Most items in the library have been assigned Library of Congress Classification (LCC) call numbers. Collections organized by LCC include the main collection, the reference collection, and the media collections. LCC organizes items according to subject so items on similar subjects and topics are grouped together. Consequently, when you have found a book that interests you, it may be helpful to browse the books nearby, as they will likely be written on a very similar topic.
Items organized according to LCC are arranged alphanumerically by their call numbers. Each call number is comprised of a few parts. The call number for Ian Dennis's The Nature of Accounting Regulation, for example, is shown below:
HF 5636 D46 2014
- HF: This indicates the general subject area of the book (commerce). It should be read alphabetically (e.g. A, AH, BC, BT).
- 5636: This indicates the specific topic within the general subject area (general English and American works on accounting and bookkeeping published since 2006). It should be read numerically as a whole number (e.g. 4, 24, 57, 295, 9356).
- D46: This combination of letters and numbers often represents the author's last name (Dennis). It should be read alphabetically, then numerically as a decimal (e.g. A12, A145, A2, A2587, A36, B576, B81).
- 2014: This is the year in which the book was published. It should be read chronologically.
To find an item on the shelf, begin with the left-most part of the call number and work your way right. In the above example, you would first find the items with call numbers beginning with HF. Then, you would search within those items to find those with call numbers beginning with HF 5636. Once you have located these, you would go on to find all items under HF 5636 D46, then look for the specific book.
For a detailed Library of Congress Classification outline, follow this link.
NOTE: The University of Lethbridge Library's main collection is located on Level 9.
