Directions to the Police Department’s new substation in Shields Library:

Take the lobby elevator to the third floor, turn left and walk past 11 stacks of books (all with call number-letter combinations beginning with Z). Look for a door with an overhead sign that directs you to more Z stacks, plus Q through V.

Open the door and go through. Walk past three more stacks. Turn left and walk north between Z881.A and Z698.A.

There, at the end of the aisle, you will find Room 340A, the police substation, not far from the book Requiem for the Card Catalog (Z699.A1 A18 1977).

Sounds like a hassle, huh? But police and the library administration have an ulterior motive: As police officers make their way to and from the substation, they are making a statement to would-be thieves.

“With officers being seen more in the library, we’re hoping it will make people think twice,” Chief Annette Spicuzza said. Think twice, she explained, about stealing other people’s laptops or other belongings.

Helen Henry, co-acting university librarian, has dubbed the new substation “Shields at Shields,” and said students are the intended beneficiaries.

“UC Davis and Shields Library are very safe environments,” Henry told Dateline by e-mail. “We do, however, have incidents — and a visible police presence helps deter undesirable behavior.”

Henry returned from a conference with the idea for a police substation in the library. She presented the idea to the Police Department, and Spicuzza signed on.

“Hey, anytime the community wants us around, it’s a win-win for all of us,” Spicuzza said.

The substation’s opening coincided with the appointment of the campus’s first full-time bicycle officer in at least 10 years.

The bike officer, Ralph Nuno, works out of the library substation, but it also is for any other officer working in the core campus — giving them a place to write reports, make calls and conduct interviews.

Henry said the library is delighted to provide a place in the heart of campus where police can conduct business and be a presence.

“I have been an observer from afar and seen officer Nuno interact with students,” Henry said. “It is wonderful to observe students asking him questions and everyone getting acquainted.”

And, though finding the substation may be a little difficult, Henry said that will soon change. “We are currently producing signs and maps to direct patrons to Shields at Shields.”

Office hours at the library substation are by appointment only; call (530) 752-6002. By the way, if you take the stairs (which is how officer Nuno makes his way to and from the substation), enter the third floor on the north side, then turn right and head for the door that leads to more Z stacks, plus Q through V.