Answered By: Doug Bolden
Last Updated: Oct 07, 2015     Views: 298

No, we use the Library of Congress Classification. It is a system commonly used in American academic settings. Rather then the three digit code with other numbers following after the decimal, the LCC uses one or two letters (first letter is main subject, second lettering is sub-field) along with a series of numbers from 1 on up. For instance, if you get a call number like PS341 .A7 2004 then you can break it down like

P - Main Subject (Language and Literature)

S - Sub-subject (American Literature)

341 - The specific section for the book. Note, this is three-hundred and forty-one. Rather than be shelved under the 34's which are under the 3's, treat it like a whole number. 1 comes first, then 40, then 100, then 140, then 300...etc. As in, this is the 341st "section" of the PS sub-field.

.A7 2004 - the Cutter Number. What this does is provide a more unique number so that books that share the same overall Call Number can still be sorted. There may be other books in the PS341 (which is Early American Plays, by the way) which are then organized by their respective cutter numbers.