Orientation Classes and Tours
Orientation tours are offered throughout the year to
familiarize users with the parts of the library and its
collections.
These tours are to help users acquire skills useful for
accessing research tools such as specific databases
and
bibliographic management software.
Follow the steps below, to
locate materials for yourself.
How do I find a book?
Get acquainted with the parts of our library:
Shelves
Circulation Desk
Collections
Databases & Articles
E-Resources
On-line catalog (InterCAT)
The “Call Number”
How do I find a book?
Search our on-line catalog InterCAT to find whether a book
is in the library or not. Learn to use the catalog
effectively. Instruction is being offered throughout
the academic year by our library staff. You may also
consult the on-line
InterCAT user guide
for more details.
Get acquainted with the parts of your library:
Perhaps our library strikes you as mysterious
and threatening. Have in mind that you do not have to
understand the whole system, just some procedures for
retrieving the books and articles you need.
Watch out for library tours and information leaflets on
stands and don’t hesitate to ask a librarian for help in
getting a good start on your project.
No two libraries are alike. Yet, you will find the same
key parts and services in every library:
Shelves
This is where books are stored in numeric classification
order. We follow the
Dewey Decimal Classification System
where all knowledge is divided into 10 different subject
areas.
Follow the signs on the sides of the shelves to
guide you in the area where you will find the materials
you need. It is important that once you pull books from the
shelf which you do not need, you do not shelve them back
yourself, but place them on the nearest table to be
shelved by the library staff. Take to the Circulation
Desk along with your ID card, materials you need to
check out for your reading.
Circulation Desk
You can check out books by submitting them to the
Circulation Desk. If you need something urgently that is out to
another borrower, you can put a hold
on it by asking the
librarian to
Recall it do so and notify you as soon as the book is
available.
Collections
Databases & Articles
E-Resources
On-line catalog (InterCAT)
The Call Number
When you conduct a search in the
catalog, the
most important piece of information to write down before
going to the shelves, is the “Call Number” or
“Classification Number”. This is the address of the book
- it tells you exactly where the book is shelved.
It is also found on the spine of the book so that it can
be put in the proper order on the shelf.
The “Call Number” is made up of three parts. The first
part gives you the Subject of the book. It might be a
number from the
Dewey Decimal Classification System or
it might be an abbreviation e.g. F for Fiction
books, CY for Cyprus Collection books.
The second line is the Author’s last name and the third
line is the Year of publication.
e.g.
| |
Description |
Item status |
Due date |
Due hour |
Sublibrary |
Collection |
Call
No. |
Barcode |
|
|
| |
|
Standard Loan |
23/07/07 |
19:00 |
Nicosia IC Library |
Main Collection |
CY327 C854 2007 |
LI008954 |
Different letters in front of the Call Number indicate
special collections.
For example:
| R510 |
- R is the designation of books in the “Reference
Collection” e.g. Mathematics |
|
R |
- Reference Collection |
|
CY |
- Cyprus collection. |
|
GD |
- Cyprus Government Documents. |
|
B |
- Biography. |
|
F |
- Fiction. |
|
JF |
- Junior Fiction. |
|
RARE |
- Rare Book Collection |
|
OS |
- Oversize Books |
|
LREF |
- Law Reference Collection |
Books with nothing in front of the Call Number are found
in the Main Collection where most of the "Standard Loan" books
are located. For example:
760 indicates Graphic Arts Books
005 indicates Computer Programming Books
300 indicates Social Science Books
Now that you know what everything means and you have the
Call Number of the book you want in your hands,
you are
ready to go to the shelves to find it.
Once you find it you proceed to the Circulation Desk to
have it checked out in your name. Make note of the
return date stamped in your book.
Make sure that you read all the Library Regulations
in our Library Leaflet to avoid wasting both time and
money.
|
Students