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Table 3. Cataloging Table 3.
Note. Table is from Organizing Information in School Libraries: Basic Principles and New Rules by C. Houston, 2016, p. 83
New Acquisitions
New acquisitions:
Will be purchased from approved vendors (for the most part Follett, although Baker & Taylor and Amazon could be used), and will be bought to support the curriculum of the classes being offered by the school, and which comply to the state and school’s educational standards and curriculum goals.
Cataloging options for new acquisitions:
Copy Cataloging using Follett – used for items with records provided by vendors such as Follett (Houston, 2016, p. 75).
Original Cataloging – this is done when the librarian must create a record themselves because the vendor does not provide a record and the librarian cannot get the record from another source (Houston, 2016, p. 79).
A Copy of Organizing Information in School Libraries: Basic Principles and New Rules by Cynthia Houston will be kept at the desk for further information about copy cataloging and original cataloging.
See the example on how to do cataloging as shown in the table. Note, for this library, additional tags will be added. See the website page “MARC Records and Enhancements” for more information on additional tags.
Once the record is ready, it is time to label. Move on to the Labeling section below:
Labeling
o Books will be separated into 5 main categories with additional subcategories which are listed underneath them. A sticker indicating the type of fiction will be stuck on the top part of the spine.
o Reference – defined as high demand materials, rare materials, or expensive materials hard to replace
Example: Encyclopedias
Label is just a bold letter “R”
o Fiction: The books will be organized alphabetically on the shelves with stickers indicating what genre they are on the top part of the spine. The call number label will be on the bottom part of the spine and will be formatted: FIC + the first 3 letters of the author’s last name.
Example: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, considered a classic piece of fiction, would have a Shakespeare cartoon sticker at the top of the spine and the call number would read: FIC AUS
Fiction Genre Section Stickers:
· Mystery -indicated by a question mark
· Science Fiction – indicated by a spaceship
· Classics – Shakespeare cartoon
· Fantasy – Magic wand
· Adventure – Sailing ship
· Western – Cowboy hat
· Horror – Ghost
· Contemporary Fiction – the Letter “C”
· Romance/Realistic Fiction - Heart
o Nonfiction: will be categorized according to Dewey Decimal Number, which will be shorted to the third number after the decimal + the Author’s last name – shortened to 3 characters.
Figure 1. Example of Call Number Label.
Note: Image by Anna Gontis
o Biographies: Bio + the subject’s first 3 letters of the last name + First letter of last name underneath the last name - Example: say the book is about Abraham Lincoln, then it would read – BIO LIN L – See the example on the left.
o Graphic Novel: Listed as 741.5 + the first three letters of the author’s last name
o Note: Spanish Labels - books in Spanish will be marked with a neon yellow sticker label that reads “Espanol/Spanish” and will be shelved into the rest of the stacks, with the rest of the non-Spanish books.
Figure 2. Spine Example.
Note: Image by Anna Gontis
Example of Fiction Book Spine and Labels: This is an example (on the left) of a spine with call number and genre labels found in the mystery section. The Genre label is on the top of the spine (Question Mark label indicating Mystery) and the call number label is on the bottom of the spine. In the case of this example the author's last name is "Christie" so the first three letters of her last name would read "CHR."
Example of Fiction Book Spine and Labels: This is an example (on the left) of a spine with call number and genre labels found in the mystery section. The Genre label is on the top of the spine (Question Mark label indicating Mystery) and the call number label is on the bottom of the spine. In the case of this example the author's last name is "Christie" so the first three letters of her last name would read "CHR."
Physical Processing
o Books that come with dust jackets will be given Mylar covers to protect the jackets and their information content from being lost or damaged.
o A unique barcode will be created for each new material and will have a barcode sticker attached to each item.
o Genre labels will be attached to the top of the spine of each fiction item.
o Call # Labels for Reference, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Graphic Novels, and Biographies will be attached to the bottom part of the spine for each book.
o Items will be shelved into correct areas according to Reference, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Graphic Novels, and Biographies and organized alphabetically and in ascending order according to DDC number.
Quality Control and Record Validation
o Regular shelf reading will be done to make sure that books are shelved correctly and alphabetically and where their DDC numbers indicate they should be.
o Regular weeding of the library collection will be enforced.
o Damaged books will be immediately deleted from the system.
o Missing items will be searched for, and if not found will be deleted every year from the system. Deletion process starts April 1st and ends on May 31st. A list will be made of missing items that should be repurchased for the upcoming school year.
o Lost items: Patrons will have until the end of the school year to find the item. If the item is not returned by this point, it will be deleted from the system.
o 3 material record checks will be completed throughout the year.
o A record from each of the 5 major library sections (Reference, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Graphic Novels, and Biographies) will be evaluated for accuracy) – This will be done at the beginning of the school year, during January, and at the end of the school year.
o Surveys: A survey will be given out each year, via Google Forms, for students and teachers to give feedback on materials they enjoy in the library, as well as possible additions to the collection which the librarian will look over to see if they correspond to educational and curriculum standards.
o When imputing library records, check to make sure all records are valid. All records must be checked over to see that MARC 21 and RDA standards are being implemented correctly. All tags will be checked to make sure that the correct information/data has been written correctly. For example: ISBN numbers will be double checked to make sure that the number is the same as the one provided with dashes excluded. See MARC Records and Enhancements section for more information on record requirements.
Cataloging Policies
Donation Policies: Criteria for accepting and cataloging donated materials.
1. Materials must be clean, no writing on the inside or outside of books
2. No missing pages of books
3. Materials must be delivered in person, and the librarian should be notified in advance as to how many materials the patron would like to donate, and what the materials are to ascertain whether the materials would benefit the curricular needs of the school and needs of the school community
4. Not accepted: CDs, DVDs, outdated materials such as VHS tapes and audio cassette tapes, and records.
5. The school librarian is responsible for the selecting, accepting, and processing of donated materials.
6. Donated materials should be recorded on a Google spreadsheet before they are uploaded to the school library catalog
Weeding Policies: Guidelines for weeding materials based on relevance, condition, and
circulation data.
The following guidelines should be followed to determine if books are to be weeded from the system:
1. Books that have not been checked out for 10 years or more and can be easily acquired at other libraries, bookstores, or online retailers.
2. Books that have excessive writing and drawing throughout that cannot be removed (i.e. pen writing/drawing).
3. Books that have liquid or food damage (this can cause mold).
4. Books with missing pages or books that are falling apart because of much use (i.e. broken binding).
5. Books that do not support or are not relevant to school policies or standards
Once it has been decided that a book is to be weeded the following steps should be followed:
1. A notation of the deleted book will be added to an online file designated for deleted items.
2. All markings (i.e. stamps of address) will be crossed out with a black permanent marker or pen.
3. Labels will be removed from the book.
4. Damaged materials will be disposed of via recycling.
5. Undamaged weeded materials can be donated to local charities or other schools.
Reference: Houston, C. (2016). Organizing information in school libraries: Basic principles and new rules. Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
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