Libraries are arranged to respond to patron needs. For example, we have sections for adults and children, fiction and non-fiction. Correct shelving of our library material is essential, since it allows our patrons to find the titles for which they are looking.
Here are some concepts that you need to know:
COLLECTIONS
FICTION: Stories that are made up by the authors.
NON-FICTION: Factual accounts or information.
CALL NUMBERS: Letters or a letter and number combination on the label to show where to shelve the item. It’s “address” on the library’s shelves.
CLASSIFICATION: At this library, this is the Dewey Decimal Classification number, which sorts non-fiction into subjects and categories.
Collections at the Rapides Parish Library
ADULT
1. Reference: Non-circulating adult non-fiction books used for reference and research within the library.
2. Adult non-fiction: Non-fiction books at 8th grade level or above, except those books dealing with subjects of interest to
Teens.
3. Louisiana collection: A Louisiana book is one that is by a
Louisiana author or is about Louisiana. A Louisiana author is defined as someone who was born or has lived a significant portion of his/her life in Louisiana. The reference Louisiana collection consists of adult non-fiction and adult fiction. The circulating Louisiana collection consists of adult non-fiction with one or more copies of a Louisiana fiction title housed at LA
813.

4. Large print: Fiction and non-fiction works for the visually impaired.
5. Adult fiction: Fiction books written for the adult audience.
6. Adult new reader: High interest, low vocabulary books for the adult who is beginning to read.
7. New books: These have a copyright date of either this year or last year. They have a red dot on the spine so that you know to shelve them in the new book section.
ADULT SPINE LABELS:
Reference Adult
Non-fiction
Louisiana
Reference
Louisiana Large
Circulating Print
Adult
Fiction
Adult
New
Readers
*
917.63
ABC
917.63
ABC
*
La
917.63
ABC
La
917.63
ABC
LgPr
917.63
ABC ABC
ANR
917.63
ABC
TEENS
1. Fiction: Fiction books written for young people in the 9th through the 12th grades.
2. Non-fiction: Non-fiction books on topics of interest to young people in the 9th though 12th grades. (i.e., vocational guidance, rock biographies, teen pregnancy, college guides, etc.)
TEEN SPINE LABELS:
Teens
Nonfiction Fiction
Teens
917.63
ABC
Teens
ABC

CHILDREN
1. Non-fiction: Non-fiction books written for children in the 3rd through the 7th grades.
2. Louisiana collection: Non-fiction works by Louisiana authors or about Louisiana for children in grades 3-7.
3. Fiction:
A. Elementary fiction (x): Fiction works written for children in grades 3-7.
B. Beginning readers (xF): Fiction and non-fiction works for preschool children to 2nd grade. In addition, there are story books written on a higher level, whose format is that of a picture book which is obviously meant to be read to children. This type includes myths, fables, Bible stories, etc.
CHILDRENS SPINE LABELS:
Childrens Childrens
Non-fiction Louisiana
Childrens Childrens
Elementary Beginning
Fiction Fiction x917.63
ABC
La x917.63
ABC
PAPER
1. Adult x
ABC xF
A
2. Teens
3. Children
4. Accelerated readers
Separate into these four categories. Then separate the adult paperbacks into the genre labels on their spines (Romance, Thriller, Western, etc.).
Shelve by author and then title.

MEDIA
Media is defined as anything not in print form. Our catalogued collection includes: Audiocassettes, Videocassettes, Kits, Video Discs,
Compact Discs, as well as other types of media. We have adult, teens and childrens media.
In general, first divide the media into adult, teens or childrens.
Then separate into the types listed above. Finally, separate into fiction and non-fiction. For non-fiction, shelve first by Dewey number, then by author and title. For fiction, shelve by author and title.
AUD AUD AUD CD AUD
AF ZT V 817.54 ZXF
COL BLU C1435 NEW C1689
The Dewey Decimal Classification
This system was devised by Melvil Dewey in 1876. All subjects are divided into ten major categories by hundreds Then these numbers are divided in sub-categories by tens. Each ten is further divided into ones.
Numbers can be expanded by using additional numbers past the decimal point.
The 100s
000 Generalities
100 Philosophy & Related Disciplines
200 Religion
300 Social Sciences
400 Language
500 Pure Sciences
600 Applied Sciences (Technology)
700 Arts
800 Literature
900 History & Geography

OR….
000 Reference, Encyclopedias
100 Man thought
200 Man thought about God
300 Man thought about his neighbors
400 Man talked to his neighbors
500 Man discovered the world around him
600 Man made useful things
700 Man made beautiful things
800 Man wrote
900 Man made records of: Travels, People, Events
There is often more than one classification number that defines a subject. For example, hamsters can be found at 599 (this is the number for hamsters as mammals) and at 636 (this is the number for a pet). It is up to the cataloger to decide which is the best place to put the item they are cataloging.
Note that the Dewey Decimal Classification INCLUDES fiction.
Literature can be classed in the 800s; folktales and fairytales in the 300s.
However, at the Rapides Parish Library, we choose to file fiction as a separate category, not within the Dewey Decimal System with one exception: we do sometimes put Louisiana fiction into the “Louisiana” collection (LA 813) as well as in Adult Fiction.
Shelving at the Rapides Parish Library
Books ready for shelving should be arranged on a book truck by collections, and then alphabetically for fiction, and numerically for nonfiction. Speed is important and will improve with time, but accuracy is vital. A mis-shelved book is a lost book!
Several books should be taken from the truck each time and placed in proper order on the shelf.
Occasionally the shelves in a certain area will become jammed and overcrowded. It will be necessary to shift materials on several shelves in one direction or another to ease the strain. When moving down the aisles, books should be straightened and rearranged as needed. Be alert to any mis-shelved books.

Remember!
When shelving, be aware that YOU are working in the PUBLIC area, and should work in a quiet, unobtrusive manner. Take care not to block an aisle or a patron’s view with a book truck or body. Step aside for a patron to pass. If a patron pauses nearby to browse, move the book truck along to another area until the aisle is clear. NEVER give our patrons the feeling that they are interfering with your work.
Shelving can get complicated. Two simple rules help:
Sort column-by-column:
Dewey number Author
641.5
641.52
641.5294
Garfield
Garford
Garner
641.5295
641.53
641.6
Garwood
Gear
Shelve by the Dewey number first, then by author, then by title. If there is no author, go to the title.
Nothing before something. A comma, hyphen or a space has the same weight as a letter or number.
Da Vinci
Darren
AND…
If there is no author, then treat the title as if it were an author:
Sharp, Anne Gardening today
Sharp-shooting for today
Sharp, Thomas Field guide to North American frogs

Fiction:
 When shelving fiction, determine the author’s last name, and if more than one author has the same last name, alphabetize by the first name.
 If an author has several books, they are arranged alphabetically by title.
 If you have several books which are the same author and title, shelve by the copy number on the title page.
 Ignore “a”, “an” and “the” when they begin a title.
 For last names beginning in “Mc” and “Mac”, interfile these, as if they were both spelled “Mac”.
Sheldon. | Steel.
If tomorrow comes.
Sheldon.
|
| Steel.
The other side of the mountain. |
Kaleidoscope. c.4
Kaleidoscope. c.17
Sheldon.
A stranger in the mirror.
Sheldon.
Windmills of the gods.
| Steel.
|
| Steel.
|
Kaleidoscope c.22
Kaleidoscope. c.30
Biographies:
 Biographies are arranged alphabetically by the name of the person about whom the book is written. o o
B Onassis, J.K.
B Onassis, J.K.
Kelley, Kitty
Klein, Edward
Jackie Oh!
Farewell, Jackie.
Nancy Reagan o B Reagan, N. o B Taylor, E.
Kelley, Kitty
Kelley, Kitty Elizabeth Taylor, the last star
 In the case of a collection, that is, a group or family, the number 92 is used on the spine. These are placed at the end of the biographies, in alphabetical order by author and title.
B B 92
Onassis, Grace,
J.K. Princess of
Monaco
SMI