Some Tools to Help You

Dewey Decimal Classification System

The Dewey Decimal Classification system, was devised by library pioneer, Melvil Dewey in the 1870s. It provides a logical system for organising every item in a library's unique collection under broad subject groupings. It is used in 200,000 libraries worldwide.

Dewey Decimal Classification System 000 Computer science, information & general works 100 Philosophy & psychology 200 Religion 300 Social sciences 400 Language 500 Science 600 Technology 700 Arts & recreation 800 Literature 900 History & geography

C is for Children's books

There is a system of letters preceding the Dewey number in the catalogue which may help you identify the appropriate collection:

• C is for Children. Any Dewey Classification number starting with a 'C' (eg C636.1) means that this title can be found in the Children's Library.
• LP is for Large Print. Any Dewey Classification number starting with a 'LP' (eg LP 92 ADA) means that this title can be found in the Large Print collection.
• YA is for young adult. Any Dewey Classification number starting with a 'YA' (eg Y158.1)means that this title can be found in the Young Adult collection.
• Z is for new Zealand books. Any Dewey Classification number starting with a ' z ' (eg z636.1) means that this title is a New Zealand title and can be found in the general Nonfiction collection

Search Terms

By attaching an * to a word, a search will retrieve all words that start with the base word eg. child* = children, childhood, children's, etc

Too many results?

If the keyword search results in too many titles, or titles that are not relevant, click on a title that is similar to what you want and view the full record.

You will find a box called Item Information on the left of the screen, which lists relevant subject headings.

By selecting one of these subjects, all books with that same subject will be displayed.