Use WMU's Library Search to search for print and online books.

• Use Advanced Search
• Limit to Books and Media
• One concept per line  
• Use quotation marks for phrases: "Animal Farm."
• Set dropdown to Subject to find information about an author or a work of fiction,
• About an Author? Last name first 

Find out the main classes and subclasses of the Library of Congress Classification taxonomy

How to locate a book in the library

Libraries use classification systems to organize the books on the shelves. A classification system uses letters and/or numbers (call numbers) to arrange the books so that books on the same topic are together. 

Academic libraries typically use the Library of Congress Classification System (LC). Public libraries and school libraries generally use the Dewey Decimal Classification System to organize their books.  At WMU Libraries, we use LLC and Dewey

Three things you need in order to find a book.

1. which library and collection the book is in. (We have many branches and unique collections within the library system)
2. the call number (the unique address for a book)
3. rearrange  the call number form one line to multiple lines. On the spine of the book, the call number is broken up onto several line​​​

"F870.M5 R62 " becomes: 

F

870

.M5

R62

​The book "Hunger of Memory" is located in "Waldo Library General Stacks" and has a call number of F 870 .M5 R62. 

• First go to the F section of the library
  • See the floor maps for all call numbers.
• Then go to 870 (Call numbers range from 1-9999)

• Continue line by line.

​​

More clues can be found on the label

• (Ref) at the end of a Call Number indicates a reference book
• M  indicates items that are found in the Maybee Music Library.  
• : (colon) indicates a government document and found on the second floor of Waldo Library. 
• No letters at the beginning of the call number?
  • This is probably a book shelved using the Dewey Decimal Call Number and therefore a children's book. Children's books are either in Waldo Library  or in the Swain Education Library. 
• V  indicates an item in the Instructional Video Collection