Career Info

If you're applying for an entry level position at the Library and are called for an interview, the following information will help you prepare.

Call numbers

The Library assigns a unique call number to each book, which tells you whereabouts on the shelves the book is located. While many academic libraries use the Library of Congress Classification, the VPL uses the Dewey Decimal Classification to assign call numbers. The Information Literacy Tutorial of the Five Colleges of Ohio explains clearly the process of building a Dewey call number step-by-step.

Other tips on finding what's on the shelf:

• Fiction with the call number FIC is arranged by the author's last name, except for short story collections by more than one author which are arranged by title
• An X at the end of a call number (i.e. 305.40971X) means the item is a bibliography
• When reading DDC call numbers, keep in mind the following:

The number before the decimal point is treated as a whole number.

• 154 B36j comes BEFORE 159 B36j    

The numbers following the decimal point are treated as decimals.

• 158 B36j comes BEFORE 158.1 B36j
• 327.71056 K57m comes BEFORE 327.73 K57m

If a letter appears after the decimal number, the letter is arranged alphabetically and then by decimal number.

• 306 B188n comes BEFORE 306 B19e

For more information on DDC at the VPL, use "Classification, Dewey decimal" in a Subject Search in the catalogue.