Library of Congress call numbers for dance topics can be used to browse the library's dance collection via the shelves or online by means of call number catalog searches. If you want to browse the shelves in person, the library's maps will assist you in locating call number areas. If you'd like to browse by call number, either by examining books on the shelves or by using the TCU Library catalog (see below for the how-to), keep in mind that the library now has many electronic books ("e-books") which you will not see evidence of on the shelves, or in call number searches. Call number searches will retrieve records for videos, print books and periodicals (journals and magazines), plus electronic book ("e-book") titles that are also available in print. Titles available only as e-books will not appear. They will appear with subject, title, and "Words anywhere" searches. Below are call number areas of interest.
| BH1 - 301 | Aesthetics | |
| GV1580 - 1799.4 | Dance, dancers, dancing | |
| GV201 - 555 | Physical education; includes GV443-452, Movement education | |
| M - ML - MT | Music - especially M 1627-1853 (Folk, national and ethnic music), ML 3400-3465 (Dance music), MT 955-56 and MT 960 (Musical theater and Music in the theater). A thorough breakdown is available at http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/classification/ lcco/lcco_m.pdf. | |
| N8217 D | Dance in art; Dancers in art; Art and dance | |
| NX456.5 P38 | Performance art | |
| PN2085 - 2091 | Stagecraft, lighting, scenery design | |
| QP310 D35; RC489 D3; RC1220 D35 | Dance - physiological aspects (see also RC); Kinesiology (applied to dance); Dance therapy; Dance medicine, injuries, nutrition | |
| RA781 - 785; RC1200 - 1245 | Sports medicine, especially RC1220 B35 and D35, with many works classified as "Dance - physiological aspects" | |
| RD97 | Sports injuries | |
| TT507 | Costume and fashion design |
Below is a call number browse search for GV 1580, Dance. Call number searches can only be done in Basic Search mode. If you wish to browse only videos relating to Dance, simply select Video (any format) or Video (DVD) from the Format drop-down box. Similarly, you can browse just dance-related Journals/Newspapers/Magazines by selecting that format. A sample results page follows.
Using the catalog you can also browse the library's dance collection online using subject headings. Subject heading browses can only be done in basic search mode. These searches must be exact in terms of wording, but don't need to include punctuation like dashes or commas. For a sample browse, try a subject heading search for dance, using the arrows to examine several pages of terms.
"Aspects" headings (heading Modern Dance uses this as well)
Dance - social aspects; Dance - sociological aspects; Dance - psychological aspects; Dance - physiological aspects; Dance - anthropological aspects; Dance - political aspects; Dance - health aspects; Dance - religious aspects
Dance forms or styles - many dance types are NOT under Dance, including
| Ballet |
| Hip hop |
| Square dancing |
Dance by country or ethnic group
For national dances, try using the pattern Dance - [country], for example, Dance - Africa. For dances of an ethic group, use heading pattern [Ethnic group] - dance, for example, Hopi - Dance.
Headings related to people
The names of people are often listed as subject headings, last name first, e.g. Balanchine, George. (If searching a name, you'll also want to do a "Words anywhere" (keyword) search for the name using quotes, e.g. "george balanchine.") If you're looking for a dancer to write about, the subject heading Dancers offers many works sub-classified as biography, correspondence, interviews, bibliography, fiction, and country of origin; Choreographers breaks down similarly. There's also a Ballet dancers heading, and gender-related headings Male dancers and Women dancers. There is no "Modern dancers" heading in the TCU Library catalog.
Dance topics with unexpected subject headings
Social dances, dancing - browse Ballroom dancing and/or type of dance, e.g. Tango
"Subject words" searches
When in doubt as to exact subject headings, a "subject words" search may be a good option. Results will display as titles having these subject words in their descriptions, however, as opposed to categorical listings as in the dance example above. There's more about subject searching in the "Subject searching" page in the "Catalog subject searching" section of the Dance research guide.
