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How media are organised

The holdings of the library are organised systematically, i.e. by academic subject, on the basis of the Regensburg Classification System.

The location number at the beginning of the shelfmark is one indication of where to find a book. Double-digit location numbers mean that the item is to be found in the Reading Room. Shelfmarks of books kept in the stacks start with a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. “ab0134”) and can be requested through the Library Catalogue (OPAC). Three-digit location numbers (e.g. “415”) indicate that the items are in the course reserves held by the academic staff. These items can be borrowed from the Secretariat of the relevant department or requested through the Information Desk.

The location number in the shelfmark is followed by a forward slash, two letters and a number. This indicates the point in the system at which books of similar content are located. Hence it is possible to find literature on a particular subject in a particular place on the shelves of the Reading Room. It is thus worthwhile taking time to look for the book on the shelves. However, it must be borne in mind that literature may have been borrowed, may be in the teaching staff’s course reserves, in the stacks or may have been put back in the wrong place in the Reading Room. It is therefore only possible to gain a complete overview by searching in the OPAC.

The subject-specific part of the shelfmark comprises two upper case letters and a three- to five-digit number. The first upper case letter generally indicates the academic field, e.g. P = law, Q = economics, N = history; the second upper case letter indicates the branch of the particular academic field, e.g. PH = criminal law. The following number indicates the subsection of a particular branch of an academic field.