What is Stacks Maintenance?
Inventory, shifting, shelving, shelf-reading, and anything to do with working in the stacks.
Inventory
During your shift, you may be asked to go check inventory in the stacks (located on the 2nd and 3rd floor). We run inventory for a number of reasons:
1. To check to make sure that books are in correct call number order.
2. To check to make sure that there are no books in the stacks that do no belong there (i.e., books that belong to Chastek, Orbis Cascade Alliance libraries, or ILL libraries).
3. To check for cataloguing errors (i.e., the call number label does not match what is in Alma, it is a book and it is catalogued as a laserdisc, etc.).
4. To check for books that are currently "missing" from the collection (we've found quite a few that way!)
5. Other errors that we could not find through shelf-reading, including technical and cataloguing errors.
The first step in inventory is to check in with a supervisor. If you do not know how to do inventory, a supervisor will show you how to use the barcode scanner. There is a clipboard in the Circ workroom. Pick up where the last student employee left off. Scan the library barcode of each item (typically located inside the front cover of the book). Make sure you scan the items in order so that the inventory report makes sense when a supervisor is analyzing it.
Shelving
Before we set you loose with shelving on your own, your supervisors will have you pass three shelving tests in a row with 100% accuracy. That means if pass two but miss the third, we will start you over again. Don't feel bad if this happens to you! We want you to be fully trained on the call number system before we set you loose, but we fully expect you to miss a few tests.
Once you have passed all three test, you may see "shelving" by your name on the schedule. This means the books in the back workroom will need to be re-shelved back in the stacks.
We recommend that you grab books that are either in the same section or closely related to the section. For example, if there are only 4 books from the B section that need to be shelved and a whole row of E section books, it is okay to shelve them at the same time.
Next, scan in all books one more time using the "Return Items" function in Alma. This makes certain that all books are checked in and not still checked out by the patron who borrowed the book (it can be very embarrassing when a patron claims that they returned the book and we find it on our shelves still checked out to them).
Once all the books are returned, you are now able to go re-shelve in the stacks. You are allowed to listen to music when you are re-shelving but be mindful of patrons around you because they may stop and ask questions.
Shelf-Reading
Going along with shelving, another task assigned is shelf-reading. Usually, the schedule on the circulation desk will tell you which sections you need to read, but if it doesn't, just ask a supervisor. Go to the specified section and read the call numbers from the start of the section to the end of the section. If you noticed books are out of place, move them into their correct spots. If they are badly out of place (i.e., a B is in the P section), bring it to Circ and scan it in to make sure it is not marked as Missing from the collection.
Shifting
You may also be asked to do shifting during your shift. Shifting is moving portions of the stacks in call number order.
Your supervisor will explain any sections that may need to be shifted, and you will work under their supervision to complete a shifting projects. We typically shift for a few reasons:
1. To make room for a new bunch of books that are being added to the collection.
2. To make room for a collection that is rapidly growing.
3. To cover up any large gaps from weeding old collections.
4. Any other reason that might require us to move part of the collection.
Straightening
Whenever you are doing any work in the stacks, make sure you straighten as you go. Straightening means bringing all spines to the front of the shelf, fixing the book ends to make sure no books are leaning over, and making sure the stacks look tidy.
Lost and Missing List
There is a Lost and Missing List on the shelf next to the floater desk. It is a list of all Foley library items that have been marked as "lost" (checked out to the patron and never came back) or "missing" (not checked out to anyone, but is not on the shelf where it should be.)
Many of our lost or missing books turn out to have just been shelved incorrectly, so it is important to go search for items on the lost/missing list to see if they turn up somewhere near the place where they ought to be shelved. The lost/missing clipboard has more information about the procedures to follow when doing this task.