English: A Guide to Library Research

The PN - PT sections of the library are not the easiest to browse because unlike public libraries the Library of Congress system (which we use) does not organize just by the author's name. It will be easiest to search for an author or title in the library's catalog to find what you are looking for.

Additionally, if we do not have a specific book, you can request it either through Get This (books owned by U-M Ann Arbor and U-M Flint) or Interlibrary Loan (books from other libraries around the country and world).

The Thompson Library is organized by the Library of Congress Classification system. LOC organizes languages and literature into the P section and then subdivided based on language or country of origin. We recognize that the system is inherently Western and colonial in make up, so some areas, authors, or languages are misrepresented or underrepresented. 

P – Philology. Linguistics
PA – Greek language and literature. Latin language and literature
PB – Modern languages. Celtic languages
PC – Romanic languages
PD – Germanic languages. Scandinavian languages
PE – English language
PF – West Germanic languages
PG – Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language
PH – Uralic languages. Basque language
PJ – Oriental languages and literatures
PK – Indo-Iranian languages and literatures
PL – Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
PM – Hyperborean, Native American, and artificial languages
PN – Literature (General)
PQ – French literature – Italian literature – Spanish literature – Portuguese literature
PR – British, UK, and Irish literature
PS – American literature
PT – German literature – Dutch literature – Flemish literature since 1830 – Afrikaans literature -Scandinavian literature – Old Norse literature: Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian – Modern Icelandic literature – Faroese literature – Danish literature – Norwegian literature – Swedish literature
PZ – Fiction and juvenile belles lettres