Helpful Things to Know about the Jones Library

Click on picture below to take a library tour!

The Library of Congress classification system was taken from Bevill State Community College. 

A call number is like the address of a book. If you have the call number, you can find where the book lives in the library. It's made up of letters and numbers in a very specific combination that designates the subject and the author of that specific book.

So how do you read a call number? 

1. The first line is made up of one or two letters and is meant to be read in alphabetical order. 

2. The second line is a number. Sometimes it has a decimal at the end. If so, it would be after the same number without a decimal.

3. The third line has a decimal, a letter, and some numbers. Read the letter in alphabetical order, then the number like it was a decimal. This is where it might get confusing. For example, this book would come before PN 6747 .S3 and after PN 6747 .S12. Remember decimals technically continue on forever with 0's. 

4. Sometimes the fourth line looks just like the third line with the actual decimal in front of the letter. That means you read it just like the third line (alphabetical then like the number is a decimal).

5. The last line could be a year, representing the year it was published, so read it as a number! 

6. Sometimes the last line might be v.1, or c.2, or the call number might end at the third line! If you have a hard time finding the book, please ask us for assistance!