Subject Headings Guide: Subject Headings Guide

When browsing for items in the stacks, look for call numbers in your subject area. Call numbers will begin with a letter depending on their subject association.

Click on the links below to view a more detailed breakdown of the call number ranges and more particular subject areas.

• A -- GENERAL WORKS
• B -- PHILOSOPHY. PSYCHOLOGY. RELIGION
• C -- AUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY
• D -- WORLD HISTORY AND HISTORY OF EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, ETC.
• E -- HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS
• F -- HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS
• G -- GEOGRAPHY. ANTHROPOLOGY. RECREATION
• H -- SOCIAL SCIENCES
• J -- POLITICAL SCIENCE
• K -- LAW
• L -- EDUCATION
• M -- MUSIC AND BOOKS ON MUSIC
• N -- FINE ARTS
• P -- LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
• Q -- SCIENCE
• R -- MEDICINE
• S -- AGRICULTURE
• T -- TECHNOLOGY
• U -- MILITARY SCIENCE
• V -- NAVAL SCIENCE
• Z -- BIBLIOGRAPHY. LIBRARY SCIENCE. INFORMATION RESOURCES (GENERAL)

Often the most efficient way to search in the online catalog is by the subject heading assigned by the Library of Congress.  Sometimes these are easy to guess (for a person, it’s simply the person’s name); sometimes they aren’t (for example, for World War II it’s “World War 1939-1945”; for the  California Gold Rush it’s “California—Gold discoveries”).

Ask a librarian for assistance, or try this “quick and dirty” method to determine the subject heading: 

(1)   Do a “Title” search for your topic: 

(2)   Look at the “Results”: 

(3)   Choose one of the results and click on “Catalog Record”:

(4)   When you access the catalog record, note the “Subject” (in this case, “Inquisition—Spain”):

(5)   Click on the “Subject” link (or do a “Subject” search for “Inquisition Spain” from the main catalog page).

This gives you 25 titles—far more than a “Words or phrase” search for “Spanish Inquisition” would retrieve.