Research Guide: Finding materials and the Library of Congress Classification System
Law Library for San Bernardino County
Research Guide, www.sblawlibrary.org, (909)885-3020
Disclaimer
The information in this research guide is intended to assist patrons with their legal research and is in no way intended to
replace the counsel of an Attorney. Any decisions about how to proceed must be determined by the patron. The library
staff can recommend and refer you to print and web-based resources that will help you find answers to your law-related
questions. The staff at the Law Library for San Bernardino County cannot explain or interpret the law itself and we are not
permitted to give legal advice.
Use the online
catalog to
search for
material that
may be found
in the law
library or
database.
In this example
we are looking
for West’s Pacific
Reporter.
Location
Which
collection
houses the
item?
Status
Is it in the
library? If so,
which
volumes,
editions, years,
etc.?
Call Number
How is the
item labeled
and
organized?
Find the item’s
record; if the
library owns
the item you
will need three
pieces of
information to
find it:
Location
Status
Call Number
About Call Numbers The San Bernardino County Law Library uses the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system. LCC is an alpha-­‐numeric method of organizing and cataloging items, unlike the Dewey Decimal system, which primarily uses numbers. The Library of Congress designates letters and numbers to represent subject areas. • The letter “K” has been assigned by the Library of Congress to the subject of law. • The letters “KF” refer to United States law. • The letters “KFC” with the ranges 1-­‐1199 will refer to California law. Below are the call numbers for West’s Pacific Reporter and West’s California Reporter Law Regional Report Law California KF135.P2 P23 KFC47.C34 U.S. Law U.S. Law