Finding the Needed Information

The problem of finding materials in the library falls into two parts: you must discover what
materials you want to examine. and you must find where in the library these materials are stored.
The second task is easier, so we will discuss it first.
If you already know either the author or the title of a particular work—whether book, article,
government publication, or other document—the various catalogs in the library will let you know
whether the library has it and, if so, where and how it is stored. The main card catalog lists all
books alphabetically in several places: under author, under tide, and under one or more subject
areas.
Although in the recent past. card catalogs consisted of extensive file drawers filled with small
index cards, almost all college and university libraries have computerized their catalogs, so you
can now search for sources just by typing the author, title, or subject into the terminal. Although
the search commands for each system are different, they are usually easy to learn and
instructions are usually posted next to the catalog terminals. Many of the systems also have
on-line instructions

Library of Congress System
The call number on the sample card—HN 59.2 .ZS5 1991—is from
the Library of Congress Classification System, now used in· most large libraries in this country.
In this system the first letter indicates the main category, and the second letter a major
subdivision. The additional numbers and letters indicate further subdivisions. The main
categories of the Library of Congress System are as follows:
A General Works (such as general encyclopedias, almanacs)
B Philosophy; Psychology; Religion
C Auxiliary sciences of history (such as archeology, heraldry)
D History: General and Old World
E History: America (general)
F History: America (local, Canada, Mexico, South America)
G Geography; Anthropology; Recreation
H Social Sciences
J Political Science
K Law
L Education
M Music
N Fine Arts
P Language and Literature
Q Science
R Medicine
S Agriculture
T Technology
U Military Science
V Naval Science
Z Bibliography and Library Science




Dewey Decimal System Smaller libraries tend to use the Dewey Decimal Classification
System, based on a simpler and less differentiated all-numerical classification. The major
categories are as follows:
000 General works
100 Philosophy and related disciplines
200 Religion
300 Social sciences
400 Language
500 Pure sciences
600 Technology
700 The arts
800 Literature
900 Geography and history



Old and large libraries, such as the New York Public Library Research Collection, have their own
numerical systems, which do not indicate any systematic subject classification but rather reflect
the order in which the documents were received.

Serials File Some libraries list entries for newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals in a
separate serials file. This file lists the issues of the periodical that are available and indicates
whether the issues are loose, bound, or microform. The serials file entry will also give reference
letters or call numbers, where appropriate. Because the serials listings offer only the titles and
issues of the periodicals—and not the authors and titles of specific articles—you will usually have
to consult the appropriate periodical index to find out exactly where and when any particular
article appeared. You will usually also need to consult a specialized index to locate a government
publication or any microform material. Each library offers a different selection of the many
available indexes; some of the more common are in the following list. Many of these are available
directly on-line or on CDROM data bases.

Indexes to General Circulation Periodicals
Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature
Public Affairs Information Service
Humanities Index
Social Sciences Index
General Science Index

Indexes to Newspapers
New York Times Index
The Times Index (London)
Wall Street Journal Index
Washington Post Index
Indexes to Government Publications
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
American Statistics Index
Indexes to Specialized Journals
Humanities
Art Index
Index to Art Periodicals
Film Literature Index
International Guide to Classical Studies
International Bibliography of Historical Sciences
Analecta Linguistica
MLA International Bibliography
Index of Little Magazines
Music Article Index
Popular Music Periodical Index
Index to Religious Periodical literature
Philosopher's Index Humanities Citation Index
Social Sciences
Anthropological Index
Accountants’ Index
Business Periodicals Index
Criminology Index Population Index
International Bibliography of Economics
Education Index
British Education Index
Current Index to Journals in Education
Resources in Education
International Bibliography of Political Science
Environment Index
Psychological Abstracts
Sociological Abstracts
International Bibliography of Sociology
Index to Current Urban Documents
Women's Studies Abstracts
Social Sciences Citation Index
Sciences
Biological and Agricultural Index
Biological Abstracts
BioResearch Index
Chemical Abstracts
Computer and Control Abstracts
Bibliography and Index of Geology
Hospital Literature Index
Hospital Abstracts
Index Medicus
Physics Abstracts
Science Citation Index
Once you have the journal and the issue containing the article you want, you must return to
the serials file to get the shelf number. Then you can locate the issue, microfilm, or bound volume
on the library shelf. In some large libraries you may not be allowed to fetch the materials directly
from the shelves; instead you must file a request slip and an attendant will get the material for
you. This dosed stack system, though it makes it harder for you to browse, does allow librarians
to maintain order in complex collections