OBIS
Find books, e-books, videos, scores, and recordings at Oberlin by title, author, subject, keyword, or other options.
What order are the books in?
Most books at Oberlin are arranged according to Library of Congress Classification, which divides human knowledge into 21 classes identified by a single letter of the alphabet (e.g. H: Social Sciences). Each class is divided into subclasses (e.g. HB: Economic Theory, HM: Sociology), and then further subdivided with an ultimate of goal of getting similar works shelved near each other for ease of browsing. A small number of historic works are shelved with the Dewey Decimal system rather than Library of Congress.
The topics listed on call number signs in the stacks do not represent every category in Library of Congress Classification, nor every topic of every book in the library. Library staff selected a few broad classes, subclasses, and subtopics that reflect a sufficiently large volume of books that browsing the stacks can be a useful way to navigate the library. (In many circumstances searching OBIS is more efficient.)
Most of our labels use terminology directly from the Library of Congress, but in some cases we combined subclasses for clarity or updated terminology that we found opaque or offensive.
Resources for navigating the Terrell Main Library
- Oberlin Call Number DirectoryProvides locations for different Library of Congress and Dewey classes at Oberlin.
Learn more about classfication
- About Library of Congress ClassificationDescription of the goals and structure of Library of Congress Classification.
- Library of Congress Classification OutlineDetailed listing of call numbers and the classes associated with them.
- Dewey Decimal Classification (PDF)Description and detailed class listings of the Dewey Decimal System.
I can't figure out where I should browse to find a book, what do I do?
If you know the name of a specific book, locate it using an OBIS title search.
If you have a topic, use an OBIS keyword search to find the location of specific books. From there you can use subject headings or browse in the stacks near those books to find similar works.
You can also ask a librarian for help.
Is there a fiction section?
Not really. Languages and Literature are shelved in P on the second floor, but this class intersperses literature with criticism and analysis.
Some of these classes seem outdated, strange, or even offensive?
Classification is definitely not perfect! No single classification scheme will ever be able to order books in a way that is useful for every person in every situation. The act of assigning a single topic to a book and placing it in a single location on a shelf requires simplifying complex works. Ordering those topics requires making judgments about which topics are related that privilege some ways of thinking about the world over others. In addition, both Library of Congress Classification and the Dewey Decimal System were designed by particular people in particular times and places who did not always share the values of the current Oberlin community. Many of the value judgements that were made early on now seem anathema to social justice or simply illogical.
The Oberlin College Libraries advocate for social justice improvements in classification and subject headings. Many of our catalogers serve on national committees advocating for more equitable descriptions of race, culture, gender and sexuality. We also participate in the Five Colleges of Ohio Subject Flagging project, which seeks to address problematic subject headings. If you have a concern about a classification practice, please contact Tim Keller.
Learn more:
Prejudices and Antipathies by Call Number: Main Library: Z695.1.S6 B47 1993ISBN: 0899508286Publication Date: 1993-02-01First published in 1971 (by Scarecrow Press), Prejudices and Antipathies marked the opening salvo in the fight to rid the Library of Congress Subject Headings of bias. In the ensuing 22 years, many of its recommendations have been embraced.Still, Christocentrism permeates LC, racially-tinged Oriental and primitive headings abound, reminding the profession of the progress made and problems that persist.Three Decades Since Prejudices and Antipathies: A Study of Changes in the Library of Congress Subject Headings by
Call Number: Main Library Periodicals: Cataloging & Classification Quarterly Vol. 40(2) 2005The Library of Congress Subject Headings have been criticized for containing biased subject headings. One leading critic has been Sanford Berman, whose 1971 monograph Prejudices and Antipathies: A Tract ontheLCSubject HeadsConcerning People(P&A),listed a number of objectionable headings and proposed remedies. In the decades since P&A was first published, many of Berman’s suggestions have been implemented, while other headings remain unchanged. This paper compiles all of Berman’s suggestions and tracks the changes that have occurred; a brief analysis of the remaining areas of bias is included. Read this in print.
Research Help
Chat with us during online help hours
Email us at reference@oberlin.edu
Schedule a research appointment
Watch "How do I?" video tutorials