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Western Libraries

COMM 220: Communication Theory: Library of Congress

A personalized library guide for Communication Theory students.

Library of Congress -- Classification Scheme

Remember the Dewey Decimal System from high school or the public library?

Well, academic libraries at colleges and universities in the United States use a different call number system called 'Library of Congress Classification Scheme.'  Used by -- you guessed it! -- the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, this system creates unique text/object identifiers using a letter-number combination. Subjects are affiliated with a specific letter; if you refer to the image below, the letter 'D' is associated with World History.

For example, if you search for a text about Great Britain you will likely find it in the DA section of the library:

DA645 .R58 -- The Place-Names of Roman Britain 

 

Classification scheme

Library of Congress Catalog

Searching for a book?  Summit and ILLiad don't have it? 

Be sure to check the Library of Congress library catalog!  The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the United States, and has the most credible, up-to-date information.

 

Library of Congress catalog