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Subject support guide

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Law Library Training

A guide for training new staff and Student Aides in the Law Library, and a refresher for old!

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What is where?

Locations of stock  

As we proceed in developing the new library support model for Law in the academic year 25/26, it is important to note that the print stock can be found in more than one physical location. The reason for this is that we are moving all essential print stock to the Philip Robinson Library, so that it can be more easily accessed 24/7 during term time.  

Books  

  • Essential texts (such as key titles for modules and short loan items), plus texts that are issued frequently, are situated in the Philip Robinson Library 
  • General research titles are held in the Law Library (note: this may change during the 25/26 academic year) 

Reports and journals  

  • Full runs of some reports and journals that we hold in print only are held in the Philip Robinson Library  
  • The last five years of some reports and journals that we hold in print only are held in the Philip Robinson Library, with the previous volumes then held in closed storage  
  • The remaining stock is held in the Law Library on the open shelves for the 25/26 academic year 

 

As Student Aides, you may have enquiries from staff and students on the location of stock. We advise that you: 

  1. Check the location of the specific book on Alma. This information is provided in the record.  

  2. If the location is the Law Library, you can direct or help the customer find the resource.  

  3. If the location is the Philip Robinson Library, direct the customer there with the relevant classmark, and advise that staff are available on the Help Desk with any queries on locating materials.  
  4. If the location is any off-site storage such as the Research Reserve, support the customer in requesting the item on their Library Search account. This can be done by selecting the “Request” button on the Library Search record for the item.  
If any enquirers are interested in why these changes are happening, please direct them to the news section of the University Library website for updates, and create a ticket in Library Help if they would like to discuss further with a Librarian.  

Dewey Decimal - how library books are ordered

Newcastle University Libraries organise books by subject area using the Dewey Decimal System. Each subject is represented by a number, which can be broken down by a decimal and then 3 letters (usually the author's surname). Books are shelved in numerical order by whole number, decimal number and then alphabetically by the letters (called the cutter).

The Law Library uses an alternative classification system which is very similar to the Dewey Scheme, called the Moys Classification System. Moys is designed for legal materials and was created by Betty Moys in 1968.

Most of the books found in the Law Library are within the 340s (although we do have some books outside of this number from 001 to 999!).