University of Warsaw LibraryUniversity of Warsaw Library

On the 1st and 2nd levels of the Library there is an open storage area, the so-called Open Stacks (Location in the Catalogue: BUW Wolny Dostęp), where more than half a million books and journals are arranged.

The collections are arranged in eight broad subject areas based on the american Library of Congress Classification.

Each area of the Open Stacks contains a collection of selected journal titles, which are separated from books and arranged alphabetically.

You can find the layout of subject areas in the Open Stacks and their detailed maps on BUW Plans.

The subject areas in the Open Stacks are designated by the symbols:

• P – Language. Literature
• B L – Philosophy.  Psychology.  Religion. Education
• AM C D-F GN700-875 – History
• G-GF Q R-V – Geography. Mathematical, natural and applied sciences
• K J – Law. Political science
• H GN1-673 GR-GV – Social sciences. Anthropology
• M N – Music. Architecture. Fine arts
• A Z – General works. Library science.

Each bookshelf displays a board with information about its contents.

When looking for a publication in BUW, check its Location in the Catalogue. If the Location is BUW Wolny Dostęp (Open Stacks), note the LC classification given in the description and, using the plans, go to the bookshelf in the relevant subject area and locate the publication on the shelf yourself.

You can use it anywhere in the Open Stacks. Do not shelve books and journals on your own. Leave them on the trolleys/bookcarts placed by the bookshelves. The librarians will put them back in the right place.

Publications in the Open Stacks are marked with coloured stickers.

The colours indicate the possibility of borrowing:

blue, yellow or white sticker	these materials can be borrowed from BUW (if you have the rights to borrow – for information on who can borrow books, see the Borrowing section).
red sticker (or a blue sticker with a red dot)	These materials are not available for borrowing outside BUW. Use them on site.

Księgozbiór Dydaktyczny = Textbook Collection

This is a dedicated part of the Open Stacks, located on level 2, which contains:

• textbooks,
• scripts,
• compulsory, recommended and supplementary reading for all fields of study at UW.

Locate books from the Textbook Collection on your own on the shelf using the Additional call number (beginning with the letter ‘W’).

You can use them anywhere in the Open Stacks. Do not shelve books and journals on your own. Leave them on the trolleys/bookcarts placed by the bookshelves. The librarians will put them back in the right place.

Books in the Textbook Collection are marked with white stickers. You can borrow them, if you have the rights to borrow – for information on who can borrow books, see the Borrowing section.

Deposits

In the Open Stacks you will also find publications from the so-called deposits: book collections donated to BUW by individuals or institutions, such as: Prof. Żurowski’s or Prof. Falkenberg’s book collections,  the HELVETIA collection, the book collection of the Department of Iranian Studies.

Look for them using their designation in the catalogue, e.g.: Żurowski K6146, Dep.Falk. 894, HELVETIA .K747, Dep.Ir.9.

All Deposits are located on level 2, within the Current Periodicals Reading Room area.

Current Periodicals Reading Room

Current Periodicals Reading Room is located on level 2, to the right from the main stairs.

Here on site you can use:

• current issues of academic journals, arranged by subject division in alphabetical order (Please note, archive issues are stored in the BUW Magazyn = Closed Stacks or in the BUW Wolny Dostęp = Open Stacks – check the location in the Catalogue!).
• current official journals, the central and capital city press, the regional press and the foreign press.

Reading Room

Reading Room is located on level 2 behind the Current Periodicals Reading Room. Check the opening hours.

Here you can use:

• materials requested from the BUW Magazyn = Closed Stacks,
• microfiche and microfilms (Information about the collection is available in the Digitised Card Catalogues),
• doctoral theses ordered from UW Institutional Repository.

In the Reading Room you can use a copying machine and a free scanner. Only collections requested from the Closed Stacks can be copied on the equipment in the Reading Room.

Requests placed on Saturdays after 4 pm and on days when the Reading Room is closed – are processed on the first day the Reading Room is open.

Please note! 30 minutes before closing of the Reading Room:

• return the materials you have used,
• requests are not made available for pick up anymore.

Rules for accessing BUW Reading Room

Reading Rooms of Special Collections