Find the library's books

Start with the library search tool

The easiest way to find a book in the library is to first look it up using the library search tool. Once you have found a book in the search tool, you will receive information about its location in the library. This includes details about its placement on the shelf and a map to help you find your way to the correct spot in the library. The example below illustrates what this looks like:

Find books at the University Library

The University Library houses a wide range of literature, from scholarly books and textbooks to fiction and children's literature.

Find textbooks in Learning Space

Our textbook collection is located in the part of the library called Learning Space. The textbooks are arranged alphabetically, either by book title or by author. The easiest way to find a book's location on the shelf is to search for the title in the library search tool.

You can read more about our textbooks here:

Books and e-books

Find scholarly books by topic in the Study Hall

The scholarly books in the Study Hall are arranged according to two different systems: the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and the Classification system for Swedish libraries (SAB).

In the DDC collection, you will find more recent literature

In the DDC system books are arranged by subject using different numerical codes.

• DDC is a decimal system where the first three digits represent the main category.
• The digits after the decimal point denote different subdivisions.

For example, a book with the code 704. 039 457 deals with the subject of Sami arts and crafts. The first three digits (704) indicate that the book is about arts and crafts, and the numbers after the decimal point indicate that it focuses on Sami arts and crafts.

An advantage of the DDC system is that it allows detailed sorting of books according to their content. This means that books on the same subject are placed next to each other on the shelves.

The signage on the shelves provide more information about the placement of the books.

In the DDC collection (the shelves are marked with the Swedish abbreviation DDK), we place the most recently published scientific books. You can read more about the DDC system further down this page.

The SAB collection contains older scientific literature

In the SAB collection, you will find scholarly books that the library acquired before 2011.

• The books are roughly classified according to the SAB system and then numbered in the sequential order in which they arrived at the library.
• For example, a book with the placement "oh 02389" is classified in the subject area of Social Affairs and Social Policy (oh) and has been assigned the consecutive number 02389.
• When looking for the book on the shelf, you can disregard the initial zeros in the consecutive number.

You can read more about the SAB system further down this page.

Find non-fiction, fiction, and children's literature in our stacks

Our stacks contain a wide range of books, from non-fiction for children and adults to fiction in English and other languages.

In this extensive collection, books are placed according to a consecutive number sequence based on the year the library acquired them.

• For example, a placement might look like this: 2019-05347.
• The numbers before the hyphen represent the year the library acquired the book, and the next five digits are the consecutive numbers.
• When looking for the book on the shelf, you can disregard the initial zeros in the consecutive number.

Swedish fiction and children's literature are arranged according to consecutive numbers, which might look like this: Skön 99405 or Barn 123717.

Fiction in languages other than Swedish is listed by the DDC code and author. For example: Skön 894. 574 5 Ves.

Find books at the Medical Library

At the Medical Library, you will find scholarly books and textbooks on medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. We also have special collections of biographies (pathographies) and fiction focusing on medicine. The books are arranged according to two different systems: the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and the Classification system for Swedish libraries (SAB).

All new material, including our textbooks, is arranged according to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).

In the DDC collections, you will find more recent literature  

• In the DDC system, a numerical code indicates what the book is about.
• DDC is a decimal system where the first three digits represent the main category.
• The digits after the decimal point denote different subdivisions.

For example, a book with the code 618. 928 9 is about child psychiatry. The digits before the decimal point (618) indicate the subject is child health (paediatrics), and the digits after the decimal point specify a focus on psychiatry.

An advantage of the DDC system is that it allows for detailed sorting of books according to their content. This means that books on the same subject are placed next to each other on the shelves. You can read more about the DDC system further down this page.

The SAB collection contains older literature

In the SAB collection, you will find literature that the library acquired before 2011.

• The books are classified according to the SAB system.
• The books are placed on the shelves based on classification, combined with the author’s name or the book’s title.

For example, a book on child psychiatry is located under Vle (Child and adolescent psychiatry). You can read more about the SAB system further down this page.

Find books at the Arts Campus Library

In the Arts Campus Library, you will find scholarly literature and textbooks focusing on art, architecture, and design. We also have small collections of biographies, comics, and children's books.

Our textbooks are arranged alphabetically, either by the title of the book or by the author.

The scholarly books in the library are organised by subject, using the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system (the shelves are marked with the Swedish abbreviation DDK).

In our DDC collection, a numerical code indicates what the book is about

• DDC is a decimal system where the first three digits represent the main category. 
• The digits after the decimal point denote different subdivisions. 

For example, a book with the code 724. 6 deals with architecture between 1900-1999. The numbers before the decimal point (724) indicate that the book is about architecture, and the number after the decimal point specifies the focus on the years 1900-1999.

An advantage of the DDC system is that it allows for detailed sorting of books according to their content. This means that books on the same subject are placed next to each other on the shelves. You can read more about the DDC system further down the page.

More about different classification systems

DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification)

In several places in our libraries, we arrange books based on the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system, which is the most widely used classification system in the world. It has been translated into over 30 languages and is used in many countries.

DDC uses detailed numerical codes to classify different subjects: 

• The system consists of ten main classes based on different subject areas such as religion, languages, and science.
• Each main class has its numerical code; for example, language has the numerical code 400 and science 500.
• The system branches out from the different subject areas and becomes more and more detailed the further you go into the system.
• Different subjects are described with different combinations of numbers and the number codes become longer as the description becomes more detailed.

The ten main classes of DDC

Examples of call numbers based on DDC

Here you will find examples of how the DDC numerical code can be structured according to different subject areas.

Example from the University Library

Nergård. J-I. (2022). The Sámi narrative tradition : cosmopolitans on the Arctic tundra. Routledge.

This book is located in the collection Study Hall DDK, under 948. 004 945 7 Ner.

948 = History and geography: Scandinavia

004 = Ethnic and national groups

9457 = Sami

Ner = first three letters of the author's surname

Example from the Medical Library

Thapar. A. (Ed.). (2015). Rutter’s child and adolescent psychiatry. (Sixth edition). John Wiley & Sons Inc.

The resource is located in the collection on the entrance floor, under 618. 928 9 Rut.

618.92 = Paediatrics

618.928 = Paediatric neurology

618.9289 = Child psychiatry

Rut = first three letters of the book’s title

Example from the Arts Campus Library

Schalk, Kristiansson, T., Mazé, R., & Fanni, M. (2016). Feminist futures of spatial practice: materialism, activism, dialogues, pedagogies, projections. Spurbuchverlag.

The resource is located in the collection DDK, under 724. 6 Fem.

724. 6 = Architecture from 1900-1999

Fem = first three letters of the book's title

In this feature, you can read more about the Dewey Decimal Classification:

 

SAB (Classification system for Swedish libraries)

Much of the older scientific books at the University Library and the Medical Library are classified according to the SAB system

• This system consists of 25 main classes based on different subject areas such as religion, linguistics, and natural sciences.
• Each main class has a letter code; for example, linguistics has the code F, and natural sciences has the code U.
• The system also uses other characters such as dots, hyphens, and colons to provide more detail and indicate different sub-categories.

The SAB system was developed by the Swedish Public Library Association and was previously very common in Swedish libraries. The last edition was published in 2006. Since then, many libraries have switched to using the international DDC system.

Main classes of the SAB system