Call Numbers

          Call numbers are extremely important to finding materials in the library.  If we didn’t have any way of organizing the library you would never find what you are looking for. 

            A call number is the numbers or letters that are located on the spine of each book.  Call numbers are organized different depending on the type of book you are looking for.  In this unit we will be looking at each type of book, what the call number will look like for that type of book and how the materials are organized in that section.

Here is an example of a non-fiction book call number:

812

HAN               

Tips for classifying:

1- Always look at the first line, if the numbers or letters are different put them in order smallest to largest

2- If the first line is the same then go down to the next line and put that in order smallest to largest

Example:

            230.2               230.2

            URE                 HAN -->  H comes before U, so this would be first

3- Keep repeating number 2 if the lines are the same, no book has the same call number unless they are identical books, so keep moving down each line until you find a difference.