English 291: Creative Nonfiction Writing

Let's say you want to browse books on a specific topic, but you don't know where to look. What to do? Here are two methods for getting started:

Explore the Library of Congress Classification System: St. Olaf, like most academic libraries in the U.S., organizes our books using the Library of Congress Classification System. Books whose call numbers start with a K are about law, L is for education, M is for music, and so on. Each of these letters contains numerous "subclasses" that get more specific: LA is about the history of education, LB is about the practice of education, etc. You can use this system to narrow in on a subject that interests you and then go into St. Olaf's stacks to see what print materials we have on the topic.

Start by finding a book in Catalyst: In this method, you search Catalyst, our library catalog, to find one print book that seems relevant to your interests. For example, if I wanted to find books about witches, I might start by searching "witches," narrow my search results to only include St. Olaf's print materials, and then select the book "The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to Present." I would check that book's call number (BF 1566 .H88 2017), go find it in the stacks, and then look at the books near it to see what other books are available on the subject.

Some interesting places to explore in Rolvaag Library's print collections:

Oversize Materials: Oversize materials (in other words, books to big to fit on our regular shelves) are housed on floor 3 1/2. Often, these books are so large because they contain maps, photos, or other interesting images for you to look through. Many books about art and art history are part of this collection.

"The N's": In the Library of Congress Classification System, the letter N is reserved for books about visual art, architecture, design, and fashion. Many of these books can be found in our collection of oversize materials (see above); the regular-sized N's are located on the fourth floor.

Periodicals: Want to flip through 80-year-old copies of Life magazine or Harper's Bazaar? They're waiting for you in our periodicals collection, down on the first floor.

Reference Books: Browsing reference books, like specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries, can be a great way to find ideas and spark your curiosity. Reference books are housed in the reference room on the third floor. Please note that reference books cannot be checked out. 

Special Collections and College Archives (by appointment only): The College Archives houses materials pertaining to the history of St. Olaf; Special Collections holds materials that are rare, valuable, old, or otherwise in need of special attention and handling. Please note that you must make an appointment to view materials in these collections.