Browsing the stacks for books
The largest collection of books for children is in the PZ range. PZ7 is the standard call number for works of fiction for children. PZ8.1 is used for many folktales for children. Higher numbers in the PZ range are used for children's books in non-English languages. However, books that are perhaps for an older audience, like the Harry Potter series, and all works of nonfiction (biographical or historical works for children about Martin Luther King, for example) are cataloged in the same manner as books for adults and can't be physically browsed in the same area as other children's books.
Browsing the stacks for comics and graphic novels
Many graphic novels and comics collections are located at PN 6700 regardless of the intended age of the audience. This is where one can find The Complete Peanuts or Tin Tin, for example. Marvel, DC and other popular comic collections are likewise shelved here. Many popular graphic novels are as well, although works by popular authors such as Raina Telgemeier are likely to be located in several locations.
Browsing the catalog
Franklin, the Penn Libraries' online catalog, lists more than two million books, journal titles, and other materials contained in campus libraries. You can search Franklin by author, title, journal title, subject, or keyword. Advanced Search allows you to easily combine multiple search terms. Supplement call number browsing by using subject headings and other phrases consistently used to denote children's literature. Be careful, though, because these terms are not used consistently. Charlotte's Web, for example, wouldn't come up from any of these searches. For more information on searching, see Franklin Search Help.
Browsing by Collection
The Libraries' browsing library has two collections that were designed to identify books about specific subjects. Though not comprehensive lists of what we own, they are good starting point for finding books that fit those collections
Related Resources
