University of Sydney Library Collections

Most of the Library's collections are arranged according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System. See this page for more information on call numbers, from our catalogue help pages.

For details of the collections in our libraries, see the individual Library pages.

Reference collections

Materials such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, directories, indexes and abstracts for specific subject areas are available in the reference collections of most libraries. Increasingly, this information is available in electronic format.

Reference material listed in the online catalogue will have the letters REF in the call number. Reference (REF) is usually a separate sequence of material.

Research collections

Research collections of books, serials and microforms are located in all Libraries according to subject area. Research collections can be used by all students (undergraduate and postgraduate).

For further information, check the Library's subject guides for subject-specific information, or Ask A Librarian.

Short Loan collections

These collections contain recommended student reading and are located in the Fisher and Law libraries.