Library books are arranged on the shelves by topic according to the Library of Congress classification system. Each book is labeled with specific letters and numbers which determine its location. Here are three basic subclasses relevant to German studies:
DD German history
PF German language (including dictionaries)
PT German literature
Listed below are several selected classification numbers and ranges with their corresponding topics.
DB1-DB879 History of Austria (including Austro-Hungarian Empire)
DD175-DD289.5 History of modern Germany from 1519-1989
DD290 History of Germany since 1990
GR155-GR159 Folklore of Austria
GR165-GR169 Folklore of Germany
PF3640 German-English dictionaries
PT83-PT873 History and criticism of German literature
PT1100-PT1374 Collections of German literature
PT1501-PT2688 Individual authors' works, criticism, biography, letters, memoirs, diaries
This brief outline is only a starting point to help you begin browsing the library's book shelves. There are many more combinations of classification numbers and topics. Every book you find in the catalog will have a unique call number and location. You can search the catalog by author, title, subject, or keyword, and you can browse the catalog virtually by call number.
In addition to German literature and books about German topics, the library has thousands of books in German on many topics in many different subject areas. You can limit a search on any topic in the catalog to German language materials. Simply select "German" in the language block at the bottom of your search screen.
If you find a book in the catalog with a Dewey Decimal call number and a location of storage, submit a storage request form and it will be retrieved for you. If you find a book in the catalog with a Dewey Decimal call number and a location of Archives & Special Collections, go to Archives and Special Collections on the library's lower level and request the book. (These books can only be used in the archives reading room.)
If a book you want is not in our catalog, or is checked out to someone else, you may request the book from other libraries.
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