How do I find a book or journal on the shelves?

Library shelves

To find a book or journal in the library, you need to know its call number. Essentially, the call number is the item's shelf address. Krannert Memorial Library’s call numbers are based on the Dewey Decimal System, which organizes items according to their subject matter.

A book's call number label is usually on its spine. (If the book is very thin, the label may be placed on the front cover instead.) Issues of a journal are usually grouped together into a magazine file box, with the call number on the spine of the box. (Older journals often have been bound together into a book-like volume instead of being placed into file boxes.)

How do I find out what the call number is?

To find the call number for a book or journal, look up the book title or journal name in KML’s Catalog (accessible under the Library & Technology tab of My UIndy).

In the Catalog entry for your item, you will find the call number listed under "Check for Copies." Once you write down this number, you are ready to go locate your item.

How call numbers translate to shelf location

Collection Information
The first part of the call number indicates the Collection. Collections are located in the library as follows:

Collection	Description / Library Location
CIRCULATION STACKS	Books. Look at the first three numbers of the call number to determine which floor your item is on: 000-369 : Basement 370-699 : 2nd floor 700-999 : 3rd floor
PERIODICALS	Journals, magazines, and newspapers. Current year periodicals are shelved on the first floor along the north side, alphabetically by journal name. Past issues are organized into magazine boxes by volume/year and shelved along with items in the Circulation Stacks in the basement and on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors by call number.
REFERENCE	Reference works such as encyclopedias, fact books, directories. First floor
FOLIO	Oversized books that do not fit on standard shelving. 3^rd floor, SW corner
JUVENILE	Children’s literature. 3^rd floor, NE corner
ETC	Educational Textbook Collection – K-12 textbooks used in Indiana. This collection is mainly used by students in the School of Education. 3^rd floor, NE corner room
THESIS	Master’s and Doctoral theses. Library Storeroom Please ask at the front desk, and we will be happy to retrieve your item from the storeroom.
RESERVE	Items reserved for specific classes, usually with a 2-hour check-out period. Please ask for your item at the front desk.
E-BOOK	Electronic book available to read online. Some e-books can be downloaded to your computer or e-reader device. To get to your e-book, click on the link provided in the book’s Catalog entry.
MICROFILM	Periodicals on microfilm/microfiche. Filing cabinets in the basement
VIDEO DVD CF CD TAPE REC RM	Various media formats. Please ask at the front desk for these items.
KIT	Various “kits” of educational materials, mostly used by students in the School of Education. Please ask at the front desk for these items.

2. Making sense of the numbers

The numbers after the Collection designation give more specific information about the item’s shelf location. Each shelf is organized left to right, with smaller numbers to the left of larger numbers.

The number before the decimal point is always treated as a whole number, and is the first level of sorting the books on the shelves.
For example, every item with a call number in the “780’s” would be shelved to the left of any item in the “781’s”:

780

780.2

780.8

781

781.1

781.3

The numbers after the decimal point are treated as decimal values. So, for example, 780.7 will be to the left of 780.71, because it is a lesser value. (An easy way to remember this is to add a “0” to the end of the decimal: .7 is the same as .70, which is obviously less than .71, etc.) For example, the following are in the correct order:

780.7

780.71

780.713

780.74

780.7423

780.8

The call number may include additional information, consisting of a letter and additional numbers. These provide a second level of information about shelf order when books have the same initial Dewey number. Books are sorted first according to the letter, with A’s before B’s before C’s, etc. If there are multiple items with the same letter, they are ordered according to the number after the letter. That number is treated as a decimal. For example, the following call numbers are in the correct order on the shelf:

780.71
F35

780.71
F353

780.71
F36

780.71
F4

780.71
K24

780.71
P15

The final number in a call number is the date of publication. If several books have the exact same call number information on the first two lines, then the date of publication is used to determine shelf order:

780.71
R35
1995

780.71
R35
1999

780.71
R35
2003

Note on Journal Boxes

Once you locate the box for your journal, you can look through the issues to find the one you need. Ideally, the issues will be in chronological order, but sometimes they are out of order if the previous user has not carefully refiled an issue.

Journal file box

More about the Dewey Decimal System and how it works