Below is a very general outline of the major Library of Congress Classification areas in which materials in political science and related areas can be found. Most of these materials will be located on the main floor of the library. Using the library catalog is best to pinpoint materials; however, the areas listed below can also help guide you to areas in which you can browse for materials.

J  Legislative and executive papers
JA  Political science (General)
JC  Political theory.  The state.  Theories of the state
JF  Political institutions and public administration
JK  Political institutions and public administration (United States)
JL  Political institutions and public administration (Canada, Central America, South America etc.)
JN  Political institutions and public administration (Europe)
JQ  Political institutions and public administration (Asia, Africa, Australia, Middle East, Pacific Area, etc.)
JS  Local government.  Municipal government
JV  Colonies and colonization.  Emigration and immigration.  International migration
JX  International law, see also JZ and KZ
JZ  International relations

K Law
KB Religious Law
KF Law of the United United States
KFT Law of Tennessee
KZ Law of Nations

How to read Library of Congress Call Numbers

Screenshot of the top of a TigerSearch results page

TigerSearch searches our library’s holdings along with the contents of most of our databases. Some databases are not accessible to TigerSearch, so if you want to search those databases, you need to go to them directly. (See a list of databases not included in TigerSearch here.)

The filters give you lots of ways to target your results, by language, by geographic area, by type of material. Buttons also allow you to limit your search to peer reviewed articles or items that have full text available online.

Search on the library homepage

Use TigerSearch to identify and locate books, video, audio and other material in our library. It is often best to begin with a detailed keyword search. Once you have identified an item that is within the scope of your research, use the subject headings found in the record describing it to locate similar materials. Also, when you retrieve a book from the shelf, you may wish to peruse the books shelved near it as they are likely to be on the same, or a related, subject.

Use WorldCat to identify materials held by other libraries around the world. Most of these you will need to request via interlibrary loan should you wish to use them. Sewanee ILL, our interlibrary loan system, is linked below. Please feel free to use the interlirbary loan service, but be sure you have planned for the time it will take for books to be shipped here. Articles are usually delivered electronically and, therefore, much quicker.

Google Book Search offers certain advantages such as the ability to search the full-text of works as well as the ability to view the text of works that are no longer restricted by copyright. If you find something in Google Books that appears to be useful for your research, but you cannot view the book, be sure to check to see if the book is in our library. If not, you can place an interlibrary loan request.