Library of Congress Call Numbers: A Quick & Active Learning Tool

1. Library of Congress Call Numbers: A Quick & Active Learning Tool Ada L. Woods S. Lisa Sweeney woods@towson.edu Albert S. Cook Library Towson University – April 2009

2. Instructor’s slidePE 1421 .T78 ? ? Library of Congress is a new code for almost all freshmen. Does anyone (other than a librarian) know that the dot before the T is a decimal point? This 3-minute activity fits the limited teaching time. The PowerPoint format permits the instructor to alter the pace to fit the students’ needs. Could be used after University of Arkansas’s “How to Read a Call Number” tutorial.

3. Instructor’s slideConcepts • A single letter shelves before a double letter. • The dot is a decimal point even when it’s in front of a letter. • .M59 shelves before .M6 • A number without a decimal shelves before the same number with a decimal • The number of display lines on the spine is not important. • See “notes” frame at bottom of many slides for more details. Use the “In Perfect Order” slide to explain these concepts.

4. Instructor’s slide Activities • Ask students to call out the color of the next call number. • Solve disagreements with a show of hands before displaying the correct answer. • After the PowerPoint the students will find the book that matches a call number that they located earlier by using the catalog. • On their worksheet they will record the title of the book that sits to the RIGHT of their book. (This part of the larger library assignment proves both that they can find a book and that they have experienced the value of browsing the library collection.)

5. Library of Congress Call Numbers: Avoid the Sand Traps Ada L. Woods S. Lisa Sweeney Albert S. Cook Library Towson University

6. In Perfect Order

7. What color will shelve first?

8. Which one is second?

9. Which are third & fourth?

11. One more time

12. First

13. Second