Using Call Numbers and Finding Books

You can find books on the First, Second, and Third Floors of the Cal Poly Humboldt Library.

A call number is the "address" of a book or a periodical (magazine or journal) in the library. Our library uses the Library of Congress call number system for arranging most of our materials. Here is a breakdown of how they are organized by call number throughout each level:

First Floor

A few small collections are found on the first floor:

• Outdoor Guides
• Popular Reading
• Current Periodicals & Newspapers
• New Books
• Course Reserves, including textbooks on reserve (ask at the Checkout desk)
• You can also go to the Checkout desk to request to borrow items from the US Documents Storage collection.

Second Floor

Books with call numbers that begin with A-N are shelved on the south side of the second floor (to the left off the main stairs).

A - General Works

B - Philosophy, Psychology, Religion

C - Auxiliary Sciences of History

D - World History and History of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

E - History: United States (America) (through call number E183)

F - History: United States local history, British America (including Canada), Dutch America, French America, Latin America / Spanish America

G - Geography, Anthropology, Recreation

H - Social Sciences

J - Political Science

K - Law

L - Education

M - Music

N - Fine Arts

Other collections on the second floor:

• Periodicals
• Video and CD Collection
• Children's Collection
• Government Documents
• Microfilm and Microfiche
• Cal Poly Humboldt Authors Hall Collection 

Third Floor

Books with call numbers that begin with P-Z are shelved on the south side of the third floor (to the left off the main stairs).

P - Language and Literature

Q - Science

R - Medicine

S - Agriculture

T - Technology

U - Military Science

V - Naval Science

Z - Library Science & Information Resources

Other collections on the third floor:

• Special Collections (items of local interest)
• Science Fiction Collection
• The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt Collection
• Maps
• Oversized books
• Center for Teaching & Learning Collection
• GIS Lab Collection

Example

In the example we discussed in the previous sections, the call number for the book we searched for is PN1993.5.A1 B69 2012 (Cinematic Footprint : Lights, Camera, Natural Resources by Nadia Bozak).  Since this call number falls between the range of P-Z, we would find it on the Third Floor.

BF 173 H333 2006	LB 3013.4 G55 1990	ND 553 P5 A66 2002	PS 1331 E48 2000	QE 363.2 N48 2000	TK 5105.875 I57 O35 2005
a book about Jungian psychology	a book about school social work	a book about Picasso's painting	a book about Mark Twain	a book about mineralogy	a book about the Internet