Finding Materials in the York College Library
Most of the materials in the York College Library are arranged by Library of Congress call number, in at least three separate sections in the Library:
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Sections in the Library
At York, most books are classified into one of three separate sections:
Reference CirculatingOversized
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Cautionary Note
It must be emphasized that the Library of Congress system of classification is not logical or intuitive in any way. Thus, it will be necessary to write down the call number of a particular desired item.
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Library of Congress Call Number
The Library of Congress call number is composed of letter(s) and number(s) followed by a decimal point and more letter(s) and number(s). In theory, all works on a similar subject are classified and shelved together, but this does not always happen.
Note: The Library of Congress call numbers are usually written vertically, but whether written vertically or horizontally, they are arranged the same.
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LC Item 1
The first item in a Library of Congress call number is or are letters.
It must be noted that single letters are on the shelves before multiple letters.
An Example
LC Item 1: An Example
In the Library of Congress system, books are arranged alphabetically according to the first letter in the call number. Thus, the shelves will begin with books whose call number begins with A, followed eventually by ones whose call numbers begin with B.
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LC Item 1a
If an item has more than one letter at the beginning of its call number, it is further arranged by the second letter after the first, once again alphabetically.
An Example
LC Item 1a: An Example
If the call number of a work begins with A and another with AB, the first shelved book will be the one with the call number of A, the second will be the one with the call number beginning with AB. After the AB book, an AC book will be shelved. After all the A* call numbers, books with a call number beginning with B (etc.) will be shelved.
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LC Item 2
After the letter(s) the number(s) are found. The books with the same beginning letters in their call numbers are then arranged by consecutive number(s).
Note: The numbers are from 1 to 9999.
An Example
LC Item 2: An Example
A book whose Library of Congress call number is A22 will be filed before one whose Library of Congress call number is A23.
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LC Item 3
Often, after the number in the call number, a decimal point and decimal number follow. The whole number and then the decimal are shelved numerically.
Note: Technically, this is called the Cutter number. This is a decimal number, not a whole number.
An Example
LC Item 3: An Example
A book whose Library of Congress call number is AZ 210.44 comes before one whose Library of Congress call number is AZ 210.45
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LC Item 4After the decimal point and the number, often there is a
letter (or letters) of the alphabet. Items are placed on the shelf by these letters (alphabetically) as the above items are (after the above items) and then by the number(s) (numerically) as the above items are. Remember, first to be considered is the initial letter(s), then the number(s), followed by the decimal point and the letter(s) / number(s). These are decimal numbers!
Note: Technically, this is called a double Cutter number.An Example
LC Item 4: An Example
A book whose Library of Congress call number is AB450.A39 is shelved before a book whose Library of Congress call number is AB450.B4. Both of these are filed before a book whose call number is AB450.BA41.
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LC Item 5
Often, following all the other items in the Library of Congress call number is either a date (such as 1990) which is usually the publication date of the work or another letter(s) and number. The books whose call numbers are identical except for the date are shelved numerically by date; those books whose call numbers are identical except for the letter/number combination are shelved according to the letter/number combination (as detailed above).
An Example
LC Item 5: An Example
If two items have identical Library of Congress call numbers except for the final item, these items are shelved according to the last item. For example: the book whose call number is LC223.A23 1990 is shelved before a work whose call number is LC223.A23 1999. Similarly, a work whose call number is LC223.A23 A6 is shelved before a work of one whose Library of Congress call number is LC223.A23 A611.
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Reference Collection at York College
At York College, the Reference Collection is on the third floor of the Library on the G wing. In the Reference Collection, items are arranged by Library of Congress call numbers.
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Circulating CollectionIn the York College Library, the Circulating
collection (those items that can be borrowed for three weeks and renewed for three weeks) are located on the second floor of the Library, on the G wing. The best way to get to the Circulating collection is by using the staircase within the Library on the G wing.
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Oversized Books
In the York College Library, Oversized books are kept separately on the second floor of the Library. To gain access to them, a user should go to the second floor of the Library using the staircase in the G wing of the Library. The Oversized Collection is behind the user and to the right when s/he gets off the steps to the second floor in the Library.
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Quiz
Place the following call numbers in proper order: Which one comes first?
• PC 105.5 AD 123• PC 105.4 AD 123• P 105.5 AD123• P 104.7 AD123• PB 111.1 AD125
Correct!
This call number is the first in the arrangement of items according to the Library of Congress arrangement.
Click here to print out a completion certificate
!
Certificate _____________ (fill in name) has successfully completed the
demonstration on the arrangement of items in the York College Library according to the Library of Congress arrangement.
If this computer is connected to a printer, to print this certificate, click the round button on the upper left corner of the display and choose print (current slide only). Otherwise, click the round button on the upper left portion of the display and save the current slide to a disk. The certificate can then be printed out from the saved document.
