LibGuides: Philosophy: Finding Books

Locating a Book on the Shelf

There are 3 pieces of information you need about a book to find it on the shelf.

The status: NOT CHECKED OUT means you can get it today.

The call number : LC40.G88 1992

The location : UMSL TJ Level 4.

Reading a Call Number

LC call numbers are read from left to right, and from top to bottom. The letters at the beginning of the call number are alphabetical. The numbers immediately following are in basic numerical order, i.e., 5 then 6, 50 is after 49 and before 51, and 100 is after 99.

Although it was developed to organize materials housed at the Library of Congress, the Library of Congress Classification system (LCC) is now widely used in academic libraries around the world. The LCC system begins with 21 categories, each identified by a letter of the alphabet. Most of the categories are also broken down - to get more specific - and identified by 1 or 2 more letters. For example N contains Fine Arts; ND is Painting, a topic in fine art.

Individual topics are also delineated by place, time period, etc. using numbers (in ND673 you'll find books on painter Peter Paul Rubens who lived 1577-1640). A call number may have up to 4 digits (1-9999) in the main part, and then if necessary, decimal places that may have only numbers or both a letter and numbers. (Library of Congress Classification http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcc.html)

Browsing Philosophy Books in TJ Library

On the first floor (two floors down from where you enter) there is a section of Philosophy books which you can browse and find books that you can check out.

B1-5802 Philosophy (General)

B69-99 General works

B108-5802 By period, Including individual philosophers and schools of philosophy

B108-708 Ancient

B720-765 Medieval

B770-785 Renaissance

B790-5802 Modern

B808-849 Special topics and schools of philosophy

B850-5739 By region or country

B5800-5802 By religion

BC1-199 Logic

BC11-39 History

BC25-39 By period

BC60-99 General works

BC171-199 Special topics

BD10-701 Speculative philosophy

BD10-41 General philosophical works

BD95-131 Metaphysics

BD143-237 Epistemology. Theory of knowledge

BD240-260 Methodology

BD300-450 Ontology, Including being, the soul, life, death

BD493-701 Cosmology, Including teleology, space and time, structure of matter, plurality of worlds

Books A–D and F, COM1, additional Mercantile exhibits, carrels and tables