🎧 04 - Reading room 2nd floor

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Track 4: Reading room, second floor

You are now standing in the reading room on the second floor.

Although many people come and go here each day, all make an effort to not disturb the quiet work atmosphere. Concentrated work is conducted quietly at the places along the rows of tables and the research computers.

Let’s take a tour – please turn to your right. Assume that you have a meeting with your study group and you're looking for a room in which you can work and discuss together. You will find such group study rooms if you go to the bordering area to the left. These rooms are quite desirable and the rule is as follows: First to arrive, first to learn. Reservations are not possible. By the way, the colorful furniture between the study rooms belongs to the child reading area and is for the little ones.

If you now turn and go back, you will see literature that is shelved according to the so-called RVK systematics. There you will find all books and DVDs of the UB that were procured since August 2013. They are labeled with shelfmarks that begin with three zeros, followed by letter and number combinations. They are organized in the shelves alpha-numerically. We will explain how you can find the shelfmark of a book and what the shelfmark tells you about the book in track 8 “Finding literature”.

First of all, it is important to know that you can borrow almost everything for four weeks. You simply take the book from the shelf and sign it out at the circulation desk or at the self-service machines on the ground floor using your chip card or your reader's ID card. Only books with red shelfmarks, like encyclopedias or journals, cannot be borrowed. However, you can conveniently scan or copy from these.

If you now return to the entrance area, you will pass by the study room for the seeing impaired and the information desk. Your questions will be answered there at any time. For example, if you have looked for something in the shelves in vain or cannot find the desired title in the catalogue. Additionally, if you have ordered a book from the closed stacks that you want to, or are only allowed to access in the reading room.

Especially old and valuable books such as the University Library's medieval manuscripts, old prints, papyrus, and other rarities can only be reviewed in the special collections reading room. This room is somewhat hidden towards the left at the end of the reading room located before you. Please return to the staircase and enter the journals reading room located on the opposite side. Select track 5.