Schools & Colleges Reference Access Scheme (Lanchester Library): Finding books

Find library books using Locate.  Search at home or use the dedicated Locate computers in the library building.

Enter a topic, author's name or title in the search box then click 'Search'. 

Click 'Print and media resources' and 'book format' on the left to filter your search to books in the library.  Watch the video below for more help.

Voice Search Assistant

If your internet browser supports speech recognition you can search Locate using your voice.  

Click on the microphone in the search bar.  

If no input is detected for 10 seconds the system will provide a prompt message to receive audio input before exiting the voice search assistant.

If audio is detected Locate will display the relevant search results.

Play the interactive tutorial to learn about how the books are arranged on the shelves.

Click on the image below to start the tutorial.

To find a book on the shelves, you'll need to know its shelfmark and which floor it's on.  See red box above.

The numbers and letters indicate the precise shelf location.  Concentrate on finding the three numbers before the decimal point first e.g. 951.

When you get to the main number at the shelves, work on the first number after the decimal point, then the second.   Numbers after the decimal point are in strict number sequence eg. .03 comes before .04   

The letters OXF represent the first three letters of the author's name or first three letters of the title.

All books on the same topic are at the same number so you can browse the shelf for similar books.

Here's a rough idea of how subjects are divided up in our shelving system.

Books in the arts and humanities are housed in moving shelves which we call 'mobile stacks'.  Watch the short video on how to use them. You can ask for help from a Library Rover (wearing a burgundy shirt).