Frequently Asked Question about
McFarlin Library's Collections

Some of the books have call numbers that start with numbers and other books have call numbers that start with letters. Why is that and where are they?

Answer:

McFarlin Library has a book collection that is split into two different call numbers systems, reflecting the manner in which the Library has grown and changed over the years.

Books in the Main Level and the Southwest/West Intermediate Level stacks are classified in the Library of Congress call number system. This system was developed by the Library of Congress in Washington and is used by most academic and research libraries in the United States. It has been in continuous development since about 1900.

Books in the Library of Congress system are easy to identify because the call numbers begin with a letter or letters of the alphabet. Each letter represents a broad subject area. The letters or numbers which follow designate more specific subject areas. This means that books on the same or similar subjects will be shelved near each other.

Below is a brief overview of the Library of Congress Classification System. If you have any questions or problems finding a book, please ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

Books in the Intermediate Level stacks are classified in the Dewey Decimal call number system. This system was developed by Melvil Dewey. It is used mostly by public and school libraries in the United States. It first appeared in 1876.

Books in the Dewey Decimal system are easy to identify because the call numbers begin with numbers. It divides human knowledge into 10 main divisions, with many further subdivisions. This means that books on the same or similar subjects will be shelved near each other.

Note: In McFarlin Library, the Dewey books are older books, added to the library's collection before 1984. Books added since 1984 are found in the Library of Congress stacks.

Below is a brief overview of the Dewey Decimal Classification System's 10 main divisions. If you have any questions or problems finding a book, please ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

In addition to the Library of Congress and Dewey books, the Library has a third call number system in use with the Government Documents.  United States Government Documents are shelved on the south side of the Lower Level. McFarlin Library is a "partial depository" of U.S. government documents. This means we receive a certain percentage of everything published by the federal government. Since our government is the largest publisher in the world, this is a huge amount of extremely valuable material available for research purposes.

Items in Government Documents are shelved according to their Superintendent of Documents (or SuDoc) number. This is a unique number assigned by the federal government to every item it publishes. The number is based on the issuing agency.

Many government documents may be found searching the library catalog. They may be identified by the words "McF Government Docs" under LOCATION in the box at the bottom of a record. Many more documents available here are not listed in the catalog.  For help in finding government documents, go to the Documents Office or the Lower Level Service Desk.

Below is a brief overview of the SuDoc numbering system. If you have any questions or problems finding a document, please ask for assistance.