Post on 23-Dec-2015
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Shelving
An introduction to the organization of resources in our library
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There are five principles that guide our library practices
Published in 1931, S. R. Ranganathan, from India, proposed 5 principles as a guide for library science
He is considered to be the “father of library science.”
He stressed that service to the PATRON is the foundation of library services
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Ranganathan’s 5 principles
Books are for use. Every reader, his or her book. Every book, its reader. Save the time of the reader. The library is a growing organism.
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As a growing organism
We need to maintain an organizational system that can accommodate new materials
We need to keep books available on the shelves for our users
There are two main organizational systems commonly used by libraries:Library of Congress ClassificationDewey Decimal Classification
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The Dewey Decimal System
Our library uses this system to organize and categorize our non-fiction library collection
We keep fiction in its own designated section
Non-fiction Fiction
These are labels from the
spines of books; more about that later
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How to place books on shelves
Remember the shelves “read” left to right, top to bottom
You can think of this the same way you think of the pages in a book
Shelf markers designate how wide the shelf is just like pages in a book do
ShelfMarker
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Shelving FICTION
The fiction section is organized alphabetically by the Author’s last name
If several authors have the same last name, the next item to be used for alphabetizing is the first name
If there are several titles by the same author, the next item to be used is the title of the book (remember to ignore “a,” “an,” and “the” if it’s the first word in the title)
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Rule of Thumb
Our goal is to help our patrons find what they are looking for
In our library, books from a series may be shelved in order of publication and not by title
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Shelving FICTION (cont’d)
A perfect example is Darren ShanMost people looking for his Cirque Du
Freak series of books will want to read all 12 in order
Shelving them this way does not follow the alphabetical rule
It does follow the rule to help patrons find what they are looking for
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Shelving Non-fiction
These books and other materials are organized by Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) called the “call number”
The number designates the location of the book on the shelf
Each book has a unique number and location
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Shelving Non-fiction (cont’d)
Our Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) lists the call number so patrons can locate the books they want on the shelf
The shelves have guide numbers to help patrons locate the general shelf location of the book
Shelving them properly makes them easier for patrons to find
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Location of a Call Number
Call numbers are located on the spine of the book:
Spine label with call number
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Anatomy of a call number from the spine label for Mammals
This indicates the class of this title: natural science
This indicates the subdivision within natural science: mammals
These are is the first 3 letters of the author’s last
name
Some call numbers may be preceded by a guide word to show a special location like REFERENCE, CAREERS, or OVERSIZED
???
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Things to remember
Nothing comes before something i.e. 599 before 599.001
Use your number sense with decimals 599.02 before 599.1
Shelve by the call number Then by the author
Then by title (if there are multiple books with the same call number and author)
Remember to disregard “A,” “AN,” “THE,” if the first word in the title
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Putting it all together
Follow the rule of thumb from Ranganathan’s 5 principles: We want to help patrons find what they’re looking for
Non-fiction is shelved by call numberUse your number sense
Fiction is shelved by author’s last nameSeries can be shelved to follow their reading
orderWhen in doubt, ASK!
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Without organization
We’d never find anything…
Happy shelving!
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For practice
Work your way through the shelving practice exercises at http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~valmstrum/s2s/utopia/library4/src/library4.html
(from the University of Texas)