How Search by Call Number Works

If you want to browse to find similar works on a topic in the Library, you may search by call number, then scan the result list. When you do this, your search is limited to the call number field and it is actually a browse. This means that instead of retrieving a list of materials containing the search terms anywhere in the record, it retrieves an alphabetical list of call numbers beginning with the one most closely matching and following that entered.

Each item in the Library that is assigned a call number has just one of them. Some Item Records include holdings statements for several copies or volumes of the same work, but there is still no more than one call number listed for each one.

Every call number is part of a larger classification system which groups like items together. However, because an item may cover several subjects, or facets of the same subject, it is possible that similar items have disparate call numbers and thus locations in the library. So browsing a call number list should only be used to supplement searching by keyword, not replace it.

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For assistance, contact a reference librarian at (262) 472-1032, by email or chat or in person at the Library's Reference Desk.

Last Revised: MS - 8/8/2007