How can I determine which area of the Library to browse by subject?
Answer
For those of you that enjoy browsing bookshelves and serendipitously finding interesting reads, here are some tips to help you find the locations of your favorite subjects more easily:
Option 1: Ask your friendly librarian!
McDermott Library's collections are organized per the Library of Congress Classification System. An LC Call Number tells us the subject and location of a book.
Click the Chat button or visit your librarian at the Research Services Desk for location or Call Number details.
Option 2: Self service via the Library Catalog
1) Using the Library Catalog tab on the Library's homepage, enter the subject you wish to browse and click the search button.
2) Use the search limiters menu on your left. Check the boxes for RESOURCE TYPE: Book, and AVAILABILITY: Available in the Library. Click APPLY FILTERS.
The updated results list is now books in print only, with a Call Number to determine location. Since books are organized by subject, you will notice that most of your results have a Call Number in a similar range.
3) In this example, we observed that many of our results began with D206 (Modern History). This is where to browse!
Call Numbers beginning with A-G are on the 3rd floor, and H-Z are on the 4th floor. Use the blue Map It button to check locations on a map.
Option 3: Self service - Do what librarians do!
What is more efficient than going directly to the source? By searching The Library of Congress Classification Outline for your desired subject, you can quickly determine the precise Call Number range.
Example: Sticking with our above scenario, we can click D for History. As we browse the subclassifications of History, we might note that D204-D475 is Modern History, or that there are subclasses for regions of Europe like DD for Germany or DAW for Central Europe. We have learned that the Call Number range of D will be on the 3rd floor.