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!

The Unlikeliest Obvious Place a Book can Hide

Common locations where books like to hide where they should be in the Stacks are in the Reference and Reserves collections.  Therefore, it is always a good idea to search for books in these locations as well as the BBT location house on the 2^nd floor of the Main/Older side of the building, the Jewish Studies room on the 9^th floor.  It is also important to search the Holds shelves (especially if it could be a 3 day hold), the shelf where books headed to Preservation Services are, and the shelf designated for books needing to go to Cataloging.  Finally, make sure you look on the billing shelf and in Jackie’s office as well because she keeps books patrons have damaged so they can come and review them with her if desired.

Books that are encyclopedias, dictionaries, or other reference guides can end up in Reference especially when the used to be a part of that collection and then weeded to the stacks.  Instead of printing a new label, we usually black out the Ref at the top of the call number and that can fade over time causing it to be confused.  However, books that have never been part of the Reference collection can still end up there too.  A recent search I found in Reference was Modern Portuguese: A Reference Grammar by Mario Perini PC544 .P47 2002 (this book has never been in the Reference collection). 

Books that end up in Reserves usually are textbook type or oddly business related books.  One I found recently in Reserves was Business and Professional Communication in the Global Workplace by H. Lloyd Goodall HF5718 G66 2010.  However, it is important to note most of the time books found on this shelf are still checked out to the returning patron.

Therefore, it is always important to check these locations for each search because you never know where that book will be found!

Happy Searching!

Books in Odd Places

Occasionally books turn up in the strangest places such as underneath the bookshelf bolted to the floor; stacked neatly in both stairwells, the bathroom, and inside chair/couch cushions and even desk drawers! 

While we don’t usually search regularly in these locations, if you are desperate enough to look in all of the areas of the library, then it might be worthwhile to look in that random chair cushion on the 6^th floor.

Happy Searching!

Find that DVD!

In the past semester or so, there have been several search requests for DVDs.  Since DVDs can be stashed literally everywhere and since we only have an hour or so to look for things, below is a strategy I use to search for DVDs.  In the catalog they are displayed as DV COM 6049 or DV COM 11361J.  However, on the shelf the genre sticker is above the DV.  Also, the J is to differentiate between the Entertainment DVD and the Instructional.  Some Instructionals have become Entertainment and had already shared a similar number, so we just added a J to the end.  Those that have a J come after the ones without it (example: DV COM 6049 would come before DV COM 6049J, but may or may not be the same film).  TV series all have the same call number, but will have a colon followed by the season and disc numbers (i.e. All of the seasons of The Big Bang Theory has a call number of DV TV 12928J:3/2).  Therefore, TV series can be particularly tricky to search.

First, I think it would be useful to give a theory as to why many DVDs disappear from their shelving location.  The most obvious reason is of course that it could be on a staff member’s desk awaiting to be checked out on his/her break, or by a student who found a DVD and has either stashed it in his/her locker or maybe holding on to it while studying, looking for other books, etc. before checking it out and leaving the library.  The other more depressing motive is that unfortunately the movie has been stolen from the collection.   We must search for them to the best of our ability for 6 weeks since we don’t know when or if these movies will ever make it back or to the Checkout Desk and is required before the liaison will consider a reorder request.

However, there is a mere glimmer of hope that it could be miss-shelved on the shelf and here is how you should search for them.  Sadly, you must basically shelf-read the genre to which they belong because some patron browsing will either confuse the numbers or put it back on the shelf at random totally missing the empty re-shelving shelf.  I would also look behind the shelf and the makeshift holder to see if it slipped behind.  Since students shelf-reading the DVDs ought to be looking behind them anyway, I would just do the section where it is supposed to be to save some time.

If you don’t see it in the genre to where it belongs, then you must branch out to the other genres.  Of course look to where it would be normally shelved within the other genres because someone might disagree with the genre it was cataloged in and are trying to be passive-aggressive about it.  However, you have an advantage here with looking in the other genres by our DVDs are coded with brightly colored labels with their abbreviations on them and therefore it is an easy task to look through these other sections.

Also, it would be a good idea to search the DVD Reserves shelves (because Entertainment DVDs can be on Reserves) and the Instructional return basket behind the Checkout Desk because sometimes folks get confused about their proper shelving location especially if a professor has placed a booking on the DVD.  Look in the damaged DVD basket and billing areas.  In addition look in the Instructional shelving location in Cathy Rothermel’s office because it could be hiding there on the shelf too even though this is rare. 

As for searching an Instructional DVD, shelf-read that whole collection since sometimes they don’t make it back in their proper place or the case is really skinny since they are boxed differently than our Entertainment DVDs.  Also, if you search for an Instructional DVD, make sure you look in the Entertainment collection as well.

This concludes the search tutorial for DVDs.  Good luck hunting for that missing DVD!