Library 101 - Your Guide to Library Resources

Understand Call Numbers

Library materials are kept in various locations and are organized by subject. The library catalog UCAT provides locations and call numbers for all resources the library owns or subscribe to.

Sample Locations:

JPL Stacks
JPL Folio Stacks
JPL Reference Stacks
Downtown Library Stacks
Special Collections
JPL Map Center

Take a peek at the library maps to view these locations. Hint: Position your mouse over each department for a description of its resources/services.

What Is A Call Number?
A call number is a unique identification number that serves as the physical address of a library item.

The Library of Congress and Superintendent of Documents Classification Systems are the bases for organizing and grouping related materials together in the library.

Library Of Congress Classification System
The UTSA Library employs the Library of Congress Classification System (LCCS) as the principal classification system. Once the library assigns call numbers to resources, the items are arranged on the shelf in the following manner:

First, Alphabetically by the 1st Group of Letters:
A AC BX H HF

Then, Numerically by the Set of Numbers:
HD HD HF HF
800 8085 550 5695

Then By Alphabetical And Numberical Order After the Decimal:
PN       PN       PN     PN        PN
6014     6014   6014    6014     6014
.H515   .H52    .H53   .H532   .H54

Government Documents
As a government depository, the UTSA Library receives government documents from both federal and state agencies. Government Documents are shelved primarily in the Government Documents shelves on the JPL 2nd floor, but others may be found in the JPL Reference Stacks.

Superintendent Of Documents Classification System
The U.S. Government Documents collection uses the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification scheme. Like Library of Congress call numbers, SuDoc numbers begin with letters of the alphabet that represent the agency from which the report emanates. The first set of numbers indicates the bureau within the agency. The second set of numbers represent the specific publication, and the last set of numbers indicate the publication year:

Government agency or department
Examples: ED for Department of Education, J for Justice Department
Type of documents produced by that agency in chronological order

Example: C 61.34:987

C represents the agency or department (Commerce Department)
61 indicates the bureau within the issuing agency (International Trade Administration)
34 represents the specific publication (U.S. Industrial Outlook)
987 indicates the year of publication (1987)