The Ghostly Call Number...

Sometimes when call numbers become faded, or when the book has been checked out many times, the call number label on the spine starts to fade or rub off.  It took about 6 weeks to figure this out for this poor book, but we found it and gave it a new label.

The book was Tar Heel Ghosts by John Harden with the assigned call number of GR110.N8 H3.  This poor book was located in the QR section because the label had begun to rub off.

This is just another example of thinking how a letter or number can appear like another and checking in that location.  Sadly it took our team 6 weeks to find it, but it happens sometimes.  Luckily, the patron was pleased we located and promptly came by to check it out.

Oversize Miss-shelving and British Plays

Recently I posted a blog about oversized books and their cranky ways and I thought I would provide an actual example of a couple I found yesterday to follow up:

• ff PZ8.3 .S848 CH 17 shelved at the end of the ff PQ's.
• ff PZ7 .T16123 AR 2006 shelved with the ff PN6737's.

Also, since I'm posting about miss-shelved items, I thought I would post one about a British play I found miss-shelved: 

• PR6063.C377 P550 2003 shelved as PR6023.C377 P550 2003.

Usually plays from this section usually end up in the PR6036, or oddly as a PR6045.  I think I might have found one shelved in the PR9000's too.

Happy Searching!

The Oddly Shelved from Fall 2013 Semester

As you can probably tell I haven’t posted on this blog in a while and it’s because I’ve been rather busy especially in the last weeks of the last semester.

Therefore, I thought I would post some of the oddly shelved examples I found and some of you have found from last semester:

• ·         BF575.H27 G55 2006 shelved as BF575.A27 G55 2006 (Yet another great reason why you should look in the sections surrounding it as well as everything that begins with BF575 or whatever beginning part of the call number you are looking for)
• ·         HG1552.E64 D49 2011 shelved as HD1552.E64 D49 2011 (Note these are now shelved on separate floors and yet because they are both H’s they still get miss-shelved among each other…make sure you search in all of these locations even if a letter is split between 2 + floors)
• ·         TR655 .H4780 2011 shelved as TH655 .H4780 2011 (Make sure you look as if it were shelved in other locations as well as all the other photography books since that area is almost always a mess and shelving nightmare)
• ·         PQ8180.17.A73 C6813 1983 shelved as PR8180.17.A73 C6813 1983 (Note PQ and PR are on separate floors like the HD/HG example)
• ·         QC981.8.C5 O77 2009 shelved as QD981.C5 O77 2009 (Not only was it shelved in the wrong letter, the decimal was completely dropped and forgotten)
• ·         P92.U5 B7 1989 shelved between P92.U5 O44 1999 and P92.U5 R8 (I’m not even going to venture a guess as to what happened here except it happens all the time so the only thing I can guess is someone was looking at it and put it back randomly, but at least it was near where it was supposed to be?)

Happy Searching!

Drop, Switch, and Find!

Some books I found recently have had their digits switched or shelved as if half of the number was dropped:

• ·         N5630 .R49 1974 shelved as N6530 .R49 1974
• ·         HV4945 .K53 1926 shelved as HV49 .K53 1926

A common rule of thumb when it comes to searching is to be aware that these things happen, so be prepared for it and think about how the numbers can be dropped and switched!

Good luck and happy searching! 

Looking for Titles instead of Call Numbers can be Helpful

Occasionally, when a book goes through processing, something happens where the call number might be altered ever so slightly which can cause a book to go missing.

Such is the case for the book Investment Banking: Institutions, Politics, and Law by Morrison and Wilhelm.  The call number label said HV4534 .M65 2007; however, in our catalog it said (and of course should have been) HG4534 .M65 2007.  This can also happen to any other part of the call number too.

These sorts of things happen rarely, but when they do it can be particularly difficult to search, which is why searching for the title on the spine if it is printed there can be extremely helpful.  Sometimes a book can be thin and the title is still printed on the spine so it can be helpful to spot when looking for the titles.  Luckily in the example listed, I found it by searching as I always do in each of the letters on the floor and that is always important (Searching 101 remember?)

Good luck and happy searching!

H’s look like N’s

For a long time I had been searching for the book, HD57.7 .L4355 2005 and I couldn’t find it after 6 months so I had it submitted for reorder.  One day while I was searching in the ND’s for another book, I found my long lost missing book.  Fortunately, the library decided to shadow the record and not delete it or order another copy.

Lesson learned: H’s look like N’s especially if the call number is a bit faded…or not.

Happy Searching!

Over sized/Over folio as their own Collection

Recently whenever I receive a search for an over sized/over folio book or even while I'm searching the stacks for something completely different, I stumble upon in the over sized collection an over sized book that doesn't even belong on that floor.

It's always hard already because no one seems to know what the FF or F means in front of the call number or the difference between the two.  When I first began as the search coordinator, all I ever usually had to worry about in regard to the over sized/over folio collection was that they usually were miss-shelved in both sections (F meaning the books are so large or sometimes rare they need to lay on their sides and FF meaning the book is a bit bigger than the regular books and require larger shelving), or they sometimes ended up in with the regular books.  This miss-shelving of the FF's usually occur with the art and photography books because they have the most.

However, now it seems as if they are treated as their own collection spread among different floors.  I have found ff PQ's with the ff PR's and I even found an ff Z mixed with the ff C's.  Therefore, if you are ever searching for an over sized/over folio book, make sure you are looking at every book that is in the over sized and over folio on that floor, where it would be shelved with the "regular" sized books, and possibly with the over sized books on other floors too.

Happy Searching!