Genre/Type of Book

Searching the Catalog 

Browsing the Shelves

Picture Books

This is a large part of our collection.  Most of the recent materials will have subject headings, but use is irregular.

Select "GatewaySearch" from the Library's homepage. Click on "Advanced Search," Change the Search Scope to GCC Library - Books, Dvds, etc. Use the drop down menu under Any Field and select Subject"Subject."  Enter your term or select a children's/juvenile heading.

Examples:

      Monkeys -- fiction ...  LC Annotated Children's Catalog Subject Headings

      Monkeys -- juvenile fiction

                                               --- OR --

Enter your term in the box and under the drop down menu select "GCC Library - Books, Dvds, etc." Click on "Available at GCC" on the left hand side to view what Gateway owns in relation to your topic. 

For fiction, browse the PZ's.

Books with the call# "PZ7" are simply in order by author.

Nursery Rhymes

From GatewaySearch click on "Advanced Search." Change the Search Scope to GCC Library - Books, Dvds, etc. Use the drop down menu under Any Field and select "Subject.  Enter Nursery rhymes and click Search.

 For Mother Goose rhymes, in the search box enter "Mother Goose" (quotes included).

Many nursery rhymes will be classed as PZ8.3

Poetry

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Children's poetry and click Search.  Select an appropriate heading.

PS - poetry

PZ8.3 - Verse for children, stories in rhyme

Toy books

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Toy and movable books and click Search.

Alphabet books

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Alphabet and click Search. Select a children's/juvenile heading.

Counting books

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Counting and click Search.  Select an appropriate heading.

Concept books

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then search for the concept with the subheading juvenile literature or an LC subject heading for children.

   Examples:

         Vocabulary -- juvenile literature

         Size .... LC subject headings for children

   Some suggested terms: colors, time, seasons, shapes, size, emotions, senses, opposites.

Wordless books

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Stories without words and click Search. 

Easy-to-read books

No access by catalog presently.  Entering the words read, reader or readers as a keyword and limiting to Children's Books will bring up some titles, but you'll need to go through them, looking for series names like "An I Can Read Book" 

Folktales, Fables

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Folklore or Tales or Fairy Tales or Fables and click Search.  You may select a country subheading. Look for children's/juvenile headings.

PZ8 - Fairy Tales

PZ8.1 - Folklore, legends

PZ8.2 - Fables

Modern Fantasy

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter Fantasy or Science fiction or Magic fiction and click Search.  Select an appropriate topic.   

Realistic Fiction

Select the "Subject" tab.  Then search by topic with the subheading -juvenile fiction or an LC subject heading for children. 

        Examples:

           Brothers and sisters --  Juvenile fiction

           Adoption Fiction ... LC subject headings for children  

Historical Fiction

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter by topic with the subheading -juvenile fiction or an LC subject heading for children.

        Examples:

             Middle Ages -- fiction ... LC subject headings for children

             Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation 1942-1945 --  juvenile fiction

 Historical headings can be very difficult, even for librarians.  Ask for help if you don't find what you need. 

Historical fiction will not be shelved with the historical topic, but in the fiction section.

Biographies

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter the person's last name first.  Remember, you only need to enter the beginning of the name.

        Example:  

           Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993 --  juvenile literature

 To search for a type of person, enter the search terms and look for biography and juvenile literature as subheadings.

        Examples:

           African American singers -- Biography -- Juvenile Literature

           Physicists -- Biography -- Juvenile literature 

Biographies will be shelved in their subject area, e.g. musicians with books on music (M), sports figures with sports books (G). Fictional accounts of real people will be with fiction.

Informational books

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter the subject and look for the subheading juvenile literature or LC subject headings for children.

        Examples:

            Sign language ...  LC subject headings for children

            Fire fighters -- juvenile literature   

Non fiction books will be together on the shelf according to their subject.  (See "Library of Congress Classification" in the sidebar or on the main book page.)

Multicultural Literature

For nonfiction: In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then search by ethnic group or topic. Look for juvenile subheading or LC subject headings for children

          Example:

           Cookery -- international --  juvenile literature

 For fiction:  Select the "Subject" tab.   Search by ethnic group or topic; look for fiction subheading and juvenile subheading or LC subject headings for children.

         Examples:

           Jamaica, fiction ... LC subject headings for children

           Eskimos -- juvenile fiction

           Mexican Americans fiction ... LC subject headings for children

 (Note: Not all books with ethnic characters will have a designation unless it is a main theme of the story.  Be prepared to browse through the general collection.)

Foreign language material

In Advanced Search, select Subject from the first drop down menu, then enter the name of the language followed by the word language.  Look for juvenile subheading or LC subject headings for children.

         Examples:

          Spanish language -- alphabet -- juvenile literature

          Spanish language materials ... LC subject headings for children

          Spanish language materials bilingual...LC subject headings for children 

Some foreign language materials will be shelved by language, with call numbers PZ11 and higher. (Spanish is PZ73)

Others are integrated into the collection.