Q. What is the Library of Congress classification system and how does it work?

The Library of Congress classification system is the way academic (and some public) libraries keep our books organized. It impacts users in 2 ways: call numbers (the address and location of the book on the shelves) and subject headings.

Call numbers, the address of the book on the shelves, is only necessary to help you locate physical books. These appear on the spine of a book. The first line is one or two letters. That's where you start and locate that section of the collection. The second line is what you will match next and so on. The nice thing about this system is that we can shelve related books together. If you find one you like, chances are the books around it will be helpful.

Subject headings are controlled language we use to organize our collection in the catalog. All our items (books, CDs, and DVDs) will have a subject heading. You can see them in WorldCat when you find a book you want. They will always be links so that you can click to see ALL the material about that subject. Don't try to search by the subject. This is librarian specific language that doesn't always make sense but once you find the first item, use the subject headings to find more!