Hi, need to submit a 1250 words paper on the topic Library Navigation Exercise. The LCSH lists the standard headings used by most libraries to organize their collection of information. The LCSH is an easy way to find one or more subject search terms that will quickly yield useful sources on your subject. Consult the LCSH with your topic in mind and jot down several search terms that seem promising.

Now that you’ve found subject terms that might help narrow your electronic search down, look on the supplemental “Library of Congress Classification System” handout (below) and find the general subject heading that most accurately reflects your topic. Note the call letters for that topic and go to the corresponding reference section of the library and take a look around (for example: if you are writing about the impact of music on the actions of human beings, you might look at “Music” and find that the call letters that best suit your topic are “ML”). When you seek out that section of the reference material, you will find a variety of possible reference material. Please note that you are going to have to look. if you can’t find a source specific to your topic, try to find a general one (such as an encyclopedia that covers your topic or some aspect of it).

Our library (like most college libraries) uses the Library of Congress catalog system to organize the bookshelves (as opposed to the Dewey Decimal System). This system, which relies on the use of both letters and numbers, is one you need to become familiar with. Each call number begins with one or two letters, signifying a category of knowledge, which is followed by a whole number between 1 and 99,999. A decimal and one or more Cutter numbers sometimes follow. The Library of Congress system is pretty complex, but it’s not hard to use. As you get deeper into your research for this class, you’ll begin to recognize call numbers that consistently yield useful books.&nbsp.