The Print Collection

Look at the spines of our books:

Those labels contain call numbers. The call number tells you where a book is shelved. When you look up a book in the catalog, you will find the call number, and you can then go to the shelf where the book is located.

There are two sets of digits in a call number:

1. Dewey decimal number (for example, 708.051)
2. Cutter number (for example, B633d)

Now look at the ends of our shelving units:

Each shelf has a range of numbers printed on it. When you have a call number for your book, you can find the book on the shelf with the appropriate range. If you want the book with number 708.051, go to the shelf containing numbers 708.05 to 735.045.

The first part of a call number is assigned according to the Dewey Decimal System.

Melvil Dewey invented this system for organizing libraries in 1876. The numbers represent categories of knowledge.

Here are the ten classes of Dewey Decimal Classification:

The second number on the spine is the Cutter number.

You don’t need to know how Cutter numbers work; the important thing is that the number is a shortened way of writing an author’s last name. After a book gets a Dewey decimal number representing its subject, it also gets a Cutter number for its author.

On the shelves, the books are arranged numerically by Dewey decimal number and also alphanumerically by Cutter number. These numbers together make up the call number. You should be able to find a book on the shelf with the call number—but if you can’t, ask the library staff for help.

The first letter of the Cutter number is the first letter of the author’s last name. The numerals are ordered like the numerals after a decimal point, which is why, in this photograph, C762c comes after C7393c.