Print materials like books and bound journals are classified and organized according to the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. A call number is an alphanumeric identifier that tells you the area/sub-area of the material and its location on the shelf. 

Meaning of Call Numbers

Book title: Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works

Author: Janice (Ginny) Redish

Call number: TK 5105.888 R427 2007

• The first two lines describe the subject of the book.
  TK 5105.888 = General works on website design and development
• The third line often represents the author's last name.
  R427 = Redish
• The last line represents the year of publication.

Read Call Numbers Line by Line 

• Read the first line in alphabetical order: A, B, BF, C, D... L, LA, LB, LC, M, ML...
• Read the second line as a whole number: 1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1000, 2000, 2430...
• The third line is a combination of a letter and numbers. Read the letter alphabetically and then the number in numerical order. Some call numbers have more than one combination letter-number line.
• The last line is the year the book was published. Read in chronological order: 1985, 1991, 1992...

Here is a shelf of books with the call number order explained.

Note: image from online library learning center.

 Call Number, Subject Area & Stacks Floor

Overview

Call Numbers & Book Stacks