IMPLEMENTING A CHECKLIST FOR SHELF-READY APPROVALS

Shelf Ready Doesn’t Always Mean Ready for the Shelf

American University and Shelf-Ready Approvals

Background on American University Blackwell’s – Started Shelf-Ready Approvals, continued with

Coutts/Ingram WorldCat Cataloging Partners for MARC Records Acquisitions Staff receives titles, routes to Cataloging There must be a quicker way to get titles to the shelf

The Idea

Do all books need Cataloging? Acquisitions staff already handling books and checking for

pre-processing Extend the position duties to verify MARC record against a

cataloging checklist Books can be routed directly to Cataloging

The Specifics

Physical check of books Damage Physical processing has been completed (stamps, strips,

barcodes, bookplates, spine labels)

Bibliographic data check Encoding level Dates Title/Variant titles Call numbers Local cataloging practices and other information Name adjustments

Categories After Check

Books that did not pass the “Copy Cataloging” checklist and need to be routed to Cataloging for additional work.

Books that bypass Cataloging but need additional processing, such as new spine labels or book plates.

Books that bypass Cataloging and need no additional processing, which can go straight to Circulation to be shelved.

Route to Cataloging

Books with no 6xx fields Mismatched information Books with numbers, symbols, etc. in title Folios, Reference books, music, children’s materials, multiple

volumes, etc. National literatures Any edition beyond 1st

Books lacking 505 field

Issues with Books

Duplicate records / books provided by vendor “Short records” Diacritical issues Multiple 505’s: “Bad” TOC information in 500 as well as

“good TOC” information in the 505 in the same record. Duplicate 520’s Poor quality spine labeling Spine label not generated from holdings

Challenges / Issues to Consider

Separate workflow for approvals and firms Not all books will fit this workflow

Shelf ready process as a whole has increased challenges such as call number/spine label issues.

Need to actively collaborate with other units such as Circulation and Acquisitions to solve problems

Requires significant time investment upfront for training and proofing. Ongoing spot checking is a must

Communication with your vendor is important

The Results

2009: 24% of Approvals bypassed Cataloging

For the past five years, this percentage has risen 10% each year.

2014: 60% of Approvals expected to bypass Cataloging

2013: Total number of approval books was 7816 (4700 routed to Circulation)

Vendor Relations

Lots and lots of work!

TOC issues

Diacritics

Short Records

Spine Labels

Why oh why won’t Coutts and OCLC work together?

Acquisitions/Cataloging Lovefest

More Collaboration

Move to storage project

Ebook cataloging

Cross-training

Moving off-site

Thank You

Further questions?Ask Us!

Stacey Marien, Acquisitions Librariansmarien@american.edu

Alayne Mundt, Resource Description Librarianmundt@american.edu