LIBRARY

WHAT HAPPENS TO A BOOK BEFORE IT GOES ON TO THE LIBRARY SHELF?

A lot happens to a book before it gets into circulation. A unique barcode is stuck on the book and it is stamped with a McKinnon Library stamp. Date due slips, security tags, price details etc. are also entered on the book. The book is then catalogued: details regarding the number of pages, publishing details, sometimes a brief synopsis and, most importantly, subject headings are given to the book and entered into the catalogue. The subject headings are the search terms that guide users to a particular book. The last remaining detail is the “call number”, or the “address” of where the book is found in the library. For fiction books the call number is the author’s last name. Some times when a series of fiction books are written by different authors the series name may be the call number eg “Star Wars”. (Yes, I know it’s not a number!) In the nonfiction area Dewey numbers are assigned to the books so that books on similar topics are shelved together. (We try to limit the number to 6 digits so that it can easily be remembered). This is not always an easy task. The book “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” caused cataloguers some difficulty: Religion? Motorcycles?

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

Here are some of the books selected for the library by the Year 7s. Sport books were very popular books, followed by animal stories. Plus lots of fiction titles.