Welcome to the Library!

Welcome to the Library! The Oxford Brookes University hosts amazing library facilities (with great signs to help lost/confused students!) for all of their students to use to help aid their studies. In the library, one can find books, journals and newspapers, which are organised under the Dewey Decimal Classification System.

What is the Dewey Decimal Classification System?

Above: How the shelf numbers look like
Below: Found a Book on Marketing through the Dewey Decimal Classification System

The Dewey decimal classification if basically a system that is used by librarians where they classify non-fictional publications (such as academic books, journals, newspapers etc.) into categories according to their subjects. The subject has its own three digit numeral and any sub-topics within this subject are given by numerals following a decimal point. These books or 'publications' are then shelved by number.

This system may seem daunting at first, BUT, once one gets used to it, it is such a breeze to find any type of publication that you're looking for. Also, another way of looking for a book is through the online library catalogue which is found on the Brookes Website.

How to Find a book using the Online Library Catalogue

Here is a small guide on how to use the Catalogue to find any book you're looking for. I'll use the example of how I found the book in the above picture.

Step 1 - Go to the Brookes Website.
Step 2 - Scroll down and click on 'Library' as indicated in the picture.
Step 3 - The page that comes up is the Library Catalogue (Woohoo! Wasn't so hard to get here!)
Step 4 - Type in key words of what type of book you are looking for. Make sure that you type in only the key words in order to narrow down your search. It would be much easier to sift through 20 books than 12 000 books for example.
Step 5 - This is the results page of all the books that come under the key words you had typed in catalogue.
Step 6 - Identify which book you think seems most appealing to you and could potentially aid you in your assignment.
Step 7 - Click on the link as shown in the picture.
Step 8 - The book will then come up, including a description of the book, whether it is available, which campus library the book can be found and the shelf number. Right now, we're only interested in the shelf number (You can click on 'Reserve' and the librarian will keep the book aside for you to pick up, and if this book is at another campus library, this will also allow it to be brought to the campus library of your choice)
Step 9 - This is the shelf number of the book. The shelf it will be found on is '658' and the sub-topic of marketing is shown by the decimal places 658.827

If you try to get into a database when you're not using one of the library's computers, it's easy to access it from your own. All you have to do is use the "ATHENS LOGIN" (shown below)

Step 1: Go to the Library Catalogue and click on the Athens Login which is indicated in red (It's so prominent it really can't be missed)
Step 2: Type in your Oxford Brookes University ID and your Portal Password
Step 3: You're now signed into Athens! Enjoy surfing the online library :)

Subject Librarians

As well as the main librarians, Oxford Brookes also hosts a wide number of subject librarians.
What are subject librarians you may ask? They are proactive in establishing effective communications with the designated subject areas (basically, their subject of expertise), identifying and responding to students information needs as well as aiding students in finding sources they're having difficulties in finding. They also help students understand how to reference their essays properly (so as to avoid plagiarism).

How to find them? You could either:
1) Enquire about him/her at the help desk; or
2) Look on the Library site who your subject librarian is and where in the library you can find them.

The Facilities

The library hosts a number of facilities for students to use. There is obviously the normal books which are on a medium - long term loan (2 weeks - 2 months) and there are books which are on a short-term loan, meaning these books can only be taken out for 4 hours before having to be be returned.

- There are also group meeting areas (which can be booked in advance) and used for either study session or group meetings for assignments.
-There are quiet areas where students can work without being disturbed.
-Many study spaces on each floor.


Challenges I faced

When I first walked into the library, I was overwhelmed by the size of the library! It was a monstrosity compared to the one I was used to in high school. The rooms, floors and facilities confused me; and for a while I avoided the library like the plague for fear of looking 'silly' in front of my peers.
All this changed when I forced myself to go to the library because I had no choice, I had an assignment coming up and I was in desperate need for sources!
I managed to figure the whole process out, of using the library catalogue and asking the subject librarian for help when needed. Now, I am extremely confident about using the library and the facilities it offers.
It's not so overwhelming once you try it out :)

I hope I have helped you now understand how to use the library and all that it offers!

Jaymi