The average call number has four lines on a label, and each of those lines are read differently.
The first line is made up of 1-3 letters, and is read in alphabetical order.
For example: A - B - BC - BF - CJ - D - G - GE - GR - H
The second line is made up of whole numbers, and is read numerically. The numbers in this line may sometimes have decimals.
For example: 1 - 5 - 25 - 78 - 126 - 333 - 790 - 790.5 - 1357 - 4274
This line is called the cutter number, which usually represents the author's last name, but can also stand for the name of a corporation or the book's title. It is read first alphabetically by letter, and then the numbers are read as a decimal.
For example: .D12 - .D3 - .G45 - .G5 - .G56 - .G564 - .G5643 - .G6 - .G67 - .H2
The last line is the year of publication, and is read in chronological order.
For example: 1654 - 1776 - 1854 - 1910 - 1959 - 1959b - 1978 - 1999 - 2002 - 2017
Some call numbers have an additional cutter number to help narrow a topic. In this example, the first cutter number .M7 is for for Mississippi. The second cutter number, I5, represents the book's title.
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Ending the call number may be letters or numbers designating the book's order in a series or set, or to distinguish multiple copies of the same book. They are read either numerically (v.1, v.2, v.3, ...) or alphabetically (ser.A, ser.B, ...). Some common examples are: v.1 Volume 1 |
Some labels include a prefix at the top of the label for materials that belong to a specific collection. Please use the library map to help locate these items. Examples of prefixes include:
Ref. (Reference) These books were part of the Reference Collection, which is being phased into the regular collection.
Spec. Col. (Special Collections), M.C. (Mississippi Collection) & Blues (Blues Archive) All these items are housed in Archives and Special Collections.
Fed. Doc. (Federal Documents) and St. Doc. (State Documents) All these items are part of the Government Documents collections.
Juv. Col. (Juvenile Collection) A collection of children books located on the first floor.
Media, Microform, and Music These are special format collections.
