Library Starter Kit

A how-to guide to TAFE SA library services
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Finding items on the shelves

  1. Search for the item on the library catalogue and click Availability by location when you find an item you want.
     
  2. The catalogue will show you what locations (i.e. campuses) the item is held at and what call number (i.e. the specific location on the shelves) it has at each of those locations.  It will also tell you if each copy is currently available or out on loan:
     

     
  3. Take note of the call number.  This will appear in a label on the spine of the item as well as on the catalogue and usually has 2 parts - let's use the call number from Adeladie Campus above as an example:
     
    The first part (423.0111) is a number or code indicating the subject of the item, so that all the materials on the same subject are grouped together (most of our libraries use the Dewey Decimal System to assign these numbers).   423.0111
    P324
    The second part (P324) is called the Cutter and tells where the item will be filed within that subject grouping.  For example, there may be a number of books with the number 423.0111, as they are all on the same subject, but they will be filed by the Cutter, so that a book with a call number 423.0111 M025 will be located just before this one on the shelves.
    ​Note that the same item may have different call numbers at different campus libraries. 
     
  4. Once you have the call number, head to the shelves!
    The collection will start at 000 and go to 999, so look for the number your item is located at in that sequence. 
  • The shelves are arranged in groups of "bays", like this:

    Layout of library shelving

    (By Goran tek-en, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36943566)
     
  • The collection runs left to right
  • The items are placed in order from the top shelf to the bottom shelf in each bay - so when you get to the bottom of a bay, the numbering will continue on the top shelf in the next bay
  • Labels at the end of each row of shelving will tell you the subject area or shelf number range in that row

If you still have trouble finding your item, ask the library staff to help you.