HSU Library

• Library of Congress Classification System. The general book collection in the HSU Library is organized on the shelves by subject using this classification system employed by most academic libraries in the United States. (In addition most special collections - "Periodicals," "Reference," "Map and Atlas," and "Indexes and Abstracts" - all follow this same subject arrangement.) Listed below are the major classification areas where soil literature is likely to be found:

               QH 84.8 Soil Biology
               QH 541.5 S6 Soil Ecology
               QK 604.2 M92 Mycorrhizal Fungi
               QL 110 Soil Fauna
               QR 111-113 Soil Microorganisms
               S 590-599
                    S 592.14 Soil Surveys
                    S 592.16 Soil Classification
                    S 592.3 Soil Physics
                    S 592.5 Soil Chemistry
                    S 593.2 Soil Structure
                    S 594 Soil Moisture
                    S 594.5 Soil Temperature
                    S 596.3 Soils and Climates
                    S 596.7 Soil Plant Relationships
                    S 599 Soils of specific geographic locations
               S 622-627 Soil Conservation
               S 631-667 Fertilizers and Soil Improvement
               SB 973 Soil Disenfection
               SD 390 Forest Soils
               TA 710-712 Soil Mechanics and Engineering
               TD 878-879 Soil Pollution
               TE 208 Engineering Soil Surveys
• The HSU Library Catalog can be searched by author, title, or subject. Since subject searching is often the most difficult, the following general suggestions and specific approaches for conducting a subject search are given:
1. General Suggestions
1. Use Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) in your subject search. This four-volume set (located near catalog terminals in the Library) lists over 170,000 "controlled" subjects used for indexing materials. LCSH will do the following for you:
1. list subject and geographical headings along with any associated subheadings
2. give a hierarchy of related subjects: NT= Narrower Terms; BT= Broader Terms; and RT=Related Terms
3. give the Library of Congress Classification for many subjects [For a correlation between LC classification and LCSH see Classified Library of Congress Subject Headings (ref Z 695 U48 W55)]
4. provide "see" references from subjects not used to the valid subject (UF= used for)
2. Follow the "Rule of Specificity." Choose subjects which come closest to what you are searching. Books are indexed under an average of two or three specific subjects which represent each book's subject content. Broad subjects often fail to retrieve desired information.
3. As you identify specific references in the Library catalog, note the Library of Congress Subject Headings under which they are indexed and re-enter them into your search if not already used.
4. Since most libraries in the United States use a standardized cataloging and indexing system developed by the Library of Congress you can develop a search through multiple catalogs using a common strategy. Only the software interfaces will vary.
2. Specific Approaches
1. Searching for material on specific organisms. At the organism level subjects follow common rather than scientific nomenclature in most cases. At the Family and Order levels a combination of common and scientific nomenclature is used. Check LCSH for correct nomenclature. Remember the "Rule of Specificity" when searching.
2. Searching for material on the biology of organisms. There are many hundreds of specific subjects which treat the anatomical, physiological, behavioral, and evolutionary aspects of organisms. Use LCSH to find specific subjects. In some cases subjects are subdivided by major taxonomic divisions e.g., "Nervous System -Birds." There are also standard "pattern" subdivisions that can appear under any taxonomic term. See the subject "Birds" in LCSH for a listing of these subdivisions which can apply to all animals, e.g., "Birds - Behavior."
3. Searching for material on a specific geographic area. A subject-oriented book which emphasizes a particular geographic area will be listed in most cases under the subject then subdivided by the geographic area, e.g., a book on the birds of Humboldt County will be listed under "Birds - California - Humboldt County." Books which contain a geographic treatment on a specific organism are listed under at least two subjects:
1. the organism nomenclature, e.g., "Peregrine Falcons"
2. a higher level taxonomic term with a geographic subheading, e.g., "Birds - California"
What this means is that you can find, e.g., under "Birds - California" all studies on specific birds in California.
4. Searching for material on ecological concepts and techniques. Use LCSH as a guide to the many specific subjects used. Look under "Ecology" in LCSH for an extensive list of specific ecological subjects.

Other Libraries

• FAO Catalogue (Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Includes all documents and publications produced by FAO since 1945 and books to the FAO Library since 1976. Provides links to fulltext when available.
• National Agricultural Library The library catalog for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Dictionary Catalog of the Department Library, U.S. Department of the Interior (abstr S 1 U467) A print catalog of the Interior Department research library covering literature acquired between 1885 and 1965. It contains author, title, and subject entries for books, pamphlets, government documents, and individually cataloged serial items.
• Dictionary Catalog of the National Agricultural Library (abstr S 1 U63) Detailed author-title-subject catalog of book, serial, and government document literature acquired between 1862 and 1965 by the major agricultural research library in the United States. Many serial publications are individually cataloged.