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How Books Are Shelved
Shelving represents the backbone of library volunteer work and needs to be done daily! Occasionally other jobs need to be done, such as changing displays or clerical work, but these occur infrequently, and we can't always predict when they may pop up!
The French Hill Library consists of three different collections:
Easy books (sometimes
called "picture books")
Fiction books (often called chapter books)
Information books (the children often call these fact books)
When you first get started shelving it can be confusing sorting things out. After you have done it for awhile, you will see how everything comes together. There is no hurry when you are shelving. Take your time and do some straightening up as you go along. This is called shelf reding and is the way the library collection stays in order. You will quickly learn which sections of our collection are the most popular. These books are seldom in order!
Children have been taught to use a shelf marker when browsing the shelves to choose a book. They place the marker next to the book they are considering BEFORE they remove the book from the shelf. If they decide they don't want that book, they can easily see where its "home" is, to return it to the shelf. Children may be browsing while you are shelving books. Don't hesitate to remind students to use their shelf marker to help keep the collection in order (so others will be able to find what they are looking for)! Most children appreciate help in finding a particular book. As you become more familiar with the collection, you will be able to provide a bit of extra support in their browsing. This extra help enhances the library service we provide.
Easy books
These books all have E as the first line
of the call
number (located on the spine).
To shelve these books:
- Shelve alphabetically by author's last name. The first three letters of the last name appear on the 2nd line of the call number.
- If there are multiple authors with the same last name, the first name will have to be considered. For example, shelve all Craig Brown's books before Marc Brown's books, followed by Marcia Brown's books and ending with Margaret Wise Brown's books.
- Shelve titles by an author in
alphabetical order. Do not consider the words "A, An and The",
when they are the first word of the title. DO consider them in your
alphabetizing when they appear elsewhere in the title.
Fiction books
All these books have FIC as the first
line of the call
number. The second line also refers to the first three
letters of the author's last name. This collection is kept
separately from the Easy books, but is shelved the same
way Easy books are shelved.
Information books
These
titles have a "Dewey" number (remember that
name?) as the first line of the call number. The
second line contains the first three letters of the
author's last name. (with one exception - more on
that when you come into the library!)
To shelve these books:
- Put in numerical order by the Dewey number.
- Alphabetize by author's last name.
- Alphabetize by title if there are multiple books by same author.
These numbers range from 000 to 999 and each number represents a topic. For example, dinosaurs are 568, pets are 636, etc.
Videos
Videos
are shelved alongside the books, so children
will find books and videos on the same topic or by
the same author together on the shelf. They are
shelved the same way as the books.
Books With Cassettes
Books
with cassettes are shelved separately
from the other collections. They are hanging
the wooden rack, located under the world map.
To shelve these:
- Follow the same rules of shelving as explained above.
- Hang Easy first, followed by FIC, and ending with Information books, on the same rack.
Reference Books
Although
reference books seldom circulate, you
may have one to shelve, on occasion. They are
helved between the FIC section and the
Information books. There is an extra line in
the call numbers of these books: REF.
Professional and Parenting Library
The
professional and parenting libraries are
located at the end of the 900s. They also
have an extra line in their call numbers, which
tells you at a glance where they belong!
If the written directions seem confusing, don't worry! Either AnneMarie or I will go over everything when you come in for the first time. And, always, if you run into any questions,
Don't Hesitate to Ask!
