Labels

These directions are for making permanent labels for archival collections and rare books. This should only be done when a collection is done being cataloged, not at the accessioning stage.

Folder Labels

Printing Folder Labels

• 1. Get the Gaylord brand archival-quality folder labels from the back room of the Archives.

  2. Download this file and open it in Word: Folder Label Template

  3. Replace the call number, collection title, box and folder numbers, and series and subseries as necessary, following the example on the template. Use copy/paste to repeat the label down the page, and modify the folder numbers, etc., as needed.

  4. Make sure that the position of the first label on your Word document matches the position of the first available label on the sheet you are using.

  5. Place the label sheet in the pull-out feeder tray of the printer. The label sheet should be facing down, with the top edge of the label sheet at the outer edge of the tray.

  6. Print the labels. Hit "Ignore" if any warnings about the margins appear.

Placing Folder Labels on the Folders

Folder labels should be placed on the taller (back) portion of the folder, facing forward so that they will be easily visible to anyone who opens the box. They may be placed on the left or right of each folder: the important thing is to place them consistently in the same position on each folder in the collection, so that users can quickly thumb through to find the correct folder.

Box Labels

Printing Box Labels

• 1. Get the Gaylord brand archival-quality box labels from the back room of the Archives.

  2. Download this file and open it in Word: Box Label Template

  3. Replace the call number, collection title, and box number, following the example on the template. Optionally, you may briefly describe the contents of the box in the "Series etc." section. Use copy/paste to repeat the label down the page, and modify the box numbers, etc., as needed.

  4. Make sure that the position of the first label on your Word document matches the position of the first available label on the sheet you are using.

  5. Place the label sheet in the main tray of the printer. The label sheet should be facing up, with the top edge of the label sheet at the outer edge of the tray.

  6. Print the labels. Hit "Ignore" if any warnings about the margins appear.

Placing Box Labels on the Boxes

Box labels should be placed so that they will be easily visible when the box is placed on the shelf. It is important to place them consistently in the same position on each box, so that we can quickly scan through the shelves. If you need examples of proper placement, look at examples in the first row of the storage room.

Rare Book Call Number / Barcode Labels

Do Not Put Labels Directly on our Rare Books; Use Bookmarks instead!

Unlike books in the library's main collection, rare books should not be permanently labelled with spine labels, barcodes, etc. To attach a call number and barcode label:

• If book is encased in another container, such as a folder, an archival mylar dust jacket, custom-made archival box, etc.: then the barcode and call number label may be permanently affixed to the container, but not to the book itself.

• In all other cases, the call number and barcode should be affixed to an archival-grade bookmark, which will be kept inside the book. (See image above.)

Where to get the Barcodes

Barcodes help match the book with the catalog record for the book. Barcode labels are supplied to us by our cataloging team, who link the number in the barcode to a specific record as part of the cataloging process. They use the same barcode labels for rare books that are used for the main collection.

Make the Bookmarks

1. During the cataloging process, each book will be assigned a call number.

   • Normally, for our rare book collections, the call number is in the format: RARE.YYYY.XXX, where YYYY is the year when it was cataloged, and XXX is a sequential number. By the time each book has been cataloged, it should have this number attached to it already in some temporary form, such as a temporary bookmark placed in the book. Usually, we receive a batch of books with sequential call numbers together, like RARE.2019.1, RARE.2019.2, RARE.2019.3, etc.

2. Locate an archival grade bookmark where the call number can be printed.

   • We order: Gaylord's "Gaylord Archival® Untabbed Rare Book ID Strips for Laser & Inkjet Printers," Item # RBLASA

     • The box of bookmarks should be kept in the cabinet above the sink in the Archives' storage room.

3. Make a spreadsheet of the call number components

   • Using Excel, open the Rare Book Call Number Excel Spreadsheet Template (.xlsx) linked on the bottom of this page.

   • The spreadsheet should include columns for: Collection ("RARE"), Year, Sequential Number, Volume Number. The volume number can be left blank.

   • Edit the spreadsheet to fit the batch of books that you are processing, and save it.

4. Make the labels in Word

   • Using Word, open the Rare Book Call Number Bookmarks Word Template (.dotx), linked at the bottom of this page.*

   • Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Step-By-Step Mail Merge Wizard

     • Select Document Type = Labels

     • Select Starting Document = "Use the Current Document."

     • If this option is greyed out, you will need to instead select "Change Document Layout" [Note - this documentation was not finished; more work is needed here - EG 12/2021]