How do I read a Widener call number in order to find something in the stacks?

When tracking a Widener item down to the end of the call number, it’s important to remember that our two call number systems read differently.

The two call number systems are Old Widener (adopted about 1915) and Library of Congress (WID-LC) (adopted in the late 1970s).

  • In Old Widener, read numbers behind decimals as whole numbers.
    • ALB 1197.142.3 is: ALB, 1197, 142, 3. 
    • ALB1197 is a lower number than ALB1198
  • In Library of Congress (Wid-LC), read numbers behind a decimal point as individual numbers, not a whole number. 
    • PS3505.A59 B7 2013 is: PS, 3505, A, 5, 9
    • PS3505 comes before PS35059
    • PS3505.A72752.Z56 is a lower number than PS3505

Related FAQs: 

How do I know where in the Widener stacks to find a book or other item, and how do I get to it? 

Why does Widener Library use more than one call number system? 

 

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