This is essentially the same as in the US. But one question
When you bring it back, you scan the book again and leave it on the shelf by the returns scanner. Because the book was removed from the inventory, it wont have a place on a shelf yet.
Do you not have a classification system that determines where a book should reside? US libraries (and others, I presume) use the Dewey Decimal System, which groups books into categories and such, and then finally alphabetically by author. So every book would have a general place to go, and then the specific place would be determined by the author’s last name.
Items are grouped by type (games, video, music, tools, devices, fact, fiction, for adults, for kids, comics, audiobooks) etc. Each library may subdivide things in slightly different ways, due to the fact that they vary massively in size. I think some do use DDC for some subset of their inventory. But HelMet has a lot of media and items that do no fit into the DDC system.
You can certainly find something based on how things are sorted, and if you know its there.
But since the collection is region-wide, you don’t necessarily know that. Step one to finding a copy of something is to look up what libraries currently have any. When you look that up, the shelf location is right there as well.
Many locations simply number their shelves, and then further subdivide them by a point value, and then sort alphabetically.
A Harry Potter book for example, could be on shelf 86, section 11063, by “HAR”.
Each entire shelf is usually in alphabetical order overall, too, but the numbers make it really easy to zero in on exactly where a given item can be found.
But since any book might move to any other library, at any time (due to requests or due to borrowers returning books to a different library to where they picked them up), there is the simple problem that a location can run out of space in a given section. Hence they need to be able to put items on any shelf, and still have it trackable by the system.
Otherwise they can end up having to shift hundreds of books over to make space for just a couple more items to go in the right spot in the order.
Interesting! When you return a book to a different in-network library it stays there? In the US/at my library, if a book belongs to library A and a patron returns it at library B, it is sent back to A.
Items get sent around all the time. In-network, copies are interchangeable, and the system balances them out among the libraries. AFAIK there’s no particular need for a copy to go back to the same shelf, so it doesn’t happen.
If no-one is looking for a certain item, it wont move again unless someone asks, or if the library needs space for something else.
It’s kinda nice. Every time I visit a library it can have an entirely new selection. With recent requests to that location which have been returned again, or just returns, appearing on the shelves.
Ah, I can see how shelving limits could cause problems. Most libraries I’ve gone to only fill each shelf about 3/4 full to account for that. Thanks for the insights!
This is essentially the same as in the US. But one question
Do you not have a classification system that determines where a book should reside? US libraries (and others, I presume) use the Dewey Decimal System, which groups books into categories and such, and then finally alphabetically by author. So every book would have a general place to go, and then the specific place would be determined by the author’s last name.
Sure.
Items are grouped by type (games, video, music, tools, devices, fact, fiction, for adults, for kids, comics, audiobooks) etc. Each library may subdivide things in slightly different ways, due to the fact that they vary massively in size. I think some do use DDC for some subset of their inventory. But HelMet has a lot of media and items that do no fit into the DDC system.
You can certainly find something based on how things are sorted, and if you know its there.
But since the collection is region-wide, you don’t necessarily know that. Step one to finding a copy of something is to look up what libraries currently have any. When you look that up, the shelf location is right there as well.
Many locations simply number their shelves, and then further subdivide them by a point value, and then sort alphabetically.
A Harry Potter book for example, could be on shelf 86, section 11063, by “HAR”.
Each entire shelf is usually in alphabetical order overall, too, but the numbers make it really easy to zero in on exactly where a given item can be found.
But since any book might move to any other library, at any time (due to requests or due to borrowers returning books to a different library to where they picked them up), there is the simple problem that a location can run out of space in a given section. Hence they need to be able to put items on any shelf, and still have it trackable by the system.
Otherwise they can end up having to shift hundreds of books over to make space for just a couple more items to go in the right spot in the order.
Interesting! When you return a book to a different in-network library it stays there? In the US/at my library, if a book belongs to library A and a patron returns it at library B, it is sent back to A.
Depends.
Items get sent around all the time. In-network, copies are interchangeable, and the system balances them out among the libraries. AFAIK there’s no particular need for a copy to go back to the same shelf, so it doesn’t happen.
If no-one is looking for a certain item, it wont move again unless someone asks, or if the library needs space for something else.
It’s kinda nice. Every time I visit a library it can have an entirely new selection. With recent requests to that location which have been returned again, or just returns, appearing on the shelves.
Ah, I can see how shelving limits could cause problems. Most libraries I’ve gone to only fill each shelf about 3/4 full to account for that. Thanks for the insights!