How to understand Call Numbers?

Have you ever wondered how library books are assigned their places on the shelves? What is the call number?

What are call numbers for? Each book in the library has a unique call number. A call number is like an address: it tells us where the book is located in the library.

Call number appears on the spines of the books QA 76.618 .K66 2005

Appears in the online catalog AND Appears in the online catalog QA 76.618 .K66 2005 QA76.618.K66 2005

What does the call number mean? The first two lines describe the subject of the book. 2. The letter-and-decimal section of the call number often represents the author's last name. 3. And, the last section of a call number is the date of publication. Chinese Library & Japanese Resources housed together. Medical Library near NUH. HSSML for School of Business.

Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order To understand how call numbers are put in order, look at each section of the call number. 129 before 173 Chinese Library & Japanese Resources housed together. Medical Library near NUH. HSSML for School of Business.

Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order QC before QD Chinese Library & Japanese Resources housed together. Medical Library near NUH. HSSML for School of Business.

Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order .C before .F Chinese Library & Japanese Resources housed together. Medical Library near NUH. HSSML for School of Business.

Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order 2002 before 2003 Chinese Library & Japanese Resources housed together. Medical Library near NUH. HSSML for School of Business.

In short comes before the below because ‘C’ before ‘D’ HC29 INT 2002 comes before the below because ‘C’ before ‘D’ HD28 ADV comes before the below because ‘0’ (i.e. 28 = 28.0) comes before ‘1’ HD28.15 KEL comes before the below because ‘1’ comes before ‘6’ HD28.6 ETM 1993 - Chinese Library & Japanese Resources housed together. Medical Library near NUH. HSSML for School of Business.

Why Is This Important To Know? Because books are classified by subject, you can often find several helpful books on the same shelf, or nearby. Financial Accounting Accounting Theory Financial Accounting: A User Perspective Management Accounting Introduction To Financial Accounting

Location Prefixes [Blank] Open Shelf 2 weeks Dis Dissertation Location prefixes mean that book is shelved in a special place, and may have loan restrictions. UTAR Library uses the following location prefixes: Prefix Collection Loan Period [Blank] Open Shelf 2 weeks Dis Dissertation Library-use only Ref Reference RS Red-spot 2 hours/overnight loan Sem Seminar Paper Ser Serial

When a call number looks like this : BF637.C45W66 2004 This indicates that the book is shelved on the Open Shelf. Open Shelf Books

When a call number looks like this: RS QA76.9.C66M67 2006 The RS prefix indicates the book is shelved on the Red Spot Shelf. Red Spot Books

When a call number looks like this: Ref HF5382.5.M4.C37 2004 The Ref prefix indicates that the book is shelved on the Reference Shelf. Reference Books

 For more information about call numbers and finding library materials, please ask the Reference Librarians.