Creating the Library Manual

We did it! The folio section is completely revamped. The records contain current and correct data, the call numbers all match the shelf list, and the spine labels are correctly printed. I wish I had a picture to show because all that organization really is a beautiful sight!

Now I will shift my attention to the training manual. I rewrote the first four pages to correct policy errors and additions. Additionally I added an overview checklist that lists the steps an item should go through before it can be placed in circulation. Here is a sample:

New Item Checklist

1. Add a security sticker to the inside back cover of the book.

2. Locate the two stamps and ink pad in the librarian drawer. Use the skinny stamp to mark “Property of University of Washington Rome Center” on three sides of the book. Use the round stamp on the title page of the book. Make sure you stamp the true title page, not just one of the end pages.

3. If the book is a trade paperback, it needs to be covered with plastic sticky paper for durability. Locate the roll of contact paper in the bottom filing cabinet drawer. Unroll the amount of covering needed and remove paper backing. Keep the book closed as you lay it on the sticky paper, or you won’t be able to open once you’ve applied sticky paper. Fold the sticky paper over the cover and back of book like you are wrapping a present. Trim excess covering (especially above and below the spine) with the scissors. Try to smooth out any bubbles and make it as perfect as possible. Part of doing a good job is just having confidence. If you make a mistake, the sticky paper can sometimes be peeled off and smoothed without damaging the book.

4. Now it’s time to give the book a call number. The easiest way to do this is to “copy cat” catalog the item. The explicit directions for how to do this are in the How to Search for Existing Records section below. Once you’ve found the applicable record in the Library of Congress (LOC) or UW Library Catalog, copy the item’s information into the database and shelf list.

5. You are now ready to print a sticker for the spine of the book. There is a template already created for this. Since our library computer does not have Internet, the easiest way to get the template is to have the Rome Center Intern email it to you. Then you can fill in the stickers with new call numbers (as explained in the To Apply Labels section below) and email them back to the intern for free printing. Go down to the office and pick up the labels. Read detailed instructions about how to type labels and apply them to new items in the To Apply Label section. Label accuracy is imperative to ensure proper shelf placement!

When Lorelei completes her half of the manual, I will include a link to the entire document. It is my hope that this resource will answer questions and provide clear guidelines about how materials should be shelved, labeled, and entered items into the library system. If there are less mistakes, the collection will be easier to access, use, and manage. And in the end, it's all about providing our users with the best information possible.

It's a race to the finish!

It's our final week in the Rome Center Library and we are burning the midnight oil in pursuit of our final goals.


This will be a quick update because I would like to spend the bulk of my time this week checking as many records as possible before we board the plane for home. We have one more tiny shelf to sift through and the folio section will be done. We've found numerous books with call number discrepancies or missing information. Dates, descriptions, subjects, publishing information, and even authors are often missing from records in the database. Once we have checked the spine and title page of a book to make sure everything is physically correct, we check the information against the shelf list to make sure it is where it should be. Finally, we clean up any metadata that needs updating in the database. If everything matches, the book is ready to go back to the shelf. Some items need new labels, so they are printed and adhered. Occasionally, a book will require , mending, or covering as well. Once that is accomplished, the book is placed back in its home on the shelf.

We are doing our best to come to a stopping point with record checking this week so that we can take some time to prepare for the coming work study students. A major overhaul of the training manual is required, as well as some signage changes. We also plan to spend a few hours on Friday training the administrative intern so that she will be familiar with the library and be able to oversee simple tasks there. The plan is to teach her how to shelve and cover books, as well as perform basic mending. We will also attempt to teach her how to copy cat catalog and enter or edit records in the database. It is our hope that if she is equipped with correct knowledge, she will pass it on to the work study students during the year.


It is time for me to get back to business in the library. Hopefully, I will be able to spend a portion of my next entry reflecting on this experience and some of the things I have learned while in this beautiful, timeless city. Ciao for now!

So much has happened this week. It is time for an update!

I just want to take a moment and explain the color coding situation. When we arrived, there were two collections with color coding. The reference section was distinguished by red stickers on the spine, and the folio works were demarcated with yellow stickers. These visual reminders alerted anyone shelving materials as to the book's location in the stacks. It appears to be a successful addition to the library.


As we poured through the collection this week in an effort to check records in the database, we came across a few misshelved maps, atlases, and guidebooks. Because of this, we decided to add green stickers to the guidebooks and put them on a separate shelf. We also added blue stickers to the map and atlas collection and put them on a separate shelf. We added (GUIDEBOOK COLLECTION) to each guidebook in the database and (ATLAS & MAP COLLECTION) to appropriate records in the map/atlas collection. Additionally, we labeled each shelf with the title of the collection and weeded outdated or damaged items.

The longest part of the process was checking each record in the database and shelf list and affixing new stickers when needed. (Some had inappropriate spaces, punctuation, or no period with the Cutter number, etc.)

Hopefully, the new stickers and shelf locations will distinguish special works and streamline the shelving process. We want to make everything as clear as possible for the work study students who run the library during the remainder of the year.

The Exciting Happenings of Week Two

Week two already? Time is flying by. I could spend three summers here and probably wouldn't get all the work that needs doing, done.

This week, we've begun analyzing database records to make sure that they are complete, accurate, and match the shelflist. It can sometimes be slow going. Especially when we run into inconsistencies and have to decide how best to handle changes. We quickly realized that one of the most important elements of this process was documenting a systematic way to comb through the collection. Hopefully, with enough instruction, interns or work study students who care for the collection after us will be able to pick up where we leave off. When we are finished, we hope to add exhaustive directions with explicit examples.

Lorelei and I are nearly through the reference records and hope to finish that entire shelf this week. It includes a map and atlas collection, guidebooks collection, and the folio section. We found it necessary to make a distinction between the reference books and the altas and map section because they were being grossly mishelved. Additionally, the guidebook shelves need to be weeded every 4-5 years so that only the latest information is available for patrons. We discarded several older books and removed their records from the shelflist and the database. Another surprising element of this collection was that some of the guidebooks has LC call numbers on their spine and were included in the database, while others were not. After talking to our supervisor, we discovered that select tomes were kept for historical purposes. We decided to enter these into the catalog since they are apart of the permanent collection. We removed the stickers from the rest and set them apart.


Finally, anyone browsing the collection will notice that about half of the works contain LC call numbers with a peroid in front of the Cutter number, while the other half are simply missing them. This is also causing confusion when it's time to reshelve books. Whether you are for the period or against, there has to be some consistency! As we go through the collection checking database records, our goal is to print new stickers for books that need them.

Week One

Monday was our first day visiting the Rome Center Library. Rea, the Rome Center Administrative Intern gave us a run-down the projects work study students have been working on during the school year. She has really taken the library under her wing, spending about an hour each day working on the shelf list.

Apparently, while the last library intern was here, it was discovered that many books in the stacks were missing from the catalog. Rea spent the year making a shelf list, and checking the stacks against it to see which items required catalog entries. She was able to delete the records of nonexistent materials and find over 30 "missing" items. She recorded all the books without catalog entries as well.


Our first project this week has been entering the non-cataloged books into the InMagic database. This is my first experience cataloging. It can be a real challenge to get the punctuation and subject headings just right. Luckily, there are an abundance of resources available to check and double check your work. It is also helpful to have a colleague review your entries (as I discovered yesterday! Thanks Lorelei).

Once Lorelei and I have gone through the books that need cataloging to match the shelf list, we intend to add new acquisitions to the collection. Students visiting the Rome Center will often donate materials to the library when they go home. There are also new books and movies from Washington to add to the collection. Lorelei and I were able to bring them to Rome in our luggage. I had to laugh because anyone opening my suitcase could guess that I am a librarian. Who else packs luggage full of books?

My goal is to finish adding these newly cataloged items to the stacks and shelf list by the end of the week. I still feel major trepidation about originally cataloging a few of the items. LIS 530 and 531 are completely theoretical, and did not prepare me for things like Cutter numbers. I want so much to be accurate, instead of guessing. If anything, I have developed a new-found appreciation for catalogers. The level of expertise required to know all the rules and idiosyncrasies is awe-inspiring. It takes years to become a seasoned expert like our adviser!

Next week we will begin an extensive analysis of the records in the InMagic database. This database is really a conglomeration of preexisting records. Sometimes the mash-up of information from different sources didn't synthesize gracefully, and records are missing important details like publication information and subject headings that render them practically unsearchable. We are working out a process for scrutinizing each record and remedying any inaccuracies. Our methodology will also include examining the book in the stacks to make sure it is present, correctly shelved, and stickered.

Weekly Recommendation:
1. The process of cataloging would be infinitely streamlined by simply adding internet access to the librarian computer. Since the Rome Center has WiFi, a new computer with a wireless card would easily solve the problem.

Leaving on a jet plane...

Wahoo! My colleague Lorelei and I just completed our UW Rome Center training today. We learned a bit about cataloging art and architecture materials and how to use the Rome Center Inmagic database. After months of preparations, all that is left is to pack our bags, kiss our loved ones goodbye, and say arrivederci to the U.S.A.