Library Research Skills

Organisation of Shelving

Left-to-Right, Top-to-Bottom

Now, if you're having trouble finding your book on the shelf, remember this rule for how the books are shelved:

left-to-right, top-to-bottom

That means you start at the left on the top shelf and move to the right until the shelf ends. Then, you go to the next shelf beneath and do the same, left to right, top to bottom.

When you get to the end of the bottom shelf, move up to the top shelf of the next section, and continue...

left to right , top to bottom!

To the right of the decimal, there is no limit on number but public libraries normally restrict this to 3 decimal places for lending stock. The more numbers you add to the right of the decimal, the more specific the subject is. For example, the Dewey number for the commercial processing of kidney beans is 664.805652 !!

Copyright (c) 2005 by Susan Kelly, Wexford County Library Service.
Adapted and modified (5th December 2005) from TILT, Texas Information Literacy Tutorial. This material is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the TILT Open Publication Licence. (the latest version is presently available at http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/yourtilt/)