Dewey books are generally older books owned by the Geology Library. Dewey call numbers start with a numeral, distinguishing them from Library of Congress call numbers which start with a letter of the alphabet. Dewey Decimals look something like this: 557.694 D284g. There are no Dewey Decimals housed in the Walter Geology Library. They are stored off-site in the "Library Storage Facility" or LSF, at the Pickle Research Center. These must be requested for delivery back to the Geology Library, and it may take anywhere from 3 to 5 business days after the request for the items to arrive. We no longer have active subscriptions to most journals with Dewey call numbers.
The Library of Congress (LC) call number materials are shelved in the four freestanding bookstacks. The Library of Congress call number starts with a letter or two, distinguishing it from a Dewey Decimal which begins with a numeral. An LC call number looks something like this: QE 75 G756.
"MINCAT" books are shelved with the LC call numbers, located under "M" alphabetically. These are books with minimal cataloging, whose call numbers begin with "MINCAT". They are not true LC numbers, but are shelved as if they were.
Oversized materials are located in the Oversized/Folios section near the Reference books. They are designated by a -Q- or an -F- before the start of the LC call number. For example: -Q- QE 75 G469 or -F- QE 75 G469. The best way to find a possible oversized material is to first search the normal stacks, and then search the Oversized area. In the Oversized area, there are three divisions of materials: 1) items that are small enough to stand upright, 2) materials that are so large they can only fit one on top of each other, and 3) materials that are small enough to sit side by side. You might have to search all three sections for oversized material.
The Geology Library maintains a New Book Shelf (NBS) that is rotated on a weekly basis on Tuesday afternoons. The NBS is located on the top of the curving atlas stand in the Reading Room. New books and journals on the NBS are designated by a yellow flag and show up in UTNetCat as being on the NBS. Users needing materials on the NBS are required to fill out a green hold form for the item. The forms are found at the front of the NBS. Once the request is received, library staff will place a hold on the item for you. On the following Tuesday, we will reserve the item you requested and notify you to pick it up (within one week).
The Tobin Map Collection of the Geology Library consists of more than 46,000 maps and map texts arranged geographically, following the general outline of the Library of Congress G classification schedule.
The collection aims for worldwide coverage of maps on geology and related subjects, but is particularly strong in maps of Texas and select U.S. and foreign areas of geologic interest. With the Map Room of the Perry-Castaneda Library it serves as a federal map depository for U.S. Geological Survey maps, having an almost complete set of the series maps published by this agency.
The majority of the collection has been cataloged, so there should be records for most every map. You can see if we have a map or map series by searching in our library catalog. You could limit the results by adding the keyword "maps" to your search. For further assistance, consult with the map librarian who is available weekday mornings after 9 AM.
The recent issues of the Geology Library's most heavily used journals are held in the Reading Room. They are shelved in alphabetical order by title. They are kept as loose issues in the Reading Room until the library receives a complete volume, and then the loose issues are sent for binding. Binding normally takes two or three months, after which the bound volumes are shelved by call number in the stacks.
The room contains several comfortable leather chairs, small tables, and a leather couch. This is a nice place to relax and the windows face the UT tower.
Here is a link to the Map of the Geology Library.
