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Confused? Still need help? Ask us!
Use our Ask A Librarian service to ask us a question:
- Visit in person at the Walk In-Reference desk on the first floor of Olin Library
- Send us an email
- Start a live chat with a (real human) librarian!
- Schedule a meeting with a librarian for one on one assistance
Call Numbers and the Library of Congress
The call number of a book is like the GPS coordinate that tells you exactly where in the library it is shelved. It can also tell you what subject area the books is cataloged under.
The call number for a copy of Our Town by Thornton Wilder is PS3545 I345 O9 2020
The Cornell University Library uses the Library of Congress classification system so the call numbers represent certain subject areas. If you find one book that relates to your topic, odds are you'll likely find others on the shelf nearby.
Ready to grab some books? Try our quick tutorial: How To Find A Book in the Stacks
Finding Books in the Library Catalog
The Library Homepage
The main search box on the Library home page will retrieve material from two different sources: the CU library catalog and some journal article databases. Clicking on a link below the search box (catalog, articles and full text, databases, etc.) will limit your searches to that particular source.
Using the Library Catalog
The Cornell Library Catalog includes the holdings of all Ithaca campus libraries. The catalog contains records for books, journals and periodicals, databases, websites, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, sound recordings, and visual materials and more.
Using the default "All Fields" search will retrieve matches for your search terms wherever they appear in the description of an item. For more precise searching you may want to use the drop-down menu to the right of the search box to search by subject, title, author, publisher, or call number.
Subject Headings and Searching
The Cornell University Library uses the Library of Congress classification system which mean materials are grouped and identified by specific subject headings. A search using the "Subject" option will search for specific subject headings that match your search terms. For example, Our Town would show up in the results if you did a "Subject" search for "New Hampshire" and "drama" because it is cataloged with those subject headings. You can click on any part of a subject heading to find other materials with that same subject.
