The paper and microfiche collections in Perkins Library are arranged using call numbers based on the Superintent of Documents (SuDoc) call number system. It uses an archival arrangement, based on the agency that issued the item, rather than a subject arrangement.
Finding books or fiche
There are some important differences in the construction and filing order of these call numbers, compared to other systems:
- Most important, the period is NOT a decimal point! 19.11 comes after 19.9 because 11 is a larger integer than 9.
- Just deal with one segment at a time, up to a particular punctuation mark, before moving on to the next part.
- Numbers before letters (at Perkins): If after a punctuation mark there are some books or fiche with numbers and some with letters, at Perkins Library we've traditionally filed the numbers before the letters (e.g., A 13.25: 5 before A 13.5: M). This is the opposite of the usual practice at most other libraries, as mentioned in the help guides below.
- If you can't find something, browse in the vicinity in case it's out of order or contact the Federal Documents Librarian for help.
What the call number means
A typical call number usually includes periods, colons, and slashes, and a simple one may look like this:
I 29.6/6:F 75/988
- Class Stem: The part through the colon.
- I is the issuing agency ("I" is for Department of the Interior)
- I 29 is subunit (for the National Park Service, within the Dept. of the Interior).
- .6/6 represents a specific series within the National Park Service (in this case, Information Circulars)
- Book Number: The part coming after the colon, often with a code (such as F 75) that puts it in alphabetical order by title or keyword.
- After the slash will be edition information, in this case 988 for 1988.
More details
See these help guides, in order of increasing detail:
