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Understanding Call Numbers
How to Read LC Call Numbers
The call number's appearance differs depending where it is found. On a book's label, the parts of the call number are stacked vertically, and are read from top to bottom. In the online catalog, the call number is written horizontally in a single line, and is read from left to right.
Most call numbers have four parts:
General / Broad Subject 
Narrower Topic 
Cutter Number (represents author, corporation, or title)
Year of Publication
Call Number Examples
Title: Price control under fair trade legislation
Author: Ewald T. Grether
| HF | Commerce |
| 5415 | Business → Marketing → General works |
| .G67 | Cutter number for Grether |
| 1939 | Year of publication |
Title: Louisbourg
portraits : life in an eighteenth-century garrison town
Author: Christopher Moore
| F | History : America (numbers 1001-1145.2) - British America (including Canada) |
| 1039 | Nova Scotia. Acadia |
| .5 | Cities, towns, etc., A-Z |
| .L8 | Louisbourg |
| M66 | Cutter number for Moore |
| 1982 | Year of publication |
Title: Almanac of the 50 states
| REF | Library collections → Reference |
| HA | Statistics |
| 203 | Statistical data → By region or country → America → United States → Serials |
| .A5 | Title |
| 1996 | Year of publication |