Talbott Elementary Library

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Talbott Elementary Library

• Shelving Guide

By Joelene Goff
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Shelving Fiction Books
The spine labels on fiction books have an F and
the first three letters of the authors last
name. They are shelved alphabetically by the
authors last name.
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LEN are the first three letters of the authors
last name
F stands for fiction
Book Cover With Authors Full Name
Spine Label
The dots on the spine label tell which grade
level the book is for in Accelerated Reader.
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Shelving Non-Fiction Books
Non-fiction books are shelved according to the
Dewey Decimal System(DDS) 000Generalities,
100Philosophy psychology, 200Religion,
300Social sciences, 400Language, 500Natural
sciences mathematics, 600Technology (Applied
sciences), 700the Arts, 800Literature
rhetoric, 900History Geography. The spine
labels on non-fiction books have a number
according to the DDS and the first
three letters of the authors last name.
Books that have the same DDS number are
then shelved alphabetically according to
the authors last name.
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Non-fiction books are shelved according to the
DDS, going from the smallest numbers to the
largest.
STE are the first three letters of the Authors
last name
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Sample Questions
1. If you have two spine labels, one that reads
521.1 WOR and one that reads 563.3 WOR, which
one comes first?
2. If you have two spine labels that read 534.4
ARD and 534.4 BRU, which comes first?
3. If you have two spine labels that read 504.1
ARC and 675.9 ARC, which comes first?
4. If you have two spine labels that read 321.5
ZYG and 445.7 ACL, which comes first?
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Answers
1. 521.1 WOR comes before 563.3 WOR because
521.1 is less than 563.3. 2. 534.4 ARD comes
before 534.4 BRU because A is before B in
the alphabet. 3. 504.1 ARC comes before 675.9
ARC because 504.1 is less than 675.9. 4. 321.5
ZYG comes before 445.7 ACL because 321.5 is
less than 445.7
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Shelving Reference Books
Reference books are grouped into categories
dictionaries, encyclopedias, and miscellaneous
other reference books. They are then placed in
numerical order using the number on the spine
label. The spine labels also have three letters
on them, which are used to put the books in order
when multiple books have the same number. If
there is a specific author or editor, the letters
are the first three of the author/editors last
name. However, if there is no author or editor,
the letters are from the title of the book. For
example, the World Book Encyclopedias do not have
a specific author or editor, so their spine
labels read 031 WOR. Merriam-Websters Guide
to Everyday Math, on the other hand, is by Brian
Burrell, so its spine label reads 510 BUR.
Most of the reference books also have an orange
sticker on the spine that says Reference.
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Encyclopedias
When shelving, try to keep the books standing up,
not falling down like some of these.
This shelf also contains some miscellaneous books.
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Most of the reference books have an orange
Reference sticker on the spine.
Dictionaries
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Miscellaneous
These shelves contain miscellaneous books such as
almanacs, phone books, and The Yellow Pages.
As you can see, not all of the reference books
currently have an orange sticker or a spine
label. If you find one of these laying out and
do not know where it goes, ask Mr. Goff or leave
it on the circulation desk.
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The Young Childrens Encyclopedias do not have a
specific author or editor, so the spine label
uses the first three letters in the title (except
a, an, or the).
Reference stickers
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Merriam Websters Guide to Everyday Math is by
Brian Burrell. Therefore, BUR being the first
three letters in his last name, the letters are
on the spine label.
This book does have an orange Reference sticker.
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Shelving Picture Books
Picture books should be put in order using the
first three letters of the authors last name.
The spine labels on these books also have an
F for fiction.