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Modern Languages for Continuing Education: Finding books

Guide to resources available for language students, from the Continuing Education Department or online.

Call numbers

Those language books which are kept in the Rewley House Library are downstairs at the following call numbers:

Arabic

492.7

Chinese

495.1

French

440

German

430

Greek

480

Italian

450

Japanese

495.6

Portuguese

469

Russian

491.7

Sanskrit

491.2

Spanish

460

Swedish

439.7

Turkish

494.35


Some books may be in the Oversize section at the beginning of the sequence. These are marked 'Oversize' on SOLO.

Reference books such as language dictionaries have the suffix Q/REF and are kept in the Reading Room.

Purchase suggestions

If you would like to recommend an item for purchase by the Library, please fill in a Book Suggestion form.

Please note that it may not be possible to purchase all recommendations, depending on availability and cost.

Where are language books kept?

Language students are usually expected to purchase their own copies of the main course book recommended by their tutor, so the library does not provide copies of most course books. However we do have additional material that you are welcome to consult and borrow.

Many of the Department's language textbooks are kept at Ewert House so that they can be used in the classroom. Your tutor should have a key to the cupboard where these are kept.

There are also some language books on the open shelves downstairs in the Rewley House Library. These are available for browsing and borrowing.

Reference copies of Language Dictionaries are kept in the Reading Room at the Rewley House Library. These will have the suffix "Q/REF" after the call number. There are additional loan copies of dictionaries in the Lower Library.

You can see where a particular book is kept from the record on our catalogue, SOLO. Most books will have a call number which indicates their location within the Library at Rewley House. For books stored in the languages cupboard at Ewert House, the call number is Languages (Ewert House).

How to find books on SOLO

 You can locate books (both print and electronic) held in Oxford University libraries by looking them up on SOLO, Oxford libraries' catalogue,  at http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.  

Are you looking for a specific book?

Enter the author's surname and a few significant words from the title. Leave out words like 'the', 'an', 'of' etc

Are you only interested in books held by the Rewley House Continuing Education Library?

On the main SOLO search screen, click 'Search Everything' and select 'Continuing Education Library' from the dropdown box

Looking for books in a particular language?

Go to "Advanced Search" and select the language from the drop-down menu.

For more information on searching SOLO, see the SOLO Guide.

Searching beyond Oxford?

There may be times when you wish to consult library catalogues beyond Oxford University. This may be because:

  • You need to conduct a thorough literature review
  • You wish to know if an item is available in a library nearer to home
  • You would like to know if an item is available in the public library system

The following links may be useful (note that finding an item does not guarantee you access to the library holding it):