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How Biographies are Organized

Biographies are shelved separately from the rest of the Non-Fiction collection. Except for New Biography Titles, all Biographies are stored on the top floor of the Athenaeum, around the perimeter of the building.

All Biographies begin with the Call Number (Book Identification Number) B (for Biography). Following the B, will be the first letter of the last name of the person the book is about. For example, a biography of Edgar Allan Poe will have a Call Number like this:

B P752H (Call Number for the book Poe, by James M. Hutchisson)

In the above example, the B is for Biography, the P is Poe (the person the book is about), the numbers are derived from Poe's last name, and the H is for the author's last name (Hutchisson).

This may seem complicated, but remember, the underlying system couldn't be simpler: Biographies are shelved in alphabetical order of the last name of the person they are about. All Biographies begin with a B as their call number. Ignore this letter while scanning the shelves for a particular biography. Look for the second letter. This is the letter that represents the last name of of the person the book is about.

The numbers after the second letter are Dewey Decimal Classification numbers. For a general overview of the Dewey Decimal System, click here. However, in short, just take each number one at a time while scanning the shelves. If you are looking for a book on President John Kenenedy with the Call Number B K7464L, it will fall between these other biography titles:

Notice that the Call Numbers are shelved digit-by-digit in order from smallest number to largest. So, while the number 82 is smaller than 7464, the 7464 comes first because 7 is smaller than 8. Do not look at the whole number! Proceed digit-by-digit and you will find your book!