Library Skills

1. Let’s Talk
About Books!

3. For example, a COVER protects a
book and delivers important
information to you, the reader.

4. Like the
TITLE of the
book.

5. Like the
TITLE of the
book.
And the name
of the
AUTHOR and
ILLUSTRATOR.

6. You know that a book’s SPINE is
also important because it holds the
book together.

7. And it gives you, the reader, important
information!

8. Like the TITLE of the book!

9. The name of the AUTHOR!

10. And if it’s a library book, the SPINE will
also display the book’s CALL NUMBER!

11. A CALL NUMBER is the address of the
book. It tells you exactly where the
book lives on the shelf!

12. Just like your address tells someone
exactly where you live on your street.
=
235

13. Knowing how to read a book’s CALL
NUMBER is important because FICTION
BOOKS and NON-FICTION BOOKS have
different kinds of CALL NUMBERS!

14. And FICTION BOOKS and NON-FICTION
BOOKS live in different parts of our library!
4 DIFFERENT FICTION SECTIONS
Book Cases All Along the Walls
Freestanding Book Cases in the
Middle of the Room

15. The first part of a book’s CALL
NUMBER tells you if the book is a
FICTION book, or if it lives in the NON-
FICTION section of the library.
DIA
DIADIA
E
328.5 F

16. DIA
DIA
DIA
E 328.5 F
If the CALL NUMBER starts with a
LETTER, then the book lives in one of
our FICTION sections.
EASY
FICTION
BOOK
(E = EASY)
FICTION
BOOK
(F= FICTION
FOR OLDER
STUDENTS)

17. E
DIA
F
DIA
328.5
DIA
If the CALL NUMBER starts with
a NUMBER, then the book lives
in the NON-FICTION section.
NON-
FICTION
BOOK
328.5

18. F
DIA
E
DIA
328.5
DIA
Now you know, just from looking at
the FIRST PART of the CALL NUMBER
what general area of the library
the book lives in.
NON-FICTION
SECTION
EASY FICTION
SECTION
FICTION
SECTION
FE 328.5

19. The second part of a CALL NUMBER
usually tells you the FIRST 3 LETTERS
of the AUTHOR’S last name.
E
DIA
F
DIA
328.5
DIADIA DIA DIA

20. In this example, all three of these
CALL NUMBERS show that the
Author’s Last Name starts with the
letters “DIA.”
E
DIA
F
DIA
328.5
DIADIA DIA DIA

21. But two are FICTION BOOKS…
(Rememer, we know this because the
CALL NUMBER starts with a letter!)
E
DIA
F
DIA
328.5
DIA
E F

22. And one is a NON-FICTION book.
(The CALL NUMBER starts with a
number!)
E
DIA
F
DIA
328.5
DIA
328.5

23. Why are the LAST 3 LETTERS of
The AUTHOR’S LAST NAME important?
E
DIA
F
DIA
328.5
DIA
DIA
DIA
DIA

24. FICTION BOOKS are filed on the shelves
ALPHABETICALLY by the Author’s Last name.
F
DIADIA
F
DAP F
DE
M F
DIM
F
DIA
F
DEA
F
DAS
F
DER
F
DIM

25. NON-FICTION BOOKS are filed
NUMBERICALLY FIRST by their Dewey
Decimal number.
328.5
DIA
328.5
This book will be in the 300’s area of the
NON-FICTION SECTION, numerically filed from
the smallest number to the greatest number.
327.8 328 328.2
328.5 328.5 328.5
329

26. 328.5
DIA
Non-fiction books are further
organized ALPHABETICALLY by
The AUTHOR’s LAST NAME.
328.5
DIA 328.5
DUP 328.5
FRI
329
AME

27. You can find ANY book in the library
by using its CALL NUMBER.

28. If you don’t know a book’s CALL
NUMBER, you can find it by looking the
book up on the Library’s computers.
Glenoaks Elementary School
Home Catalog
Glenoaks Elementary

29. Say you want to
read a book about
Bigfoot. You’re not
sure where such a
book would be, or
even if a book on
Bigfoot would be a
FICTION or a NON-
FICTION BOOK.

30. You can use the computer to find the book.
Type the book’s SUBJECT into the computer’s
search box and click the SUBJECT button.
Bigfoot
Glenoaks Elementary

31. Titles 1 – 12 out of 12
The computer will
show you if our library
has any books on
Bigfoot.

32. The CALL
NUMBER – or
the book’s
address– for
each book is
located under
the book’s
TITLE.
Titles 1 – 12 out of 12

33. These books
are all NON-
FICTION
books
because the
CALL
NUMBER
starts with a
number and
NOT a letter.
Titles 1 – 12 out of 12

34. We now
know that all
of these
books will be
located
somewhere
in the NON-
FICTION
section of the
library.
Titles 1 – 12 out of 12

35. Let’s look for
this book:
Bigfoot and
Adaptation.

36. The first thing you need to do is write the
CALL NUMBER down on a slip of paper.
The CALL NUMBER is 001.944 COL. Notice
that the “COL” stands for the first three
letters of author Terry Collins’ last name.

37. REMEMBER: NON-FICTON books are
filed NUMBERICALLY first, then
ALPHABETICALLY by the
Author’s last name.
So we first need to find where the NON-FICTION
books are located with call numbers less than
100. Bigfoot and Adaptation has a very small
CALL NUMBER of 1.944

38. Look at the street signs on the ends of
the NON-FICTION bookcases.
The numbers on the signs give you an
idea of the range of Dewey Decimal
numbers on that street.

39. Notice that the numbers on the sign
increase as you move toward the door.

40. You should be able to figure out what
aisle might have the CALL NUMBER you
are looking for by using these signs.

41. The book you want to find, Bigfoot
and Adaptation, had the following
CALL NUMBER: 001.944 COL

42. It will be somewhere in this bookcase...
001.944 COL
At the beginning of the NON-FICTION SECTION
because this bookcase has books with a CALL
NUMBER as high as 092.

43. Use the big number signs and shelf labels
to help find the right Dewey Decimal area.
So now we know where to look for
the book Bigfoot and Adaptation.

44. Once you find the right section, you
can use the second part of the book’s
CALL NUMBER.
The second part of this book’s CALL
NUMBER is “COL.”
COL = COLLINS

45. REMEMBER: Non-fiction books are filed
NUMERICALLY from least to greatest
number, and then ALPHABETICALLY if
they have the same CALL NUMBER.

46. There are a couple of different books
with the CALL NUMBER 001.944

47. You want the one whose CALL NUMBER
is 001.944 COL

48. Look Carefully! Sometimes books aren’t
put back in the right spot!
NOT SHELVED PROPERLY!!!!!

49. Here it
is!
You found Bigfoot and Adaptation by
doing a subject search on the computer
and using the book’s CALL NUMBER!

50. There are other ways to
search for a book in the
library by using the
computers.
You can search for a book by the
author’s name, or use the book’s title
or even just a keyword.

51. The end result with be the same.
The computer will show you books that
match your search term and you will
use the CALL NUMBER to find it.

52. CALL NUMBERS are important! So
please make sure that when you
put a book back on the shelf, the
SPINE of the book is facing you!

53. So the CALL NUMBERS are facing out.

54. Now you know a little bit about
books and their CALL NUMBERS.
See if you can find a book today
using a book’s CALL NUMBER.

55. THE END