Fiction books are classified by a call number according to its subject. After the book is cataloged and processed, the call number is put on the spine of the book. Books are shelved from left to right by the call number on the spines.

Traditionally, fiction in a library is arranged by the author’s surname from A to Z. Another approach worth considering is to arrange fiction into smaller genre sections then alphabetically within these sections.

The Dewey Decimal Classification System is the most widely used method for classifying books in the library. This system is a general knowledge organization tool that is continuously revised to keep pace with knowledge. It is named after Melvil Dewey, an American Librarian who developed it in 1876.

If the first line of the call number of the book is FIC, the book is in the fiction section. Fiction books are stories that are not real; they were imagined by the author, and in most cases, are not based on fact. The second line of the call number is the beginning letters of the author’s last name.

NonFiction: The call number consists of two parts: the Dewey number and the Cutter number. The Dewey number designates the subject, and the Cutter number designates the individual book. The first three digits of a call number denote the general subject.

000s

Books about people are organized by the first three letters of the person’s last name. For example, the call number for Abraham Lincoln is BIO LIN.

Dewey Decimal System