Using the collection
Most of the East Midlands Collection is on open access in the Reading Room. It can be browsed by readers, and the majority of books and pamphlets, and some periodicals can be borrowed by library members.
Earlier and rare imprints (that is, items in the East Midlands Special Collection) are housed in the store, and must be produced by staff for consultation in the Reading Room.
Bound newspapers and the majority of maps are also in storage, and are available for Reading Room consultation only.
Anybody wishing to use materials from the store will need to register with the department.
Catalogues and Indexes
The collection is catalogued in NUsearch, the University of Nottingham's website for searching the library catalogue and additional resources.
To bring up all resources in this collection, choose 'Advanced Search'. Change the first option 'Anywhere', to 'Collection'. Type the code EMC into the main search box and click the green magnifying glass icon to submit the search. When the search results load, scroll down the filters on the right hand side of the screen. You can modify your search further by using filters for resource type, date of publication, language, etc.
To search for items within this collection by keyword, type your keywords into the main search box and click the green magnifying glass to search. This time, go to the filters on the right hand side of the screen and scroll down to 'UoN Collections'. Find the East Midlands Collection and apply the filter.
The same search strategy can be used to identify items in the East Midlands Special Collection. Use the code EMSC.
Shelf arrangement
The East Midlands Collection has its own classification scheme, which first divides the material by county, then arranges the books principally by geographical location, then by subject area. Thus for example, within the Nottinghamshire section all the books on Newark will be found together, subdivided by subjects such as history, transport, industry, recreation etc. Material on the East Midlands as a region is shelved in a section following the counties.
In general, books are arranged on the shelves in the order of the classification, but physical and other considerations impose the need for a number of different sequences. Oversize books (more than 26 cm high) are shelved after the ordinary book sequence. Then follow pamphlets and oversize pamphlets. Periodicals are shelved last.
Some unusually large volumes are shelved in separate units, and extra-large pamphlets are shelved in a plan-file and can only be produced by a member of staff. Microforms are shelved in classified order at the end of the sequence of items.
Next page: Back to all Collections in-depth