Bundaberg City Council

Reference Services

The Reference Services/Internet Librarian is available to help with reference enquiries. If you are having trouble finding the information you are looking for, please see the Reference Services/Internet Librarian for help.

Adult Fiction Book Lists

Adult Non Fiction Book Lists

Student Fact Sheets

Reference Section and Newspapers

Local History and Genealogy

Tips for Finding Information

Library News-Mail Articles

Useful Links

Literacy & Numeracy Resources & LOTE

Online Databases

Genre Focus / Reviews

Tips for Finding Information

Sections of the Library

Code	Section	Call No.	Code	Section	Call No.
When using the Library catalogue or asking Library staff for information, you will come across the following codes and call numbers. This table sets out their meanings to help you find the resources on the Library shelves.
Fiction			Non Fiction
AF or F	Adult Fiction	F SMI	ANF	Adult Non Fiction	ANF 919.4 BRY
LP	Large Print Fiction	LP DAI	F	Folio Non Fiction	F 641.5952 YOS
JF	Junior Fiction	JF BLY	R	Reference	R 994.0049915 ENC
YF	Youth Fiction	YF BRE	JNF or J	Junior Non Fiction	J 994.1 HAT
PF	Paperback Fiction	PF BRY	YNF or Y	Teenage Non Fiction	Y 004.678 MOR
PB	Picture Book	PB ALL	BT	Book Tape	BT 914.1 BRY
BT	Book Tape	BT BRY	GBT	General Book Tape	GBT 914.1 BRY
GBT	General Book Tape	GBT BRY	VCR	Video (VHS)	VCR 211.10 JAN
DVDAF	DVD Adult Fiction	DVDAF BRI	DVDA	DVD Adult Non Fiction	DVDA 791.4572 MYT
DVDJF	DVD Junior Fiction	DVDJF FRE	DVDJ	DVD Junior Non Fiction	DVDJ 623.7463 GRE
VCR	Video (VHS)	VCR PRE
GBTJ	General Book Tape - Junior	GBTJ DAH	Other
GBTY	General Book Tape - Youth	GBTY KEL	CD	Compact Disc	CD SAV

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Fiction vs Non Fiction

Fiction = not true - novels, stories.

Non Fiction = true - true stories, geography, history, travel, science, etc.

It always helps to remember the saying "fact or fiction?".

Fiction

Fiction is organised or shelved alphabetically according to the author's surname. The first three or four letters of the author's surname are used. If for some reason no author is attributed to the work, the first three letters of the first word of the title (excluding 'A', 'An', 'The') is used. These three letters together with the section code (AF or F for Adult Fiction) form the call number. This call number is placed on the spine of the book, so that it may be easily located.

Non Fiction

The non fiction sections of the Library are organised or shelved according to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) System. This system is a numerical one, although it also uses the first three or four letters of the author's surname, or title, at the end of the call number.

Non Fiction - Dewey Decimal Classification

The Dewey Decimal Classification system was developed in 1876 by Melvil Dewey, an American Librarian. This system classifies items into 10 main groups, as shown in the table below.

000s	Generalities - encyclopedias, library science, etc
100s	Philosophy and Psychology
200s	Religion
300s	Social Sciences - economics, sociology, law, education, etc
400s	Language - languages, dictionaries, grammar, etc
500s	Natural Sciences and Mathematics
600s	Technology (Applied Sciences)
700s	The Arts - architecture, painting, music, etc
800s	Literature - poetry, plays, etc
900s	Geography and History

Within the 10 main groups, the categories are further broken down into more specific classifications. See this web site for a detailed breakdown of Dewey.

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The Call Number

A call number is given to each item in the Library in order to make it easy to locate. These call numbers differ slightly for fiction and non fiction.

Fiction Call Number - eg. AF GRI

AF = Adult Fiction (the section of the Library where you will find the item)
GRI = the first three letters of the author's surname, or title of the book.

Non Fiction Call Number - eg. ANF 638.1 PAV

ANF = Adult Non Fiction
638.1 = the Dewey Decimal Classification for beekeeping
PAV = the first three letters of the author's surname, or title of the book.

Mc vs Mac

As per the standard alphabetical filing rule, surnames beginning with 'Mc', are shelved as though they were 'Mac'. You will find that for authors with surnames beginning with 'mc' or 'mac', the call number will contain four letters. For example:

Ed McBain = macb
Roger Lea MacBride = macb
Stirling Macoboy = maco

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Coloured Dots

The Library has classifed most fiction books by genre with the use of coloured dots. If there is no coloured dot on the spine, the item is classified as general fiction. Keep an eye out for:

	Mystery		Westerns		Classics
	Sci Fi/Fantasy		Christian		Romance

Literacy & Numeracy Resources & LOTE (Languages Other Than English)

The Library has a great selection of resources on literacy and numeracy.

Our resources include graded reading schemes, mathematics resources to introduce and revise skills, learning English resources, and junior and adult books and learning kits in langauges other than english. For the literacy and numeracy booklist, click here.

Languages Other Than English (LOTE)

State Library LOTE
These foreign language books are on loan to us from the State Library of Queensland. The collections are swapped as the need arises.
Mostly adult-level, but some junior.

If we do not currently stock a language of interest to you, please enquire at the front desk. We only order languages which are specifically requested, and there is a short form for you to fill out, to let us know your reading interests.

Bundaberg Library
This collection of picture books is part of the Bundaberg Library's collection.
Several popular picture books have been published in dual-language format. To see a list of titles held by the Library, do a title search for 'dual language'.

Chinese	French
Japanese	Korean
Turkish	Vietnamese

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Useful Links

Links to a collection of sites that you may find of use:

State Library of Queensland

ABC Radio WideBay

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