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The majority of the SSEES Library print collection is kept on the open shelves. However, the Library does not have a designated Languages and Culture section. Instead, the primary division for arranging books is by country and then within that by topic. As a result, items related to the subject of Languages and Culture can be found in various areas of the Library, depending on which country they are related to.
General books for SSEES Languages and Culture courses as well as those covering more than one county are located in the Miscellaneous section on the First Floor of the SSEES Library. Works related to a particular language would be shelved within the collection of the relevant county. To find the physical location of a given collection, please check our self-guided tour of UCL SSEES Library.
Pamphlets as well as fragile or rare items are held in the onsite local store and are available upon request. Low-use material is relegated to UCL Library Services off-site store. For information on how to find and request store items, please see our stores service page.
Explore is UCL Library Services' catalogue and much more. It is a single search tool for finding journals, books, full-text articles, archive and other material. In the catalogue, you will find the details of the resources you are looking for such as the library site where the resource is stored, collection and shelfmark.
Check out our Explore guide to find out more about how to use Explore for your research.
On UCL Explore, you can look at the results of your search to quickly discover if a book is available in print or/and online: View Online means that the book is available electronically, while Available means that the book is available in print. In some cases a book is available both in print and online.
SSEES Library uses its own classification scheme. The books are arranged firstly by the geographical area to which they relate; therefore, classmarks for books on Russia start with the letter "R", those on Bulgaria with "B", those on Hungary with "H", and so on.
There are also sections which cover a region which is wider than just one country, for example, "Gen.Balk" (Balkans), "Gen.Balt" (Baltic), "Gen.Slav" (Slavonic material in general).
There is a "Misc" [Miscellaneous] section which is used for works on Eastern Europe as a whole, as well as material on the West and books that do not have a specific geographical element (e.g. books on political theory, economics, sociology).
The classification then uses Roman numerals (I-XXIV) to indicate different topics. XIX, for example, is Sociology and social history, XX is Art, XXIII is Languages, XXIV is Literature. For example, Russian art would be found in the section R.XX and the pattern would be similar for other countries, Polish art being P.XX, Bulgarian art B.XX and so on.
The 24 sections are often further subdivided numerically and alphabetically, depending on the complexity of the subject. For example XX.3 is Visual arts, XX.4 is Theatre, cinema, television and radio, XX.5 is Music.
The last element of the classification is a three-letter code. This relates to the first three letters of the author's name, or when there is more than one author or editor, the first three letters of the title. A book's classmark or shelfmark will always be found on the inside fly-leaf of the book and usually on the spine.
More information about our classification scheme can be found on our dedicated Library page.
The Language & Speech Science (LASS) Library holds books and periodicals on the theory and practice of language study.
Check out our Explore guide to find out more about how to use Explore for your research.
A brief guide to finding and accessing e-books via UCL Explore.
ReadingLists @UCL is an online service that gives students easy access to materials on their reading lists wherever they are, and allows academic staff to create and update their own reading lists.
