1. Shelving Party
How items are organized at
The West Linn Public Library

2. The Dewey Decimal
System
The basic thing to remember is this: File
digit by digit—not by whole number.
451.042
GRA
451.1
THO
451.042 comes before 451.1 because
0 is smaller than 1.

3. Like a mailman
delivering mail to the
right house, when we
shelve books, it’s
important that all
items make it to the
correct “address” on
the shelf.
Every book in the library is given a
call number to serve as an address
for locating the book on the shelf.
Each call number is made up of the
Dewey Decimal Classification and
the Cutter letters.
451.1
THO
Dewey Decimal
Classification
Cutter Letters

4. The Dewey system has ten main
classes, as shown:
000 Generalities
100 Philosophy and Psychology
200 Religion
300 Social Science
400 Language
500 Natural Science and Mathematics
600 Technology (Applied Sciences)
700 Arts
800 Literature
900 Geography and History
Each of these classes has ten divisions.
For example, the 800’s (Literature).
800 Literature & rhetoric
810 American literature in English
820 English & Old English literatures
830 Literatures of Germanic languages
840 Literatures of Romance languages
850 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic
860 Spanish & Portuguese literatures
870 Italic literatures Latin
880 Hellenic literatures Classical Greek
890 Literatures of other languages
Each division is divided again into even
more specific categories. For Example,
the 820’s English and Old English
literatures:
820 English & Old English literatures
821 English poetry
822 English drama
823 English fiction
824 English essays
825 English speeches
826 English letters
827 English satire & humor
828 English miscellaneous writings
829 Old English (Anglo-Saxon)
Remember: The more numbers,
the more specific the subject!
Dewey
Divisions

5. Cutter
Letters
Four our library, the cutter letters for a
book are usually the first three letters
of the author’s last name
636.73
BEA
Beauchamp, Richard G.
Rottweilers for dummies
636.73
BOY
Boyd, Lee.
Canaan dog: a complete and reliable
handbook
636.73
BRA
Brace, Andrew H.
Dog owner's guide to the boxer

6. Ann Rule, for example, writes true crime books
and has several under the call number
364.1523 RUL
In this case, you would file the books under
their titles within the call number
364.1523 RUL:
364.1523 RUL Rule, Ann
Everything She Ever Wanted
364.1523 RUL Rule, Ann
If You Really Loved Me
364.1523 RUL Rule, Ann
Last Dance, Last Chance
What if there are several works with the same
call number by the same author?
Call Number  Author 
Title

7. Shelving Rules
Non-Fiction
Dewey Number
Author, Last Name
Author, First Name
Title
Edition/Year?
Volume
Fiction
Author, Last Name
Author, First Name
Title
Biographies
Subject, Last Name
Subject, First Name
Title
Edition/Year
Volume
E Picture Books
Author, Last Name
Author, First Name
Juvenile Fiction/
Teen Fiction
Author, Last Name
Author, First Name
Title

8. Articles
Ignore the initial article (A, An, The)
when it’s the first word in the title.
Do not ignore the article when it
comes after the first word.
Example:
The Complete Guide to Baking
Complex Carbohydrates
Complexities in Springtime
Complexities in the Garden

9. Nothing Comes Before
Something
A space is considered a stopping point in
your alphabetizing. This rule is meant to
simulate computer filing. A space is
referred to as “nothing.”
Word by Word -YES Letter by Letter -NO
Book Book
Book collecting Bookbinding
Book of English essays Book collecting
Book of famous ships Bookish
Bookbinding Book of English essays

10. Order of
CharactersSpaces, dashes, hyphens,
slashes, and periods all count
as “nothing” so you apply our
“Nothing Comes Before
Something Rule”.
Example:
34 Ways to Cook Asparagus
50/50 Gambling Statistics
60 Irish Short Stories
A-5 Rocket
Apples and Bananas
All titles beginning with numbers are to be
shelved before titles beginning with letters.

11. Abbreviations are filed exactly as written.
Example:
...et ce fut la guerre
Et cetera; a collector's scrapbook
Et in Arcadia ego
Etc.
Etch proofs

12. Initials and
Acronyms
Initials and acronyms separated by spaces, dashes,
hyphens, diagonal slashes, or periods are regarded as
separate words. If the initials and acronyms are
separated by other marks or symbols or are not
separated at all, then they are regarded as single words.
Example:
I.R.E. P.G.C.S.
IAMPA Symposium on Long-term...
I***B
IBM
UFO Sightings Around the World

13. Names
and
Prefixes
A prefix part of the
name of a person or
place in a title is
treated as a separate
word, unless it is
joined to the rest of
the name directly, or
by an apostrophe
without a space.
This rule applies to
titles only, not an
author’s last name.
Example: Le Guin
would be filed as if
the space was not
there or LeGuin.
Sir George Reginald von Herringbone VI, esq.

14. Shelving
Areas
Adult Fiction
has 6 shelving
areas:
Mystery
General
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Romance
Western

15. Horror, Inspirational,
NW Interest/Authors, and
Christmas genres are all interfiled in
General Fiction.
Short Stories are filed at the
beginning of each shelving area.
Example: mystery short stories
will be filed at the beginning of
the mystery section.
Short
Stories
Other
Genres

16. Oversized
All oversized books are shelved together after
biographies and before general fiction. Most are
nonfiction and biographies.

17. In the large print
area, all genres
are interfiled.

18. Foreign
Language
All foreign language materials are shelved
in the nonfiction section. This includes
DVD’s, CD audiobooks, etc.

19. Large
Easy Readers, which are designated by
blue tape above the spine label, are
shelved separately from other picture
books in youth services. The blue tape
trumps all other stickers.
Youth
Services

20. Graphic Novels, Kids’ Books in Spanish,
Parenting, and Board books all have their own
sections in youth services.
New Picture Books/New ER Fiction, and
New J Fiction have their own sections and
are NOT interfiled.
Separate
Sections

21. E Nonfiction and J Nonfiction
E Biographies and J Biographies
J Primary Readers (Red Tape) and
J Fiction
New ENF and JNF, New Parenting,
New Graphic Novels, New Bios are
all interfiled within their
respective sections
Interfil
ed
In Youth
Services

22. How to Shelve
a Book
Check call numbers around the items being shelved
If an area is too full for you to shelve properly, shift.
Each shelf should have a bookend at the end of the row
All items should be brought to the edge of the shelf (blocking)
If you are not sure, ask! Do not guess.

23. Keep an Eye Out
For…
• Books that fall behind the shelves
• Books that have fallen on the floor
• Piles of books left anywhere
• Crowded shelves (you may need to shift)
• The reshelving cart in youth services

24. Keep the
Library Clean
• Items with spine labels that cannot be read should
be given to Support Services
• Items with damage (mold, mildew, insect, water)
should be given to Support Services
• Any loose papers or library items left at the end of a
row or on the floor should be picked up
• The general rule is: If it’s too gross for you to read in
your bed, it shouldn’t be on the shelf.

25. Pushing
Carts
The carts can get very
heavy. Please push carts
in front of you rather than
pulling carts behind you.
Take corners very slowly.
This is for your safety.

26. Shifting
If a shelf is too full, you will need to shift.
Shifting requires attention to detail as
you think through the amount of space
you have and keep the books in order as
you adjust and move them. Please do
not force a book onto a crowded shelf.
If you do not have time to shift, let
someone know that it needs to be done.

27. Shelf
Reading
Shelf reading means
reading every call number
in an area to make sure
everything is in the proper
order. This ensures that
the areas that are getting
the most use are kept tidy
and it’s a good way to find
missing items.
If there are no carts to
shelve, shelf reading
always needs to be
done. There are logs
near the staff mailboxes
for keeping track of
where you started and
left off.

28. Blocking
Blocking is when you bring
each book out to the edge of
the shelf so that all the books
are lined up and look neat and
tidy.
Most of the time, the shelf will
not be blocked already when
you begin shelving. It is your
job to block while you shelve.

29. Remember
It’s better to shelve one
cart correctly than ten carts
quickly and incorrectly.