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 AND Appears in the online catalog QA 76.618 .K66 2005 QA76.618.K66 2005 What does the call number mean? 1. 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. 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 Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order QC before QD Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order .C before .F Putting Call Numbers in Shelf Order 2002 before 2003 In short 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 - Why Is This Important To Know? Because books are classified by subject, you can often find se v e ra l h e l p f u l b o o ks o n the sa m e she lf , o r ne a rb y . Accounting Theory Management Accounting Financial Accounting Financial Accounting: A User Perspective Introduction To Financial Accounting Location Prefixes Location prefixes mean that book is shelved in a special place, and may have loan restrictions. U TA R L i b r a r y u s e s t h e f o ll o w i n g lo c a t i o n p r e f ix e s : Prefix Collection Loan Period [Blank] Open Shelf Dis Dissertation 2 weeks Library-use only Ref Reference Library-use only RS Red-spot 2 hours/overnight loan Sem Seminar Paper Ser Serial Library-use only Library-use only 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.