Shelving Party

How items are organized at The West Linn Public Library

The Dewey Decimal System

The basic thing to remember is this: File digit by digit—not by whole number.

451.042GRA

451.1THO

451.042 comes before 451.1 because 0 is smaller than 1.

What

is a

call

numb

er?

Like a mailman delivering mail to the right house, when we

shelve books, it’s important that all

items make it to the correct “address” on

the shelf.

Every book in the library is given a call number to serve as an address for locating the book on the shelf. Each call number is made up of the Dewey Decimal Classification and the Cutter letters.

451.1THO

Dewey Decimal Classification

Cutter Letters

The Dewey system has ten main classes, as shown: 000 Generalities100 Philosophy and Psychology 200 Religion 300 Social Science 400 Language 500 Natural Science and Mathematics 600 Technology (Applied Sciences) 700 Arts 800 Literature 900 Geography and History

Each of these classes has ten divisions. For example, the 800’s (Literature).800 Literature & rhetoric 810 American literature in English 820 English & Old English literatures 830 Literatures of Germanic languages 840 Literatures of Romance languages 850 Italian, Romanian, Rhaeto-Romanic 860 Spanish & Portuguese literatures 870 Italic literatures Latin 880 Hellenic literatures Classical Greek 890 Literatures of other languages

Each division is divided again into even more specific categories. For Example, the 820’s English and Old English literatures:

820 English & Old English literatures 821 English poetry 822 English drama 823 English fiction 824 English essays 825 English speeches 826 English letters 827 English satire & humor 828 English miscellaneous writings 829 Old English (Anglo-Saxon)

Remember: The more numbers, the more specific the subject!

Dewey Divisions

Cutter Letters

Four our library, the cutter letters for a book are usually the first three letters

of the author’s last name

636.73 BEA

Beauchamp, Richard G. Rottweilers for dummies

636.73 BOY

Boyd, Lee. Canaan dog: a complete and reliable handbook

636.73BRA

Brace, Andrew H. Dog owner's guide to the boxer

Ann Rule, for example, writes true crime books and has several under the call number 364.1523

RUL

In this case, you would file the books under their titles within the call number

364.1523 RUL:364.1523 RUL Rule, Ann

Everything She Ever Wanted364.1523 RUL Rule, Ann

If You Really Loved Me364.1523 RUL Rule, Ann

Last Dance, Last Chance

What if there are several works with the same call number by the same author?

Call Number Author Title

Shelving RulesNon-FictionDewey NumberAuthor, Last NameAuthor, First NameTitleEdition/Year?Volume

FictionAuthor, Last NameAuthor, First NameTitle

BiographiesSubject, Last NameSubject, First NameTitleEdition/YearVolume

E Picture BooksAuthor, Last NameAuthor, First Name

Juvenile Fiction/Teen FictionAuthor, Last NameAuthor, First NameTitle

Articles

Ignore the initial article (A, An, The) when it’s the first word in the title.

Do not ignore the article when it comes after the first word.

Example:The Complete Guide to BakingComplex CarbohydratesComplexities in SpringtimeComplexities in the Garden

Nothing Comes Before Something

A space is considered a stopping point in your alphabetizing. This rule is meant to

simulate computer filing. A space is referred to as “nothing.”

Word by Word -YES Letter by Letter -NOBook Book Book collecting Bookbinding Book of English essays Book collecting Book of famous ships Bookish Bookbinding Book of English essays

Order of CharactersSpaces, dashes, hyphens,

slashes, and periods all count as “nothing” so you apply our

“Nothing Comes Before Something Rule”. Example:

34 Ways to Cook Asparagus50/50 Gambling Statistics60 Irish Short StoriesA-5 RocketApples and Bananas

All titles beginning with numbers are to be shelved before titles beginning with letters.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations are filed exactly as written.

Example: ...et ce fut la guerre Et cetera; a collector's scrapbook Et in Arcadia ego Etc. Etch proofs

Initials and Acronyms

Initials and acronyms separated by spaces, dashes, hyphens, diagonal slashes, or periods are regarded as

separate words. If the initials and acronyms are separated by other marks or symbols or are not

separated at all, then they are regarded as single words.

Example: I.R.E. P.G.C.S. IAMPA Symposium on Long-term... I***B IBM UFO Sightings Around the World

Names and

Prefixes

A prefix part of the name of a person or place in a title is treated as a separate word, unless it is joined to the rest of the name directly, or by an apostrophe without a space. This rule applies to titles only, not an author’s last name.

Example: Le Guin would be filed as if the space was not there or LeGuin.

Sir George Reginald von Herringbone VI, esq.

Shelving Areas

Adult Fiction has 6 shelving

areas:Mystery

General

Science Fiction

Fantasy

RomanceWestern

Horror, Inspirational, NW Interest/Authors, and

Christmas genres are all interfiled in General Fiction.

Short Stories are filed at the beginning of each shelving area. Example: mystery short stories will be filed at the beginning of

the mystery section.

Short Stories

Other Genres

Oversized

All oversized books are shelved together after biographies and before general fiction. Most are

nonfiction and biographies.

Large

PrintIn the large print area, all genres are interfiled.

Foreign Language

All foreign language materials are shelved in the nonfiction section. This includes

DVD’s, CD audiobooks, etc.

LargeEasy Readers, which are designated by

blue tape above the spine label, are shelved separately from other picture books in youth services. The blue tape

trumps all other stickers.

Youth Services

Graphic Novels, Kids’ Books in Spanish, Parenting, and Board books all have their own

sections in youth services.

New Picture Books/New ER Fiction, and New J Fiction have their own sections and

are NOT interfiled.

Separate Sections

E Nonfiction and J Nonfiction

E Biographies and J Biographies

J Primary Readers (Red Tape) and J Fiction

New ENF and JNF, New Parenting, New Graphic Novels, New Bios are all interfiled within their respective

sections

Interfiled

In Youth Services

How to Shelve a Book

Check call numbers around the items being shelved

If an area is too full for you to shelve properly, shift.

Each shelf should have a bookend at the end of the row

All items should be brought to the edge of the shelf (blocking)

If you are not sure, ask! Do not guess.

Keep an Eye Out For…

• Books that fall behind the shelves• Books that have fallen on the floor• Piles of books left anywhere• Crowded shelves (you may need to shift)• The reshelving cart in youth services

Keep the Library Clean

• Items with spine labels that cannot be read should be given to Support Services

• Items with damage (mold, mildew, insect, water) should be given to Support Services

• Any loose papers or library items left at the end of a row or on the floor should be picked up

• The general rule is: If it’s too gross for you to read in your bed, it shouldn’t be on the shelf.

Pushing Carts

The carts can get very heavy. Please push carts

in front of you rather than pulling carts behind you. Take corners very slowly.

This is for your safety.

Shifting

If a shelf is too full, you will need to shift. Shifting requires attention to detail as

you think through the amount of space you have and keep the books in order as you adjust and move them. Please do not force a book onto a crowded shelf.

If you do not have time to shift, let someone know that it needs to be done.

Shelf

Reading

Shelf reading means reading every call number

in an area to make sure everything is in the proper

order. This ensures that the areas that are getting the most use are kept tidy and it’s a good way to find

missing items.

If there are no carts to shelve, shelf reading always needs to be

done. There are logs near the staff mailboxes

for keeping track of where you started and

left off.

Blocking

Blocking is when you bring each book out to the edge of the shelf so that all the books are lined up and look neat and

tidy.

Most of the time, the shelf will not be blocked already when you begin shelving. It is your job to block while you shelve.

Remember

It’s better to shelve one cart correctly than ten carts

quickly and incorrectly.