Dewey Decimal System (by tens)

000 Generalities

010 Bibliography

020 Library & information science

030 General encyclopedias

040 Not used

050 General serial publications

060 Organizations

070 Journalism, publishing, media

080 General collections

090 Manuscripts & rare books

100 Philosophy & Psychology

110 Metaphysics

120 Epistemology, causation, humankind

130 Paranormal phenomenon

140 Specific philosophical schools

150 Psychology

160 Logic

170 Ethics

180 Ancient, medieval, Oriental philosophy

190 Modern western philosophy

200 Religion

210 Philosophy & theory of religion

220 Bible

230 Christianity

240 Christian theology

250 Christian orders & local church

260 Social & ecclesiastical theology

270 History of Christianity & Christian sects

280 Christian denominations

290 Comparative & other religions

300 Social Sciences

310 Statistics

320 Political science

330 Economics

340 Law

350 Public administration & military science

360 Social programs & services

370 Education

380 Commerce

390 Customs, etiquette, folklore

400 Language

410 Linguistics

420 English & Old English

430 Germanic

440 French

450 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic

460 Spanish & Portuguese

470 Latin

480 Greek

490 Other languages

500 Natural Sciences & Math

510 Math

520 Astronomy

530 Physics

540 Chemistry

550 Earth sciences

560 Paleontology

570 Life sciences

580 Plants

590 Animals

600 Technology & Applied Sciences

610 Medicine

620 Engineering

630 Agriculture

640 Home economics (cooking)

650 Management

660 Chemical engineering

670 Manufacturing

680 Manufacture for specific uses

690 Building

700 Arts, Sports, Recreation

710 Civic & landscape art

720 Architecture

730 Plastic arts (sculpture)

740 Drawing & decorative art

750 Painting

760 Graphic arts

770 Photography

780 Music

790 Recreation, performing arts, sports

800 Literature & Rhetoric

810 American

820 English & Old English

830 Germanic

840 French

850 Italian, Romanian

860 Spanish, Portuguese

870 Latin

880 Greek

890 Other literatures

900 Geography, History, Biography

910 Geography, travel

920 Biography, genealogy, insignia

930 Ancient world

940 Europe

950 Asia

960 Africa

970 North America

980 South America

990 Other areas

 

Searching the Electronic Catalog

 

The electronic library catalog provides information about materials owned by the library. You can search for information in the catalog by author, title, keyword or subject. Specify the kind of search by clicking on your choice (author, title, keyword of subject); then type in your search words.

 

Once you have done a search, look at the results: the information in each record includes the call number or shelf location, the author and title, and whether the item is on the shelf or is out. You can choose to view further details on each item listed – date and location of publication, number of pages, description of contents and subject headings - which may help you decide whether the item will be useful to you.

 

The call numbers that tell where an item is shelved are chosen so that books on the same subject will end up next to each other on the shelves. It can be rewarding to spend some time browsing, since you can almost always find other useful materials next to the ones you found through the catalog!

The reference collection contains a vast array of resources. Though we also offer many excellent electronic resources, we will focus on print sources here.

Some basic reference books, like The World Fact Book, are worth investigating for almost any question requiring a quick answer. This brief introduction can get you started, but beware: once you start exploring the reference shelves, you may never want to stop!

• Encyclopedias

An encyclopedia will help you get an overview of your subject, and can give you other valuable sources of information for more in-depth research. Besides the general versions like Encyclopedia Americana, there are all kinds of specialized encyclopedias for many different subjects. GNL owns encyclopedias on:

• Biology
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Religion
• American Politics
• World Art, Music and Cultures
• Science and Technology
• Dictionaries

In addition to an unabridged desk dictionary, we own a variety of special types of dictionaries, like foreign language translation, abbreviations, idiom or slang, and reverse dictionaries, as well as dictionaries for a particular field, such as Black's Law Dictionary, Dorland's Medical Dictionary, or Compton's Illustrated Science Dictionary.

• Handbooks and Companions

Handbooks and companions are a sort of hybrid, usually covering a distinct subject, with entries that are more detailed than dictionaries, but not as comprehensive as an encyclopedia. They can be a great source of factual information on topics from modern art to slave history. Some of the reference companions we own include:

• Atlantic brief lives: a biographical companion to the arts.
• World authors: a companion volume to Twentieth century authors
• Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion
• The filmgoer's companion.
• Oxford Companion to English Literature
• The Oxford companion to American history
• Statistical Sources

Perhaps the most useful single print source we own is the Statistical Abstract of the United States, a small volume that contains hundreds of tables relating to population, social issues, economics, and so on. You can also find statistical information in National Trade Data Bank, The Statesman’s Handbook, World Factbook, and, if your interest is more regional, in our town histories and gazetteers.

• Atlases and Gazetteers

In addition to countries, regions, and the world, atlases may cover history, natural resources, ethnic groups, and many other special topics. You will find: maps, with cities, towns, rivers and other natural features; statistics about population; notes about local features such as parks, trails, museums and recreation facilities. Check these interesting sources:

• Animal atlas of the world
• The atlas of world religions
• Health plants of the world : atlas of medicinal plants
• The state of women in the world atlas
• The New Hampshire atlas and gazetteer

• Biographical Sources

The library owns a variety of biographical materials. Directories like the Who's Who series provide basic information (degrees, work history, honors, address) for well-known people. For more detailed information, check the Contemporary Biography, The encyclopedia of native American biography The Dictionary of American Biography, or The Dictionary of Scientific Biography. To help you locate biographical sources, you can use tools such as Biography Index and the Biographical and Genealogical Master Index.

 

·        Indexes

An index is a guide to the material published within other works. Generally, indexes are arranged so that you can search by subject, author, subject, and - for poetry - first/last lines. They provide the source information you'll need to locate specific works. The library owns indexes for periodicals, poetry, plays and short stories, including:

• The Columbia Granger's index to poetry in collected and selected works,
• Readers' guide to periodical literature,
• The Little Regiment, and other episodes of the American Civil War,
• Index to poetry for children and young people,
• Tales of trail and town,
• Play Index and,
• Short Story Index.

There are many ways to find information. You may need just a quick answer to a factual question, or you may be looking for debate on age-old questions of philosophy. Sometimes the road less traveled is the more interesting path, and leads to great discoveries, or to questions you might never have considered. Whatever your information needs, a Reference Librarian can help.