SECTION 30: USING THE LIBRARY

The purpose of this section is to introduce you to the skills needed to use a library efficiently by being able to:

Find them!

Work in them,

Understand how libraries classify items,

 Find useful material other than books,

Recognise the formal procedures for references,

Identify the most useful books for you.

Introduction

 

Books are vital to your life as a student.
Get a list of the essential books you will need for the term, or even the year, from your Tutors as soon as you possibly can.
If you can afford to buy them then do so.
Many students leaving the course, or leaving the year may be able to sell you their books considerably cheaper than you can buy them new or second hand in shops.
Ask your Student Union if there is a second hand book shop within the University.
Your major sources of information in book and electronic form are the libraries. You will need to know how to find and use them, therefore:

 

Libraries are vital to your life as a student!

 

1. Finding libraries (Click here to return to start)

At a time when resources are limited and student numbers are rising, the search for relevant books is not always easy, and you will need to find as many sources of books as possible.

Look for:
a library for the whole of the University or College,
other libraries within departments or faculties. (They are sometimes called resource centres),
the town or city's central library,
branch libraries,
specialist libraries.
Look in the Yellow Pages under libraries and check on all of them in your area.
Get to know:
the different sections in each of the libraries, e.g. the reference section as well as the lending section.
the opening times and holidays.
the regulations about borrowing. Public Libraries do give you such rights, but many University libraries restrict book borrowing, and some do not allow books out and are for reference only. Some Public Libraries may not allow you to join if you are not a Community Tax payer in that Local Authority. You should be able to use any Public Library Reference section, but with financial restraints within Local Authorities this may not always be true. Find out!
Enquire about:
any inter-library loan schemes which may be available so that you can ask one library to acquire from another library a book for you which is not at present available.

 

2. Working in a library (Click here to return to start)

A library can be an excellent place to work:

There are fewer interruptions.
People are encouraged to be quiet.
You have access to a huge resource of books.
You are put into a situation where work is the norm.

 

3. Classification systems (Click here to return to start)

Trying to find the relevant books is not easy.

 

Get familiar with the way in which the library organises its books.

 

Find which books will tell you where you get information on your topic! See Appendix II

 

Get to know your way around the systems which the libraries use to organise their books and other resources. This way you can identify books which may be of use to you.

3.1 Different types of catalogue

Most libraries have the following catalogues:

the author catalogue, which lists alphabetically all the books in the library by the author's surname.
the classified catalogue, which lists all the books in the library according to subject matter.
the subject index, which shows which classification mark or number labels a particular topic.

3.2 Different types of access to the catalogues

A card index system.

Almost all libraries had a series of cards arranged as above.There were serious limitations to this system:

it was difficult to update,
the public took cards out, replaced them incorrectly,
it took a long time to find a particular card.

Some libraries still use such a system, but most have more reliable systems.

A microfiche system.

In this system the information is photographically reduced and stored on small plastic films which are viewed through a magnifying screen. This can be difficult to operate and you need to ask for help if you are not familiar with it.

A computerised system.

This allows a great flexibility of cross-referencing. This may be available for you to operate, in which case ask to be shown the best way to operate the system.

3.3 Different types of classification

3.3.1 The Dewey Decimal Classification system

Most libraries use this system to arrange their books on the shelves. It was invented by an American librarian in 1873 by Melville Dewey. Each book is catalogued and placed on the shelves according to the system which is set out below, Section 6.

3.3.2 Other types

The Bibliographic Classification by a man called Bliss.
The Colon Classification, by Ranganathan.
Expansive Classification, Cutter.
Library of Congress Classification
Subject Classification, by Brown.
There are many others. There is no universal law that says all libraries must classify their books to one system and indeed many libraries operate different systems within different sections of the library.

ALWAYS ASK WHAT SYSTEM IS USED AND GET IT EXPLAINED

3.4 Different types of layout

Get to know the layout of the library. Most libraries display the numbers and the subject names on notices attached to the shelves, but knowing where the different sections are will save enormous amounts of time.
Find out if some books are stored in a "stack" not usually available to members of the public.

4. Magazines, journals, periodicals and newspapers (Click here to return to start)

Every specialised subject has at least one journal and/or periodical which serves those interested in the subject. Sometimes they have a collection of recent research, articles on various aspects of the subject, letters, job advertisements, useful contacts.

There are always articles in more generalised magazines and in newspapers relevant to your subject area. Some libraries keep a cross referenced database of all the articles they have and you can enter a key word or phrase to find all the references to your particular topic.

Don't ignore these extremely valuable sources of up to date information.
Find out the titles of magazines, journals, periodicals which are standard and relevant to your area of study.
If it is appropriate then look for references in newspapers too.

Libraries usually keep back issues for a considerable period of time, sometimes on microfiche, sometimes originals.

They are usually kept separately in specialised indexes.

IF IN DOUBT CONSULT THE LIBRARIAN.

5. Fiction

Works of fiction arranged usually in alphabetic order by author.

6. The Dewey classification system

 
000

GENERALITIES
  010 Bibliography
  020 Library and Information Sciences
  030 General Encyclopaedic works
  040  
  050 General serials and their indexes
  060 General organisations and & museology
  070 News media, journalism, publishing
  080 General collections
  090 Manuscripts and rare books


100

PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY
  110 Metaphysics
  120 Epistemology, causation, humankind
  130 Paranormal phenomena
  140 Specific philosophical schools
  150 Psychology
  160 Logic
  170 Ethics
  180 Ancient, medieval, Oriental philosophy
  190  


200

RELIGION
  210 Natural theology
  220 Bible
  230 Christian theology
  240 Christian moral & devotional theology
  250 Christian orders and local church
  260 Christian social theology
  270 Christian church history
  280 Christian denominations and sects
  290 Other and comparative religions
 300

SOCIAL SCIENCES
  310 General statistics
  320 Political science
  330 Economics
  340 Law
  350 Public administration
  360 Social services, association
  370 Education
  380 Commerce, communication, transport
  390 Customs, etiquette, folklore


400

LANGUAGES
  410 Linguistics
  420 English and Old English
  430 Germanic Languages
  440 Romance languages
  450 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic
  460 Spanish and Portuguese
  470 Italic Languages
  480 Hellenic languages
  490 Other languages


500

NATURAL SCIENCES / MATHEMATICS
  510 Mathematics
  520 Astronomy and allied sciences
  530 Physics
  540 Chemistry and allied sciences
  550 Earth sciences
  560 Palaeontology, Paleozoologu
  570 Life sciences
  580 Botanical sciences
  590 Zoological sciences
 600

TECHNOLOGY (APPLIED SCIENCES)
  610 Medical sciences, medicine
  620 Engineering and allied operations
  630 Agriculture
  640 Home economics and family living
  650 Management and auxiliary services
  660 Chemical engineering
  670 Manufacturing
  680 Manufacture for specific uses
  690 Buildings


700

THE ARTS
  710 Civic & landscape art
  720 Architecture
  730 Plastic arts, sculpture
  740 Drawing and decorative arts
  750 Painting and paintings
  760 Graphic arts, printmaking and prints
  770 Photography and photographs
  780 Music
  790 Recreational and performing arts


800

LITERATURE
  810 American literature in English
  820 English and Old English literature
  830 Literatures of Germanic languages
  840 Literatures of Romance languages
  850 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic
  860 Literatures of Spanish and Portuguese
  870 Literatures of Italic and Latin
  880 Hellenic literatures
  890 Literatures of other languages
 900

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
  910 Geography and travel
  920 Biography, genealogy, insignia
  930 History of the ancient world
  940 General history of Europe
  950 General history of Asia, Far East
  960 General history of Africa
  970 General history of North America
  980 General history of South America
  990 General history of other areas

7. Ways books etc are described (Click here to return to start)

Reading lists are fairly straightforward, but sometimes the way in which the books are set out can be a bit confusing.

Most Universities and Colleges follow the Harvard system of setting out the names of references, though there are several other methods of setting out.

However, this is the most usual and is acceptable in most institutions.

Check with your Tutor(s) which system is used.

The system usually follows the following pattern.

7.1 Books

The information about books is usually written down as follows in this order with the following conventions.

Author(s) (Usually surname first, followed by initials or firstname(s),
Date of publication (usually in brackets),
Title (usually either in quotation marks, underlined, and/or in italics),
Edition (if other than the first),
Publisher,
References, if required, to chapter and/or page numbers,
Each of the above is usually separated by commas.

 

Example:

Author Date Title Edition Publisher References

WILLIAMS, D., (1987), "Into Counselling", 2nd Edition, Pendyke Publications, p.21.

7.2 Parts of books

Sometimes you are asked to read a specific author who is in a book edited by someone else. In this case it would be set out thus:

 

Example:

COHEN, N., (1995), "Overhead Projectors in Counselling" in CONSTANCE, C. Ed., "Rising above it all", 2nd Edition, Pelican, pp 134-199.

Ed. here means: edited by.

7.3 Government publications

The information about these is usually written down as follows in this order with the following conventions.

Country of origin,
Originating body/committee/department (usually underlined),
Title (usually either in quotation marks, underlined, and/or in italics),
Edition (unless 1st),
Publisher,
Date,
Series title (if any) (usually either in quotation marks, underlined, and/or in italics),
identifying code mark (if any).
Each of the above is usually separated by commas.

 

Example:

Country. Originating body. Title. Edition. Publisher. Date. Series. Code.

UK, DFEE, "Report on Age", 3rd Edt, HMSO, 1982, "Experience", ST3.

7.4 Periodicals, journals, articles

Sometimes you are asked to read an article from a periodical a magazine or a journal. In this case it would be set out thus:

Author,
Date of publication,
Title of article (usually either in quotation marks, underlined, and/or in italics) followed by the word "in")
Title of periodical etc (usually either in quotation marks, underlined, and/or in italics),
Volume number,
Part or issue number (usually in brackets),
Date of publication,
Page numbers.
Each of the above is usually separated by commas.

 

Example:

GRENNAN, P., (1995), "The Male Animal - a personal view" in "Nature", 6 (3), February 1995, pp 23-46.

7.5 Theses

If you are referred to a thesis, possibly unpublished, but in a library of a University. Such references are set out thus:

 

Author,
Date of publication/submission,
Title (usually either in quotation marks, underlined, and/or in italics),
Qualification for which work submitted,
Name of institution awarding qualification (where you will find the thesis stored).
Each of the above is usually separated by commas.

 

Example:

ROEBUCK, A., 1979, "Goodbye Socialism", Thesis for Ph.D., University of London.

 

8. Finding useful books (Click here to return to start)

Obviously there are times when you aren't given a list of specific books, but have to select books which are going to illuminate a particular topic.

If possible take advice about which books to look at from your Tutor(s). It is always better to ask for guidance from those who know the topic better than you do.
Take advice from the Librarian - they are paid to help you and usually enjoy the break from routine.
If you get no joy here then you will have to use your own common sense. Use your previous knowledge of the library to find the shelves which contain the books which are relevant to your topic.


9. Finding the most relevant books


Having found the right places in the library for your search how do you choose the book(s) which will be of relevance to your work?

Do not choose the first book that comes to hand with a reference to the topic you need.
Follow a systematic plan of checking on the relevance of the book:
Do not trust the title of the work as a guide, look at the summaries, introduction, contents and index to see if key phrases or words you are looking for are mentioned.
Identify those which are too easy and too difficult.
Check the bibliographies of the books that you do find potentially useful and see if they recommend any other books which seem relevant.
If you are checking journals etc then don't forget that there is probably an annual index which may save hours of searching through individual contents/indexes!
BE REALISTIC: don't try to read more books than you have time to read!
Make sure the ones you do choose are relevant and up to date.
See also Section 17 of "Studying Successfully" on reading in general.

10. The Staff

Make sure you make friends with the staff at the library, or libraries that you use. They can be very good allies to you and seek out relevant books for you, keep a book reserved for you and so on.


Books, and therefore Libraries and the Staff in them,

are vital to your life as a student!

 

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Study skills, writing essays, lifelong learning,  essay writing, studying, examinations, note-taking, lectures, homework, reading, library skills, passing exams, taking notes, speed reading,  are all dealt with in "Studying Successfully" by Ray Baxter.