1. What is the University Library System?

It comprises the University’s libraries and the bodies responsible for coordinating library activities.
To find out more, visit the Organisation section.

2. Where are the University of Cagliari libraries located?

The addresses and maps showing their locations are available on the libraries’ pages or in the Library Map section.

3. What are the opening hours of the University libraries?

The opening hours and details of individual services at your library are listed on the pages for each site.

4. Who can use the University libraries’ services?

In accordance with the SBA Service Regulations, the following may use the libraries’ services:

- internal users (students, lecturers, researchers, the University’s technical and administrative staff, scholarship holders, PhD students, postgraduate students, research fellows and contract staff at the University).

- external users. For the latter, access to services is specified in the libraries’ internal regulations.

5. What services do the University libraries offer?

The services that the libraries offer their users are:

- on-site reading and consultation

- access to catalogues and databases

- guidance and assistance with bibliographic research

- local lending, inter-library loans and document delivery.

- Internet access for teaching and research purposes from computer stations designated for users.

To find out more, visit the Library Services page.

6. How do I access library services?

All libraries require you to register by filling in a form. You must present a valid form of identification and a photograph. A library card will be issued.

7. How is personal data handled?

Personal data is processed by the libraries in accordance with the law, exclusively for institutional purposes.

8. Are the services offered by the libraries free of charge?

All services are free of charge for internal users.

When requesting books or articles from libraries outside the University, you may be asked to reimburse postage or photocopying costs.

Some specialist services may be subject to a charge for external users.

9. Can I access the internet from the libraries?

Libraries generally have internet stations available for users to carry out bibliographic research and study-related activities.

10. Are there any restrictions on photocopying documents?

Yes, there are restrictions set out in copyright law.

You may photocopy up to 15% of the pages of a book or journal issue that is still on sale.

11. Can I ask for help with bibliographic research?

Yes, you can ask the librarians for help or request training on how to use the search tools.

12. Where can I find the textbooks recommended by lecturers?

Generally in the central libraries of the faculties or in the library of the department to which the lecturer belongs.

13. Can I suggest a book for purchase?

Yes, by speaking to a librarian or by submitting the appropriate online form to your department’s library.

Each proposal is assessed on the basis of available resources and its consistency with the library’s collection and objectives.

14. Can I donate books to the library?

Yes, donated books are subject to review by the library committees, which accept those that are consistent with the library’s collections.

Books

1.  What is the University’s online catalogue?
It is a database containing the bibliographic descriptions of the books held by the University’s libraries.
It can be consulted online, which is why it is called an OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue).

2. What is an OPAC?
OPAC stands for Online Public Access Catalogue.
It is a bibliographic catalogue made available for online consultation.

3. What is SBN?
It is the National Library Service, the largest collective catalogue in Italy. Currently, 6,359 libraries participate, comprising a total of 17 million bibliographic records.

The institutions participating in the SBN are grouped into local clusters. One of these is the SBN Sardinia Regional Cluster, which also includes the libraries of the University of Cagliari.

Search for a document in the SBN OPAC

Search for a document in the Sardinia Region OPAC

4. What data does the catalogue of the SBN Sardinia Regional Hub contain?
The catalogue contains data relating to part of the holdings of the University’s libraries and numerous libraries across Sardinia.

5. Is there a single catalogue for all the University’s libraries?
The main catalogue is the SBN Sardegna regional OPAC, available at http://opac.regione.sardegna.it/, which serves as the single catalogue for the University’s libraries.

6. Does the SBN Sardegna catalogue contain all the titles held by the University’s libraries?
Not yet. It contains data on documents acquired since 2003 and some of those acquired previously.

Periodicals

7. How can I find periodicals held by libraries?
You need to search both the Polo SBN Sardegna catalogue and the ACNP (National Collective Archive of Periodicals) catalogue.

Search for a journal in OPAC

Search for a journal in ACNP

8. What is ACNP?
It is the National Collective Archive of Journals, an online catalogue that “contains bibliographic descriptions of periodicals held by libraries throughout the country and covers all subject areas”.
There are over 700,000 periodicals listed, with more than 2,500 registered libraries.

ACNP is an extremely useful tool for locating a journal and finding out which libraries hold it.

9. Does the Polo SBN Sardegna catalogue also contain articles from journals?
Generally not. It contains abstracts of some documents on Sardinian topics.
To search for articles, you should mainly use bibliographic databases.

Searches

10. How do I search for a document in the SBN Sardinia OPAC?
Enter one or more known details (words from the title, author, date, etc.) in the Free Search field, or use the Advanced Search function.
For more information on how to search the catalogue, please consult the online Help page.

11. How do you find out which libraries hold the document you are looking for?
Once you have found the document in the SBN Sardinia OPAC, click on the description. The libraries holding the text are listed in the “You can find it in” field.
By clicking on the selected library, you can see how many copies are available and all the necessary details for consultation and/or borrowing.

12. What is meant by a subject search?
The subject identifies the topic of the document.
As not all of the University’s libraries index by subject, this type of search is less comprehensive.

Loans 

1. Who can borrow books?
Students, lecturers, researchers, technical and administrative staff of the University, scholarship holders, PhD students, postgraduate students, research fellows and contract staff of the University. External users are subject to the borrowing conditions set out in the SBA’s Unified Library Regulations.

See the SBA’s Unified Library Regulations.

2. Can all items be borrowed?
No, not all.
The following are generally excluded from borrowing:
- items not yet inventoried and catalogued
- encyclopaedic works or reference works (dictionaries, bibliographic indexes, catalogues)
- periodicals
- loose-leaf publications
- theses
- items belonging to rare and valuable collections.

3. How long can I keep a borrowed book?

Generally speaking, the loan period depends on the type of item (teaching or research book) and the number of requests for access to that particular item.

Please consult the SBA Libraries’ Unified Regulations.

4. Can I request an extension on a loan?
Loans can generally be renewed, subject to the needs of other readers.

5. What happens if I return a book late?
Libraries impose penalties, up to and including suspension of borrowing privileges, in accordance with their own regulations.

6. What should you do if you lose or damage a book?
A lost or damaged book must be repurchased or compensated for. If it is no longer available for purchase, compensation must be paid based on an estimated value.

Interlibrary loans

8. What is an interlibrary loan (ILL)?
An interlibrary loan, also known as an ILL (Inter-Library Loan), is a service that allows a library to request a document it does not hold from another library.

9. Is there a charge for interlibrary loans?
Some libraries offer the service free of charge on a reciprocal basis.
In other cases, the user is charged for the postage and reproduction costs incurred by the supplying library.

10. What do I need to do to borrow a book via interlibrary loan?
You must be a registered member or have access to a University library.
If the book is not held by any library in the SBA, you must search other catalogues, seeking assistance from librarians if necessary.
Once the document has been located, you can ask the library to submit an interlibrary loan request to the institution that holds it.

Use the online form to request an interlibrary loan

11. How long can I keep items received through interlibrary loan?
Normally for 28 days, but some libraries have shorter loan periods or count the 30 days from the date of dispatch.

Document delivery

12. What is the document delivery (DD) service?
It is a service that allows a library to request that another library send articles or parts of documents, via fax, post or email, in accordance with copyright law.

13. Is there a charge for document delivery?
If the library we request it from has a reciprocal agreement, the service is free of charge.

In other cases, the user is charged for the postage and reproduction costs incurred by the supplying library.

1. What is an electronic journal?
An electronic journal is a journal in digital format. It can be accessed online. The articles are in PDF, HTML or another digital format.

2. What does ‘full-text’ mean? What does ‘abstract’ mean?
Full-text refers to the complete text of the article.
An abstract is a brief summary of the article’s content.

3. Which electronic journals does the University of Cagliari provide access to?
Journals of interest for scientific research and teaching, either by subscription or open access, indexed on the page: Electronic journals.

4. What is a database?
It is an archive of data on a single subject or several related subjects, accessible via electronic means.

5. What can a database contain?
Databases may contain:
- full-text journals;
- bibliographic records, index entries, summaries and abstracts of: journals, conference proceedings, monographs and research reports;
- legislative and case law documentation, financial statements, experimental data, chemical reactions, conversion tables, substance information, spreadsheets and other tools useful for research.

6. Which databases does the University of Cagliari provide access to?
An alphabetical list of databases is available on the Database page.

7. Can I access databases and electronic journals from home?

From home, you can access open-access databases.

Users with GARR-IDEM access can access resources marked with the accesso_idem icon.

Users authorised for the VPN service can access all electronic resources.