Understanding Shelfmarks

The collection is divided into broad subject areas (History, Literature, Topography, for example) and then into smaller areas, arranged alphabetically. Within each section, books are generally arranged by author name but edited titles are filed under the book title instead. Check the Catalyst record for the ‘shelved under’ information.

In order to make the most effective use of space, the collection is also shelved by size. Check the end of shelf marks for the notations 4to (quarto), Folio and Folio Extra Large that may indicate a different place to look for the books. In general, larger volumes are shelved in the same room as the smaller.

An example of how a book in the French collections appears on the catalogue.

Above is an example of a book record from the catalogue. Here you can see that the book is shelved under the author’s name and that it is available (i.e. on the shelf) at in the literature section (L.), in the sub-section for French Literature and then the Proust section of that sub-section. Within the section of each author, titles are shelved in the following order:

Works – by date

Selections – three or more works bound together, shelved by title

Single works – shelved by title

Attributed works

Critical works

Books may be requested and put aside for ready for collection, but we would always encourage members to browse the shelves for themselves and discover the books they did not know they needed. Items from the Library’s Special Collections that cannot be borrowed, can be consulted in the Library under supervised conditions with 72 hours’ notice.