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How Do I Locate Library Materials?

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Overview:  Our library’s print collection is organized by the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system. The DDC system is used by many libraries throughout the world and was devised in 1876 by a librarian named Melvil Dewey. It allows each book to have its own unique address within the library, and books about the same topic are grouped together.

F             Fiction – Classic and contemporary novels arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.

The primary purpose of fiction books is to evoke thought or feelings in the reader. Fiction books are the product of the author's imagination. While there may be factual events or persons in the story, a fiction book is not meant to be a resource of factual information.

PB F       Paperback Fiction – Paperback novels arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name

R            Reference – Non-circulating single and multi-volume informational non-fiction books

001-999    Non-Fiction – Informational books arranged by subject

The primary purpose of non-fiction books is to inform the reader. Non-fiction books contain facts that can be proven to be true. Some facts may be omitted or others may be shown in a specific light, but overall, facts must be present. Nonfiction content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and sometimes may take the form of a story. 

000s     Computers, Information, & General Works – Includes computers, news media, and journalism

100s     Philosophy & Psychology – Includes ethics, UFOs, and ghosts

200s     Religion – Includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and others

300s     Social Sciences – Includes economics, political science, law, social problems, and education

400s     Language – Includes English, French, German, Spanish, Sign Language, and others

500s     Science – Includes earth science, biology, chemistry, mathematics, plants, and animals

600s     Technology – Includes medicine, health, engineering, agriculture, home & family management

700s     Arts – Includes fine arts, drawing, photography, music, sports, and hobbies

741.5     Graphic Novels – Comic book style, includes fiction and non-fiction, arranged alphabetically by author’s last name. Located near the Fiction section.

 800s     Literature – Includes literature, poetry, short stories, drama, rhetoric, and criticism

808.8     Story Collection – Fiction short stories arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name

 900s     History & Geography – Includes biographies and histories of countries, wars, and ancient cultures

92     Biography – Book-length histories of a person’s life arranged alphabetically by the subject (person’s last name)