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Library Resources and Services

This guide contains information about the library resources and services that are available from the SJSU Library

Call Numbers Explained

Book cover

Anatomy of a Library of Congress Call Number

The books in our library are shelved by call number using Library of Congress Classification.

Book title: Shakespeare: for all time
Author: Stanley Wells
Call Number: PR2894 .W43 2003

The first two lines describe the subject of the book.
PR = English Literature
2894 = English renaissance (1500-1640)

The third line usually represents the author's last name.
= Wells

The last line represents the date of publication.

Using the Call Number to Find the Book

PR Read the first line in alphabetical order:
A, B, BF, L, LA, LB, LC, M, P, PR...
 
2894 Read the second line as a whole number:
1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1145, 2587, 2894...
 
.W43 The third line is the trickiest part of the call number! 
Read the letter alphabetically and the number as a decimal
.W301 will come before .W43 (read them as .W301 and .W430)
 
2003 The last line is the year the book was published. Read in chronological order:
1985, 1991, 2003, 2009...