Most of our books are ordered through Baker & Taylor. When these books arrive, our library staff David R., George C., Laura P., Linnea M. or Veronica B. empty the box and make sure everything that is in the box is on the packing slip. The staff member then enters the invoice number of the packing slip into the computer to let the computer know that the order arrived.
When ordering from Baker & Taylor the item is added to the library catalog. The librarian who ordered the book used a special code when they ordered the book. This tells the catalog where in the library the book is located. It does not give the item the library barcode number or a call number (which is on the label you see on the side of the everybook.) The staff member will scan the barcode on the book (not to be confused with the library barcode) which contains the ISBN# which stands for (international standard book number). This will get them into the item record where they can modify the call number and add the library barcode. Shockingly, the librarian who ordered the book may not always put it in the correct location when ordering. If an item is not correct or if the staff member is unsure if the book is going to the correct location they will give the book to the librarian in charge of the section and ask them for assistance. For most of the time this is not necessary. But it’s better to be sure than to have a book in the wrong location.
The book most of the time is prelabeled by Baker & Taylor. This label will have either the Dewey decimal number if it’s a nonfiction book or the author’s last name if it’s a fiction book. The dewey decimal is a number you see on most nonfiction books, they go from 001-999. Each number represents a subject. For instance 973.3 is American History, 796.357 is baseball. The more numbers you see after the decimal point the more specific the subject is. There is also a letter after the number. This letter is usually the first letter of the author’s last name. If a book does not have a dedicated author, such as books with editors or many authors, the letter will be the first letter of the book title not including the words, “The, A, or An.” There are some nonfiction books that do not have Dewey decimal numbers. These are Biographies and they are in order by the person they are about. A biography of Abraham Lincoln will be B Lincoln. (the B is for biography)
Of course Baker & Taylor doesn’t always get the label on the book correct. So it’s up to the staff member to recognize this and have the number corrected by the librarian in charge of the section. Most of the time this is not necessary.
Sometimes items are not ordered through Baker & Taylor and they come into the library as unique. A unique item is an item which has no record in the catalog. This is a catalog shared by the public libraries in Westchester. It is overseen by the Westchester Library System (WLS). The Westchester Library System (WLS) is the collaboration of 38 libraries in Westchester County. Along with the catalog, they oversee the shipment of items from one library to another, and many of our online services and much more. If an item is unique we have to ask (WLS) to add the record to the catalog. This will allow the staff member to add the book to the record so it is findable when a patron searches for it in the catalog. For this to happen more often than not we have to send the book to WLS so they can catalog it. WLS will add the record and send the item back within a week.
Your book is now in the system but it’s not ready to go on the shelf just yet.
Now books need to be stamped and labeled.
First, we stamp them with the Larchmont Public Library stamp.
We then label them with stickers. These stickers will determine where in the library the book goes.
If it’s a new nonfiction book, it will get a new book sticker and a call number label (more often than not provided by Baker & Taylor) that shows the Dewey decimal number.
Fiction books get different labels. For example, if it’s a new mystery they get a new book sticker, a sticker with the author’s last name (usually from Baker & Taylor) and a mystery sticker. If it’s a new Young Adult book it will get a new book sticker and a red dot which indicates that it’s a Young Adult book. It could be an express book. Which are new popular books that can’t go on the hold list.(see tomorrow’s post) They are first come first serve. They get a neon sticker on the front and on the side. There is no call# label instead it gets the first 2 letters of the authors last name if its fiction, “nf” its nonfiction and “BIO” if its a biography.
Now the book has been added to the computer. The location and label of the book has been verified. The book has been stamped and labeled with stickers. It is ready to be checked in and put on our shelves. Unless it is on hold for someone but that is for tomorrow’s post.