InfoBar Employee Guide : Stack Maintenance and other Student Projects

What is stack maintenance?

Stack maintenance is a general term for making sure our books are in good condition, neat and tidy, and shelved in the proper place.  All of the work that takes place in the stacks is intended for the benefit of the library and the patrons. When the stacks are organized in an orderly fashion it allows patrons and librarians to easily find what they are searching for. A tidy shelf also ensures an aesthetic appeal. If the library looks good and the books are easy to find, patrons will return! 

 

While in the stacks, be sure to do the following:

Pick up and throw away any trash on/around the shelves and in any books. Additionally, always pick up books lying on shelves and re-shelve them or take them to shelving to be sorted if you run out of time.

To keep our books in good condition for each patron, always remove any extra paper, hold slips or receipts with patrons’ names, paper clips, tape, bookmarks, etc.  Books should be upright in the stacks (if they are too large to stand upright, they should have their spine down) and there should be a book end at the end of each shelve to keep the books straight and neat.

Sometimes books that belong to other libraries will end up on a cart to be shelved. Do not shelve these. Please place them on the appropriate Five College Shelves. 

Occasionally new periodicals/journals, and reference books get mixed up with the books going to the 2^nd  or 3rd floor. Please pull these items and make sure they go back where they belong.   

It is important to bring any personally owned items (books or otherwise) that are found in the stacks to the Lost & Found at the InfoBar. 

If you ever find an area of the stacks that is in great disarray or find a leak or tons of dust or anything unusual, please notify Suzanne IMMEDIATELY!  

Call Numbers

Every library book has a call number attached to it. For most books, the label with the call number is located on the spine or front of the book. (For the Seydel collection, call number labels are on the back cover next to the spine.) We use the call number labels to help us determine
where in our collection each book belongs and where it should be returned to when we reshelve it.
 

How to Read Library of Congress Call Numbers

Call numbers are read left to right, top to bottom, looking at one part of the call number at a time. Below is an explanation of the parts and what you need to know about them to get books into their correct place and in proper call number order.

 

Collection Indicator
If a book is not part of our general collection, the first line on its call number label will have one of three collection names: Kael, Wright, or Seydel. If one of these collections names is present on the call number label, the book will have a special place to go on reshelving carts and will be shelved in a different section in the stacks. If there isn't a collection name on the label, the book belongs to our normal collection.

Based on the label to the right, we can determine that this book is part of the Wright collection!

 

Class Number
Call numbers serve to group books of the same subject together. Every call number has at least two parts: the class number, which we'll discuss here, and the cutter number, which is discussed below.

The class "number" is actually a combination of letters and numbers. The call number to the right has the class number marked. Here the "HX" indicates that this is a book on Social Sciences -- Socialism, Communism, Anarchism. The "844" further specifies that, within this broad topic, this is a book on Anarchism.

Class numbers usually consist of 1 or 2 letters, followed by a number from 1 to 9999. The number could contain a decimal, such as PA 258.43.

The first "unit" of the call number is the class letter -- you first put the book in alphabetical order by this letter. Then, after letter order, you put books in numerical order. So for instance, once you have all the "B"'s together, you can then begin to order them numerically from B 1 to B 9999.

Here are some class numbers in the proper order left to right (the class number is bolded):

QP 122              QP 300              QP 398              QP 442
.K95                   .F788                 .G39                  .H76
1993                                                                       F6

 

Cutter Number
Class number organization is not specific enough to tell you where each book belongs on the shelf -- once you have books organized by class number, you have to look at the cutter number(s). Indicated on the right, the cutter number is comprised of a letter and one or more numbers following a decimal. The decimal point which comes directly before the first cutter number is there to indicate that this number is always a decimal and not a whole number like the class numbers. Ordering cutter numbers as whole numbers is one of the most frequent shelving errors.

If necessary, a second cutter number will be added after the first to further specify the location of the book.

We take each element or unit of the Cutter Number one at a time. So within a particular Class Number, we then place the books in order:

a) alphabetically by the first letter
b) numerically, in decimal order by the number after it
c) alphabetically by the second letter (if there is one)
d) numerically, in decimal order by the number after it

Here are some cutter numbers in order (the cutter numbers are bolded):

PQ 2349             PQ 2349             PQ 2349             PQ 2349
.A12                    .A36                   .A4                      .A67
1967                    D45                    E5                      1998

 

 

Edition
In many cases, the same book by the same author will be reprinted several times. In that case, each of the editions will have the same call number, but they will be specified by an edition date. The edition date comes directly after the cutter number, and is the next unit to look at when you're placing books in order. Edition dates are ordered chronologically, but a book without an edition date always comes before a book with the exact same call number and an edition date.

Here are some edition dates in order (the edition dates are bolded):
F 103               F 103               F 103               F 103
.M12                .M8                   .M8                   .M8
                        1956                1967                 1996
 

Series
Sometimes a single title will be published in several volumes (as in, for instance, encyclopedias). In these cases, a volume number comes after the edition date to specify the order of the books within the series. Books are placed in order by edition before they are ordered by volume.

Here are some call numbers with series in order (the series is bolded):

AE 5                 AE 5                 AE 5                 AE 5
.W55                .W55                .W55                .W55
V. 20                 V. 21                1996                1996
                                                 V. 20                V. 21

 

Copy Number
Books with the exact same call number (save the copy number) should be shelved numerically by the copy number. Typically, the first copy will not have a copy number.

Here are some call numbers with copy numbers in order (the copy numbers are bolded):

TR 47                TR 47               TR 47              TR 47
.S17                  .S17                 .S17                 .S17
2004                  2004                2004                2007
                          c. 2                  c.3                   c. 2 

 

 

So, How Do I Read Call Numbers?

To summarize, call numbers are read left to right, top to bottom, looking at one part of the call number at a time.

Call numbers are shelved as follows:

1. alphabetically by the first letter(s) in the class number
2. numerically, by the digits in the class number (treating them as a whole number)
3. alphabetically by the first letter in the cutter number
4. numerically, in decimal order by the digits in the cutter number
   • steps 3 & 4 should be repeated for any additional cutter numbers
5. chronologically by the edition date
6. numerically by the volume number (if there is one)
7. numerically by the copy number (if there is one)

 

Helpful Tips

• As a rule of thumb, we always put "nothing" before "something". For example, take the two following call numbers:

1)  PS 25             2)  PS 25
     .A38                    .A38
                                 V. 87

Call number #1 will be shelved before #2.

For another example, take these call numbers:

1)  SB 63             2)  SB 63
     .T8                       .T8
     1998                     W13

In this slightly trickier example, call number #2 has two cutter numbers, while call number #1 has one cutter number and an edition date. In the LC call number system, all SB 63 .T8 call numbers with only one cutter number will be shelved before any SB 63 .T8 call number with a second cutter number. Nothing --the empty space where a second cutter number would go-- comes before something --a second cutter number.