Stack maintenance is a general term for all of the work that takes place in the stacks. When the stacks are organized in an orderly fashion it allows patrons and librarians to easily find what they are searching for. A tidy shelf also ensures an aesthetic appeal. If the library looks neat and the books are easy to find, patrons will return.
Edging is a very simple part of stack maintenance. Pull the books close to the edge of the shelf and even out the row. Sometimes the books have been sloppily shelved by a patron, or are just moved back from browsing.
Also look for books that have been pushed all the way behind rows.
When edging, be sure not to pull the book from the spine, but from farther back on the top of the book. It will cause damage to the book if you quickly pull at the top spine edge of the book.
There are book carts for shelving books located at the front of the library, and on the Haverhill campus, throughout the library. Start your shelving rounds with the cart at the circulation desk, as this typically has the most books from patrons returning books to the library.
One thing that should be done before shelving the books is ordering the books on the cart. This way, the shelver does not have to travel all over the library shelving the books. If they are ordered before they are taken out, it makes the shelving process considerably more efficient.
Shelving a book is simply putting that book back where it belongs using the LCC system. The main stacks are arranged by subject (A-Z). Each row of shelves have signs that states the general LCC range in that row.
Please note that all books marked “Ref.” on the spine belong in the reference area. A “Ref.” book should never go in the circulating stacks area; likewise, a book for the circulating collection should never go in the reference stacks. These are the most commonly mixed up books, but also be mindful of books marked ESL or with a Reserves bookwrap.
When you find the correct place for the book, double check the shelf order. Sometimes the books on the shelf are out of order and an entire row or rows need to be ordered. If you shelve a book in an area that is not in order, it only multiplies the chaos, so shelf-read the neighboring books when shelving.
Books that have been left on the study tables should be collected and have a "usage check-in" (F6 in Evergreen) completed before reshelving.
There should be sufficient room on each shelf to accommodate the end brace and extra space for book re-shelving. The library "rule" is each shelf should be about 65-75% full.
Sometimes a shelf looks almost empty. This could be because many books from that shelf are in use, but it is often the result of haphazard re-shelving. Remember to leave an even amount of space at the end of every shelf - this may mean moving books between shelves (being sure to keep them in call number order). Do not crowd shelves or cramp books!
Shelf-reading is an important part of stack maintenance. It includes carefully reading each call number in order to ensure that the books are properly shelved. Patrons often place books back on the shelves without knowing exactly how to shelve books. It is inevitable that every worker will at some point accidentally misshelve a book. After a long day it becomes easy to lose focus and make simple mistakes. You should try not to shelve books or shelf-read when you are very tired.
Move through the stacks from left to right, and top to bottom by short shelves.
It is a good idea to take a quick survey of the shelves to get a sense of the physical extent of the alpha-range you're looking at so you won't inadvertently jump to the next subject letter. "LCC tunnel vision" often happens when scanning Cutters and losing sight of the entire call number.
Shelf-reading can take quite a while. It is much more important that you take your time and are accurate, than to rush through quickly and make mistakes.
After you have shelf-read for an extended amount of time, take a break. If your eyes hurt and you continue anyway it will lead to sloppy work.
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