Collections

Books

Library books are arranged on the shelves according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System. In this system, numbers are used to describe the subject of the book. For example, a book about art will have the number 709, a book about painting will have the number 759 and a book about design will have the number 745. These classification numbers can be found on the spines or front covers of the books. They also appear in the book records in the Library OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue). These numbers indicate where to find the books on the Library shelves. The letters after the number refer to the author of the book, or the artist who is the subject of the book. Books with a single letter after the classification number form an A-Z sequence before books with three letters after the number.

Copies of the Library floorplan are available from the Issue Desk. Books are shelved in three areas: the Old Reading Room (the Library entrance room); the New Reading Room, and the linking corridor.

Copies of the Library plan are available from the issue desk.

Finding hints

Books on philosophy, psychology, politics, painting, printmaking, prints, photography and the performing arts (theatre, film, music) are shelved in the Old Reading Room. Books on gender and media studies can also be found there. The education books can be found in this room and also on the corridor that links the Old Reading Room to the New Reading Room. Some of the books on fashion can also be found on the corridor.

The books on art, aesthetics, architecture and sculpture can also be found in the New Reading Room, as can the books on all aspects of design - craft design, fashion design, graphic design, interior design, textile design, etc.

Some of the Library’s older and less frequently consulted books are kept in store. The OPAC record will indicate this. To order these books from store, users must fill out a Store Request form. Copies of this form can be found beside the OPACs in the Old Reading Room. Completed forms should be handed in at the issue desk. Please allow at least one day for items to be fetched from store.

There are four OPACs in the Old Reading Room, and two in the New Reading Room.

Using the OPAC computers, users can find out what books are held by the Library on a particular artist or designer. The OPAC can also be searched by author, organisation, title, keyword or classification number.

By following the OPAC instructions users can find out

Which books are held
How many copies of books are held
Where books are located
Which books are out on loan
When they are due back

Users who have difficulty in using the OPACs or in locating books on the shelves should ask for help at the issue desk.

When users have finished with books, they are asked not to return them to the shelves, but to leave them in a neat pile on a library desk.