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Cataloging concepts, reference services, records management, and public service for library and archival civil service exams.
12 track practice questions in the bank · Free 25-question practice test included below.
Take Free Practice Test →Librarians and archivists keep the city's knowledge organized and open to everyone: helping patrons find what they need, cataloging and shelving materials, managing records, and preserving items that may never exist in another copy. The work mixes careful, detail-driven organization with warm, patient public service.
The exam tests cataloging concepts, reference skills, records management, and public-service judgment. It is a multiple-choice exam. You will not be asked to memorize a whole catalog — you will be asked to apply classification rules, work through filing and shelving problems, and choose the best response to a patron or a records situation.
Use this guide to learn the systems first — Dewey Decimal classes, how call numbers work, how materials are filed — then practice the human side: the reference interview, privacy, and fair, helpful service for every patron.
Questions cover how materials are organized: the Dewey Decimal hundreds classes, Library of Congress call numbers, what a catalog record contains, and how filing and shelving rules work. You will apply the rules, not just recite them.
Expect questions on helping patrons find information: the reference interview, choosing the right source for a question, and knowing when to offer interlibrary loan or a referral instead of guessing.
Questions cover how libraries lend materials: circulation rules, holds, renewals, fines and fees, and how to handle lost or damaged items fairly and consistently.
You will be tested on how records are kept, filed, retained, and eventually destroyed under a retention schedule, and how archival materials are preserved and made available without being damaged or lost.
Scenario questions test how you treat people: serving patrons with different needs, protecting their privacy, handling complaints calmly, and applying rules fairly and consistently to everyone.
Questions cover the day-to-day running of a library: shelving in order, shelf reading, handling new materials, basic technology help for patrons, and keeping the collection in good condition.
Work through this list honestly — drill the items you cannot do yet.
Sort ten book titles a day into Dewey hundreds classes from memory — 000, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900. Good looks like correctly placing a new title in the right hundred class in under five seconds.
Take five titles and write out how they would file alphabetically, applying the rule that nothing comes before something. Do this three times a week until filing feels automatic.
Read a short patron scenario and write the reference interview in three questions: what is the topic, what have you already tried, and what kind of source do you need? Do two a day. Good looks like questions that narrow the need instead of guessing at it.
Make cards for key terms — catalog, classification, call number, authority control, circulation, interlibrary loan, archives, retention schedule. Review ten cards a day until each definition comes in your own words.
Work through the practice questions in the bank, and after each wrong answer write one sentence explaining why the correct answer is right. Review your notes the next day — good looks like fewer repeat mistakes each week.
Try these 3 sample questions from the practice bank. The correct answer is marked — read the explanation even when you get one right.
Sample 1 · Problem Solving
In Dewey, the 500s cover science and mathematics — a book on the solar system belongs there. The 300s are social sciences, the 700s are arts and recreation, and the 900s are history and geography.
Sample 2 · Problem Solving
A call number tells a worker exactly where a book belongs on the shelf, combining its subject class with an author mark. It does not set the book's price, record who borrowed it, or count the library's total holdings.
Sample 3 · Problem Solving
A retention schedule states how long each type of record must be kept and when it may be destroyed. Keeping everything forever wastes space and creates risk; destroying records early or at random breaks the rules.
The exam announcement (Notice of Examination) is the final authority for the exam you are taking. Always check it for the exact subjects tested, eligibility requirements, and exam procedures, since details can differ between titles and exam administrations.
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All questions on NYCExamPrep.com are original practice questions written for study purposes. They are not official DCAS questions, and this site is not affiliated with the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) or the City of New York.