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John M. Flaxman Library SAIC School of the Art Institute of Chicago

How to Read Call Numbers

Item Location + Availability

Finding the Item's Location in the Catalog

You can always find the location in the item's pink link, but pay attention for "and other locations."

Screenshot of an item in the Flaxman catalog with an arrow pointing to a pink location link.

There are Multiple Locations

Sometimes there are multiple copies of a book in different locations. If that is the case, click the pink link to see them all. 

Screenshot of multiple item locations in a list with the phrase "sometimes there are multiple locations for an item" in red

The location will include the building, floor or room number, and collection holding the item. The catalog does include special collection items and locations outside of the main collections as well including the Fashion Resource Center (FRC) and Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection (JFABC).  Special Collections require an appointment to use their materials. In the Main Collections, you'll notice additional locations including: 

  • Main Stacks - most of the bookshelves on the 6th floor of Sharp
    Some books will say "Main Stacks - LIBRARY USE ONLY." This means the book is in the Main Stacks but cannot be checked out (it is non-circulating). You can always make scans or photocopies of these materials.

  • Oversized Stacks - the bookshelves at the beginning of the stacks on 6th floor of Sharp for large items

  • Storage - accessible only to library staff, but we can get items for you!  
    To get these items, write down the call number and bring it to the front desk.

  • Reserves - books reserved for a class are behind the library front desk
    Note: These materials can only be used in the library for 3 hours (in some special cases overnight)

See Other Call Numbers for locations that include media like DVDs or CDs. 

Availability

If the item has a pink link that says "Available at..." like in the screenshot above, that means it should be in its correct location
If the item is not available, it will have a grey link reading "Not Available." However, you could try requesting the item through I-Share!

Screenshot of an item record with "Not available" circled in red with red text next to it reading "try requesting from I-Share instead"