Shelving and special collections

Where is what and how do I access it?

Freely accessible media

The Campus Library’s freely accessible stock is shelved alphabetically based on shelf-mark groups in accordance with the Regensburger Verbundklassifikation (RVK).
This stock also includes some special locations.
Special locations are indicated in the catalogue and can be identified by an annotation above the shelf-mark.

Media without any further annotation or information on its location can be found on the 1st and 2nd floors (white shelf-mark). The majority of the Campus Library's stock consists of such media.

AA starts on the 2nd floor south and ZZ ends on the 1st floor north.

Use the maps provided in the library to help you find your way.

Please note that in some cases older stock may be found with shelf-marks that are not part of the RVK. These start with only one uppercase letter or an uppercase letter followed by one or two lowercase letters.
Such stock has been shelved ahead of the corresponding RVK shelf-mark groups.

For instance, "T" or "Te" designates the old classification category "engineering", whereas ZG to ZS stand for "engineering" in the RVK system.
Therefore, "T" and "Te" can be found in between the "ZE" and "ZG" shelf-marks.

School books (yellow shelf-mark) can be found in the southern wing of the basement.
Standard loan periods and conditions apply.

Media from the course reserves can be found at their regular locations and are identifiable by a blue stripe below the shelf mark. Course reserves may not be borrowed. For an overview of the course reserves and further information please follow this link.

You can borrow books from the reading room (green shelf-mark) as short-term loans.

For short-term loans the loan period is overnight or over the weekend.
Short-term loans cannot be renewed.

Please keep in mind that you will receive a daily reminder in case you do not return these items in due time. An extra fine is charged for these reminders.

The latest editions and a few bound journals are not for loan.
You can find the latest issues on the first floor centre.

Older volumes are shelved in the southern wing of the basement, accessible via the south side staircase.
Some journals are only available from the service desk and you will need your library card to access them.

Bound journals from the basement can be borrowed as short-term loans.
Short-term loans can only be borrowed overnight or over the weekend. They cannot be renewed.

Please keep in mind that you will receive a daily reminder in case you do not return these items in due time. An extra fine is charged for these reminders.

Media that is not freely accessible

Some items are not freely accessible. This is indicated in the location information provided above the shelf-mark.

Media from closed magazines are ordered via the ordering function of our catalogue. Your order will then be available at our service desk from 12:00 noon on the following working day.

Please note that the media are only available for pick-up within 2 working days.

Please make sure to read the information provided in the catalogue carefully: These items are often older items, some of which may not be borrowed.

DIN an ISO standards as well as VDI guidelines can be found at the information desk on the 1st floor centre. They can only be viewed during the opening hours of the information desk and may not be copied.

Please note: Only selected standards are part of the holdings, of which only standards and guidelines from the year of acquisition 2006 onwards can be found in the catalogue.

You can view standards and directives free of charge at over 90 standards info points in Germany. A list can be found here (in German only).

Shelf-marks and what they mean

Shelf-marks are always based on a classification system. The system used by the Campus Library is the Regensburger Verbundklassifikation (RVK) (in german only).

A brief introduction to shelf-marks: minus plus bracket = what?

The final line of many shelf-marks includes minuses, pluses or brackets. These are often misinterpreted, so please read this explanation to avoid any misunderstandings.

-3 = third volume

+3 = third copy

(3) = third edition

Using a system enables the Campus Library to classify books by subjects. Titles that deal with a particular subject are grouped together into one shelf-mark group. Within this shelf-mark group they are finely sorted into the individual subject areas.

The first two lines of each shelf-mark are determined by the subject of the resource’s content.
The third and all further lines are not directly connected with the RVK system and may look very different. The third line is generally coded information on the author, other responsible persons or the title.
Therefore this third line normally consists of a combination of letters and numbers.

Shelf-marks are always individual, i.e. they always refer to one particular copy. If several copies or editions are available of a particular title, the shelf-marks will be supplemented accordingly. This also applies to works that consist of several volumes.

Example for determining a shelf-mark

Let us assume that an author named Timothy Thompson wrote about the Goethe era and this book was of a more general nature. The shelf-mark would then be determined as follows:

In the RVK system, "GA to GT" designates "German Studies". Within this shelf-mark group "GE 3003 to GT 1500" stands for "German Literature", and within this group, "GK 1001 to GK 1380" stands for the "Goethe Era". Finally, "GK 1001" stands for "General Descriptions of the Goethe Era".

An author named "Thompson, Timothy" would be indicated by the shelf-mark "T477". This alpha-numeric code is determined in a predefined table (Cutter-Sanborn). It is also possible, however, that the title rather than the author's name is used to determine the code, e.g. if information on the author or other responsible persons (editor, etc.) is not available.

In this case, the shelf-mark would be:

  GK
 1001
 T477

A second copy would be indicated by +2; a second edition by (2) and a second volume by -2.

If the example were to be published in a second edition that was divided into two volumes, and if the Campus Library purchased two copies of the second volume, the shelf-marks would be:

  GK
 1001
T477(2)
   -2

   GK
  1001
T477(2)
  -2+2

Phone
+49 461 805-2916
E-mail
info-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@zhb-flensburg.de
Building
ZHB
Room
1.OG Mitte
Street
Auf dem Campus 3
Post code / City
24943 Flensburg