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| You are here: Library Home Page / How to Find Things |
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| Browsing or Searching in the Library |
When looking for a non-fiction or reference book, both of which give us information, we are more interested in what the book is about than who it was written by, and we might want to see what books the Library has on a particular subject.
Information books are therefore arranged on the shelves by subject. Shelves are labelled with big red labels (for BIG subjects, e.g. Sport) and smaller white labels (for smaller subjects, e.g. Water Sports) |
Dewey numbers:
Each subject has a different number (for example, books about dogs have the number 636.7 and books about swimming have the number 797.2). The numbers run from 000 to 999 and books are shelved in that order (except for very big books that don't fit on a normal shelf). Use the signs around the library, on the tops of shelves, to help you find the number! The numbers are called 'Dewey' numbers, after Melvil Dewey, the librarian who invented the system, the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme, or Dewey for short!
(For more detailed information about how the Dewey system works, click here). |
Codebuster Chart:
You can find many (often searched-for) subjects, and their Dewey numbers, on the big library display board, on the Codebuster Chart. However, this isn’t big enough to cover every subject, so be prepared to search the online Library Catalogue… |
Online Catalogue Subject Index:
To find books on a particular subject, you first need to search for it in the Online Library Catalogue. This will tell you the Dewey numbers of books and resources which may be useful. |
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| Searching The Internet |
Search Engines:
The Internet is like a big car boot sale: there’s good stuff there, but lots of real rubbish as well!! Be very careful not to waste loads of time searching through poor-quality or inaccurate websites! Most people like to use Google as their main search engine. However, it’s well worth finding out how to use Google’s excellent ‘Advanced Search’ features, (click here) as this puts you in better control of your searching.
If you’re in Yrs.7-8, the KidsClick! site, (click here) can be a good alternative to Google. All links from this American site are checked by librarians. It also includes a detailed and helpful web-searching tutorial: click here.
You’ll find more search engines on the Web Links: Searching the Web page. |
Is that website any good?
As well as finding information on the web, it’s really important that you are able to decide how useful and accurate it is, e.g. is it clear who has written it, and why?. The ‘QUICK Checklist’, (click here) provides a useful tutorial of eight steps to follow as quality guidelines.
Find out lots more about effective web-searching on the Searching the Internet pages. |
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| Ask for Help! |
| Finally, if you have any problems finding what you want, either in the Library or online, don’t be afraid to ask Mrs Allonby or Mrs Fletcher for help! |
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