Joyner, June B.

English

Georgia Southern University: Digital Commons@Georgia Southern

Georgia Southern UniversityDigital Commons@Georgia SouthernGeorgia International Conference on InformationLiteracy(Formerly known as the Georgia Conference on Information Literacy)Oct 4th, 11:00 AM - 12:45 PMStudents in Transition: The Library Of CongressClassification System as InitiationJune B. JoynerGeorgia Southern UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlitPart of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Information Literacy CommonsThis presentation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences & Events at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu.Recommended CitationJoyner, June B., "Students in Transition: The Library Of Congress Classification System as Initiation" (2008). Georgia InternationalConference on Information Literacy. 24.https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2008/2008/24June Joyner Georgia Conference on Information Literacy October 2008 Students in Transition:  Preparing Students for College Research June Joyner Georgia Southern Writing Project Department of Writing and Linguistics Georgia Southern University  Overall Purpose:  To familiarize students with the LoC system, the organizational system by which books are arranged on library shelves at most universities.  To help students develop alternative ways to think about and refine topic choices for research.    The first two letters of a call number (located on the book spine) denote one of 21 subject areas and indicate the category into which a book has been classified.  For instance, a book about Stephen King, Revisiting Stephen King: A Critical Companion, by Sharon A. Russell, has the call number  PS3561.I483 Z864 2002.  The letters PS indicate the category of American Literature; the numbers 3561 indicate the sub-division called “Individual authors from 1961 – 2000.”   Task 1:  Thinking about initial information (5 – 10 min). How we interpret a book’s title and content might differ from the way a librarian interprets title and content.  For instance, we might, logically, place the Bill Murray book in biography or autobiography; some would, also logically, categorize the same book as humor.  The LoC system categorizes it as Sports & Recreation.  Understanding this difference helps us realize that looking in just one category for information would not deliver the best return, just as when we google something.  The first search terms we use may not get us what we’re looking for.  Understanding also helps us to approach a topic from a fresh perspective.  How would you guess the following books are categorized?  What are other logical categories?  Book        Category Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf   Bill Murray  GV967 .M78 1999 (Sports & Recreation) Other possibilities:      Humor; Biography; Autobiography; Societies and  Clubs  The Complete Guide to Divorce Samuel Kling  KF535.Z9 K56   (Law) Other possibilities:   Family, Marriage, Home; Religion; Manners & Customs; Economic History & Conditions  Chaos in Classical and Quantum Mechanics  Martin C. Gutzwiller  QC125.2 .G88 1990 (Physics) Other possibilities:      Technology & Engineering; Astronomy  Death of a Princess: The Investigation  Thomas Sancton DA591.A45 D5359   (Great Britain) Other possibilities:   Law; Forensic Science; Folklore; Family, Marriage, Home; Heraldry; Genealogy  The Power to Transform: Leadership that Brings Learning and Schooling to Life  Stephanie Pace Marshall         LB2822.8 .M38 2006   (Education) Other possibilities:      Law; Business; Public Administration; Psychology         United States    June Joyner Georgia Conference on Information Literacy October 2008 Task 2:  Further practice in categorizing Working with your group members, look at the following titles and call numbers.  Look up the call numbers in the LoC notebook and write in the category names, being as specific as you can; we are concerned only with the part of the call number before the decimal.    Ethical issues in death and dying / Robert F. Weir     R726 .E77   _______R:  Medicine   ______726:  Medical philosophy, Medical Ethics_________________________  Herbs for sports performance, energy and recovery / Edmund R. Burke    TX819.H4 L6 1998  ____________________________________________________________________________________  Defending the undefendable: the pimp, prostitute, scab, slumlord, libeler, moneylender, and other scapegoats in the rogue’s gallery of American society / by Walter Block    HB95 .B58  ____________________________________________________________________________________  Current methods of autopsy practice / Jergan Ludwig    RA1058 .L8  ____________________________________________________________________________________  Ghost hunters of the south / Alan Brown      BF1026 .B76 2006  ____________________________________________________________________________________   Task 3:  Becoming aware by browsing:  Turn to the following areas in the LoC listings; beginning with the given location, run your finger down the listings and see if there are surprises and the implications of any discoveries.         Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 BF 1404 – 2055 BJ 1801 – 2195 CB 3 – 482 CC 1 – 960 GR 1 – GV 1860 KZA 1002 – KZD 5680 LC 1200 – LC 5160 ND 25 – 3416 PM 1 – 9021 PN 6010 - 6790 QC 801 - 809 RA 421 – 1270 RC 952 - 1245 SK 1 – 664 TD 1 – 1066 TX 1 - 1110 UB 1 - 440 VK 1 – VM 989           June Joyner Georgia Conference on Information Literacy October 2008 Task 3:  Creating a deep pool of possibilities (10 – 15 min).  If we were exploring Weddings as a topic, we’d obviously look in BL:  Religion; BR:  Christianity; we might also check out HM:  Sociology; HQ:  Family, Marriage, Home; GT:  Manners & Customs.  But to get a full picture and to develop a more original, subtle, complex idea to research, we’d also be well-served to look in the following categories, among others:  CS-Genealogy (What about the children? Will a blood test tell us everything we need to know?) CT-Biography (for famous weddings, i.e. Princess Diana and Prince Charles) D:  History (The unions of powerful families formed alliances between countries for political (in)stability GT-Manners and customs (who gives the bride away, what about thank you notes, jumping the broomstick or crushing a glass) JX-International Law (because marriage is also a legal union with legal implications; if you marry someone from a different country, which laws govern marriage?  Divorce?) SB-Plant Culture (flowers/plants used in your area; what if you have severe allergies?) TT-Handicrafts, Arts and crafts (things we make at home to use in ceremonies; bouquets, rice nets, etc)  Another example:  Hip Hop; besides Music, where else could we find information about this genre? E:  History of the Americas, African-Americans  Example:  Afeni Shakur : evolution of a revolutionary / Jasmine Guy   E185.97.S528 G89 2004 CT:  Biography ML:  Music, History & Criticism, Popular Music  Example:  Making beats: the art of sample-based hip-hop / Joseph G. Schloss  ML3531 .S35 2004 LC:  Special Aspects of Education  Ex.: Black in school: Afrocentric reform, urban youth & the promise of hip-hop culture / Shawn A.  Ginwright    LC2717 .G56 2004 PN:  Literature, Motion Pictures  Ex.:  Representing: hip hop culture and the production of Black cinema / S. Craig Watkins  PN1995.9.N4 W38    Working with the topic that has been given to your group, use the Table of Contents page in the front of the notebook and list below EVERY area that might prove useful to you in research.  Then flip to those sections and get more specific.  Your responses will include the full call number (letters and numbers), the name of the major category, name of the sub-category, and what you would hope to find there.  List the obvious then move beyond it.  Call Numbers Subject Area   Specific Area    Why? Ex:  ND1385  Painting:  Special Subjects Sports, Hunting & Fishing   Representations in Art ________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________  __________________________________________________________________________________________ June Joyner Georgia Conference on Information Literacy October 2008 Library of Congress Classification System  A – General Works   AE – Encyclopedias   AI – Indexes   AY - Yearbooks  B - Philosophy, Psychology,     Religion   B – History and Systems     BF - Psychology   BL – Religions, Mythology   BM – Judaism   BQ – Buddhism   BR - Christianity  C – Auxiliary Sciences of History   CB – History of Civilization   CC – Archaeology   CR – Heraldry   CS – Genealogy   CT - Biography   D – History (except America)   D – History (general)   DA – Great Britain   DAW – Central Europe   DC – France   DD – Germany   DE – Mediterranean, Greco-           Roman World   DG – Italy   DK – Russia and Poland   DS – Asia   DT – Africa   DU – Oceania, Australia, New          Zealand  E – America (general) and United     States  51-99 Indians of North America 186-199 Colonial Period 483-655 Civil War  F – United States (local) and    America  1-970 – United States (local) 1001-1140 – British North America,      Canada 2201-2239 – South America   G – Geography, Anthropology   G – Geography (general)   GB – Physical Geography   GR – Folklore   GT – Manners and Customs   GV – Sports and Recreation  H – Social Sciences (general)   HB – Economic Theory   HC – Economic History and        Conditions   HG – Finance   HJ – Public Finance   HM – Sociology   HQ – Family, Marriage, Home   HS – Societies and Clubs   HX – Communism, Socialism,      Anarchism  J – Political Science   JK – Constitutional History and      Administration   JS – Local Government   JX – International Law,       International Relations  K – Law L – Education LA – History of Education  M – Music N – Fine Arts  P – Language and Literature   PA – Classical Philology (Greek      and Latin)   PN – Literature, Literary History      and Collections   PR – English Literature   PS – American Literature   PZ – Children’s Literature  Q – Science   QA – Mathematics   QB – Astronomy   QC – Physics   QD – Chemistry   QE – Geology   QH – Natural history, Biology   QK – Botany   QL – Zoology   QM – Human Anatomy   QP – Physiology   QR – Microbiology R – Medicine   RB – Pathology   RK – Dentistry   RT – Nursing  S – Agriculture   SB – Plant Culture   SD – Forestry   SF – Animal Culture   SK – Hunting  T – Technology and Engineering    TA – Engineering, Civil      Engineering   TJ – Mechanical Engineering   TK – Electronics and Electrical        Engineering   TL – Motor Vehicles, Aeronautics,      Astronautics   TP – Chemical Technology   TS - Manufactures   TT – Handicrafts, Arts & Crafts  U – Military Science   UA – Armies, Organization and      Distribution   UD – Infantry   UH – Other Services  V – Naval Science (general)   VA – Navies, Organization and      Distribution   VD – Naval Seamen   VE – Marines   VK – Navigation  Z – Library Science,    Bibliography   4-8 – History of Books and        Bookmaking   40-115 – Writing   116–550 – Book Industries and      trade   551-661 – Copyright   665-997 – Libraries and Library        Science   1001-8999 - Bibliography   

Students in Transition: The Library Of Congress Classification System as Initiation

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Students in Transition: The Library Of Congress Classification System as Initiation

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