Finding books and journals: where do I start?

Finding your way round a Library might seem daunting at first. The Main Library especially with several floors of books and journals might seem like a forbidding sort of place. Using the Library doesn't need to be difficult, though. The basic principles outlined here can be applied to all Libraries of Dundee University, and most Libraries in general. Don't worry if you don't pick everything up the first time you use the Library Service - things will become clearer after a few visits.

You've just walked into the library.

Well, you presumably have a particular reason for being in the Library - maybe you need a specific book or an article from a journal (note that the term 'journal' includes magazines, newspapers or what are sometimes called 'periodicals'). Maybe you don't know what book you want, or how to find articles in journals. Maybe you just want to read the newspapers!

If you're looking for a book or a journal, the place to get started is 'The catalogue'. Library staff may casually mention the catalogue if you ask them for help - 'Have you looked in the catalogue?' 'That book is being catalogued', etc. (Just to confuse you, some people may call them 'OPACs', which is short for on-line public access catalogue).

What is "the catalogue"?

The Library keeps a complete record of every book and journal title that it has. It also lists other items such as video cassettes, audio cassettes and CD-ROMs. The catalogue is stored on a computer system called 'Aleph'. We are constantly updating the system as new books are added and old ones are withdrawn. Each of the Libraries in the University has a number of Aleph catalogue 'terminals' where you can search for books, journal titles and other material in the University.

One of the most important things to remember is that the catalogue covers not just the Library you happen to be working in, but all Libraries in the University. You can find everything the University Library has - by a particular author or a particular subject, for example - regardless of where it might be located. That's quite important, because the University has Libraries as far away as Ninewells Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Perth and Stracathro.

For a detailed guide to searching the Library catalogue see the Rough Guide to the Catalogue.

What do you need to know in order to find a book?

As you walk round a Library you will probably notice that books on the same subject are all in roughly the same area of the Library. This is because every book carries a label which indicates whereabouts on the shelves it should be filed. This label is sometimes referred to as the 'classification number', the 'shelf mark' or the 'class mark'. The label usually contains a three-figure number followed by a decimal point, with numbers and letters following this decimal point.

These numbers aren't random - they correspond with specific subjects. The Library uses a list of numbers to create a shelf mark. Some University of Dundee libraries use a system called Dewey Decimal Classification, others use a system called UDC, and others may use a different system altogether. However, regardless of which classification system is adopted by the Library you're using, you can rely on the fact that all the books on the same subject are grouped together on the shelves. If you find a book that looks useful to you in your studies, chances are that the books either side of it will probably be just as useful.

The way most classification systems work is by starting with a general subject and subdividing it into smaller subjects. These subdivisions are then subdivided again, and so on, down to a very specific subject area.

If we take an example such as 'History', using the Dewey Decimal Classification system, classmarks beginning with a number between 900 and 999 are given to books about Geography and History. Narrowing the subject area down, books between the classmark numbers 940-949 are on 'European History'. Books at 941 are about the History of the British Isles. By adding a decimal point, we can get even more specific by saying that books at 941.1 are about Scotland.

900 - 999	WORLD GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
	940 - 949	History of Europe
		941	History of Scotland

The more specific the book is, the more numbers are added after the decimal point. So, a book about Edwardian Glasgow would be quite a long number - 941.431

Sometimes it's hard to work out the order of books on the shelves, especially when classification numbers are long and complicated. Think of the classification numbers as real numbers and things might be clearer - smaller numbers are shelved in order before larger numbers. For example, a book at 941.12 would come after one at 941.11819 but before a book at 941.2.

What if you get lost?

There are a number of signs and guides in each library to help you find your way to the books you want. In the Main Library and in the Law Library there are several floors to negotiate, and it is a little more difficult to find your way around these Libraries than in the smaller Libraries where everything is on one floor. Signs at the ends of each bay of shelving will tell you the range of classification numbers that shelf contains. In some Libraries even the individual shelves may be labelled.

As well as the long sequence of books stored on the shelves, there may be other sequences of books or other materials stored elsewhere in each library. Each library will probably have a separate collection of Reference books - dictionaries, encyclopaedias, atlases/maps and other subject-specific reference books. Some Libraries have separate video or audio collections. Government papers or official reports may be stored separately. The signs and guides in each library should help you to find these collections, and if you really get stuck you could always ask a member of the Library staff to help you!