Q. Can I go to a certain section of the library to find books on a particular subject?

Yes! We use the Library of Congress classification system here at IUP so our collection is organized by subject. Each book in our collection is assigned a call number that appears on the spine of the book and is used to find books on the shelf. 

At the beginning of each call number are one or two letters that signify the subject of the book.  For example, CC is for archeology, LB is theory and practice of education, MT is music instruction and study, RT is nursing, and so on.  You can go to the sections of the library where these books are held and browse the shelves for books on a particular subject.  You can explore the entire Library of Congress classification outline at https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/.

In the Stapleton Library, the Library of Congress call numbers from A thru K are found on the 2nd floor and L thru Z are found on the 3rd floor. Books with a call number starting with M are held in the Orendorff Music Library in Cogswell Hall.

You should know that these sections can be rather large and browsing the collection may not be the most efficient method for finding sources.  To search for books on a particular subject, rather than browsing, use the Library Catalog at www.iup.edu/library.  The catalog will allow you to search by Title, Author, Subject, etc. to find specific titles on your topic in the collection.