Library of Congress Call Number Sorting Game

At our library—and at most colleges and universities—books are organized using the Library of Congress (LC) Call Number system. This system groups books by subject, so books on the same topic are shelved together. That means you can either use a call number to find a specific book, or use it to browse an area of interest.

If you search for a book in our online catalog, you'll see its call number listed—kind of like a book's address on the shelf. Once you understand how to read a call number, you'll be able to go directly to the right shelf and spot your book, or even find others on the same topic nearby.

And because this system is used at most college and university libraries, learning it now will help you in the future too. A book with a specific LC call number at our library will likely have the same call number at your next school.

Here's how LC call numbers are structured:

1. First letters: One or two letters representing the broad subject area (e.g., P = Language & Literature)
2. Numbers: Whole numbers that narrow the subject more specifically
3. Cutter number: A decimal with letters and numbers that often represent the author or title
4. Additional information: Year of publication, volume number, copy number, etc.

Books are shelved in this order:

• Alphabetically by the first letter(s)
• Numerically by the number that follows
• Then by the Cutter number (alphabetical and decimal order)
• And finally by any extra information like the year

Example: PS3537.A426 C3 1951 comes before PS3537.A426 C4 1952