Perhaps you’ve seen them when searching for Anne of Green
Gables by L.M. Montgomery: J MONTGOMERY. Or maybe you’ve noticed those little
white stickers at the bottom of every library book’s spine: M PAT,TERSON W L'AMOUR , F
CUSSLER. These letters—called “call numbers” in library speak—are meant to indicate
where a book should live in a library, plus the first three letters of the
authors last name. They're basically the book’s address in Library City, and
tell you exactly where to find what you’re looking for. And while it’s obvious
that “F” is fiction, “M” is mystery, and “W” is western, other call numbers are
a little more confusing, particularly for children’s books: E, YA, and J.
“E” is the easiest to explain—pun intended—because it stands for
“Easy” or “Early Reader”. These are books for the littlest of tykes who are
either pre-readers or just taking their first steps into reading. Thus, all of the picture books in my library are labeled “E”, followed by the first three letters of the
author’s last name.