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Library Orientation Havering 2022 - Book stacks: Home

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Stop 4

Havering library book shelves

Book stock

What you need to know...

 

Books about the same subject are assigned the same classification number to group them altogether on the shelves. You'll find the number both on the catalogue record and on the spine of each book. Don’t forget to make a note of the author, title and number of the book you are looking for!

 

What's on your module Reading List?

Your reading list is a good place to start looking for books and other resources to support your studies. It can be found on the Moodle site for each module you take whilst at LSBU. The Library should have copies of everything listed, so you don't need to buy anything yourself! The reading list AUTOMATICALLY links through to the LSBU library catalogue so you can check to see if we have copies available straight away. You will not need to take photos of book covers and then search for them in the library if they are on your reading list. The reading list gives a live view of copies available on shelf. 

 

The Library catalogues

We have lots of books across our campus libraries, so you will need to search our catalogue to find out where a particular title is located (or to help you find other interesting books on the same topic).

Remember to check:

  • campus location (which library is it in?)
  • format (is it a print book on the shelf or an e-book?)
  • whether it is available or out on loan (you won't be able to find it on the shelf if on loan!)
  • the edition (is there a newer, more up-to-date version available?)
  • the classmark and shelving zone (so that you search in the correct part of the library)

 

What is a classmark?

Our books are arranged using a system called Dewey decimal, meaning each book is given a unique number and then filed in order from 000-999 on our shelves. Each shelf stack/shelving zone has a poster on the shelf end to let you know the number range for that shelf. So remember to write down the classmark and shelving zone for a book when you search the catalogue!

 

We have a whole digital library, too...

Our Discovery search catalogue covers a much wider range of materials often returning thousands of results including:

  • Books
  • E-books
  • DVDs
  • Journals and individual journal articles
  • Databases
  • Newspaper articles
  • Theses
  • Conference proceedings

The Information Skills Librarians will teach you how to use the catalogues to find useful information for your assignments throughout your degree programme. You can also ask for help from library staff at the Help Desk who will be able to show you how to locate what you need. 


The code words for this stop are...

Stop 4 code words: "a kind of"

Your next stop...

Follow the route marked on the floor to Stop 5 - Learning Developer in Academic Practice.

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