History

One of the best things about studying history is that it is so interdisciplinary--historians study science, music, art, literature, politics, law, and much else. And scholars in those disciplines often do history! But that means it's hard to browse the shelves in the library, either in person or virtually through the catalog. Also, there are all the books we have electronically, which don't have any call numbers at all.

But despite all that, it can be helpful to go to the library, and browse the shelves. Every scholar has stories about finding great things by accident, just looking at the collections. You can start by finding one promising book, and just looking at the books around it. Or, you can find some promising call numbers, which can start your journey.

We use the Library of Congress system for arranging our books, which assigns a letter for a big general topic, and then numbers to get more specific. For instance:

D - World History (i.e., not North or South America) 

E - United States history (Precolumbian societies, and national-level history)

F - Local United States History (states, etc.); other Western Hemisphere history, including Canada

Call Number examples:

E99 - Native American history

F631-645 - North Dakota History

All our D, E, and F books are on the third floor of Chester Fritz Library.