


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!

Books

Finding Books on Your Topic  walking book

Use will need to use the Library Catalog to find books available in the Cerritos College Library. You can search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword. 

You can use some of the terms below to help you find books relating to the themes in Lopez's The Soloist:

  • Homeless Persons - United States
  • Homelessness
  • Mental Illness
  • Schizophrenia
HINT: To find books written about an author search by Subject, to find a book written by an author search by Author. Always type the last name first, e.g. Hemingway, Ernest.

ELECTRONIC BOOKS

Here are some of the library's ebooks which can help you get information about elder abuse. Remember, library online resources require login for off-campus use.  Enter your Cerritos College login when prompted.  For more login information see the Database Login page

BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY

Below are some books which are available for checkout.

Cerritos College Library | 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk, CA 90650 | 562-860-2451 | Reference ext 2425 | Circulation ext 2424