How do I find out where a book is kept?

At first inspection finding a book in the Library can seem a daunting task, however it is actually a lot more straightforward than it seems.

Firstly, you need to find the book on the catalogue. If you know them you can enter the author's name or the title of the book - if you are after any book on a particular subject then try a "words or phrase" search.

When you have found the book that you want, make a note of the exact title, the author's name and, most importantly, the call number.

The call number is a code that will probably look something like: QH 283. This will tell you exactly where the book is shelved - it might look a little strange, but each part of it contains useful information.

The catalogue will also tell you in which branch of the Library the book is kept - though most of the books relevant to your course will be kept in your "home" branch, you may find that some useful material might be more associated with a different course.

Books are shelved in sequence, so that "Q" is followed by "QA", "QB" and so on, and within each particular section books are shelved in order of the numbers following the letters.

If the call number is preceeded by "pamphlet", "quarto" or anything else then take note of that as well... these are all slightly different categories of books, and are usually shelved separately from the main sequence of books. Consult the floor plans to find out where these books are kept.