5 Collection & Shelving
There will always be things that surprise you about our library collection–items that won’t come up until you’re doing that hail Mary catalog search for a student’s research paper on industrial water pollution and piracy off the coast of Somalia (this was a real and very difficult reference question). But there are also some things that you can do to get to know the collection in anticipation of those research questions.
In particular, we have an unusually robust and well-used print reference collection. Spend some time on your own, while you’re shelving (more on this below) and with your mentor to get familiar with different call number areas of the print reference collection. Browse through the headings of the different encyclopedia sets to get an idea of what sort of questions they might answer. Don’t be afraid to dawdle and peruse when you are shelving!
It may also be interesting for you to get a sense of how the librarians who develop the collection think about its scope. Read the collection development policy (which we update every 3 years or so), and think about what types of resources you’re likely to find in our collection, and what types of things we are unlikely to have.
Shelving Reference Books
We ask our Reference Assistants to take time during their shift to shelve in the reference collection. The amount that you are able to shelve will vary depending upon how busy your shift is on a given day. This process serves two important purposes: it ensures that the reference collection is in order and ready for student use from day to day, and it gives Reference Assistants an opportunity to get to know our print reference collection in more detail.
Unlike in many libraries, our print reference collection is very actively used and maintained as both a source for students and a teaching tool for faculty. It is worth getting to know each section of the collection in order to effectively direct students to useful resources during their research. [2022 Note: With the pandemic and remote instruction, the librarians have had discussions of how their use of the print reference collection has changed in recent years. Ask us about it!]
Gale Virtual Reference LibraryLinks to an external site. is our other primary source for reference material, and is also worth exploring, so that you know it well.
If you haven’t done much shelving, this tutorialLinks to an external site. might help.
When Shelving Reference Books:
- Check with the librarian on the desk to make sure it is a convenient time to be away from the desk.
- Log into ALMA –> Fulfillment –> Scan in Items. Check the tutorial here.Links to an external site. Use the scanner at the reference desk.
- If there are carts behind the desk on to the side of the reference collection that have blue sheets on them, this often means that the books are being used for a class or project. If the date on the sheet has passed, it is safe to shelve those books, too.
- Make sure to check back at the desk every 10 minutes or so, to make sure there aren’t patrons who need to be assisted.
Question for Reflection
After you’ve worked with both the print reference collection, and our online reference databases (Gale Virtual Reference Library), consider the strengths of both modalities and collections. How would the differences between these collections influence the way you would teach a student how and when to use them?
In the discussion space below, take the opportunity to share some insights and gems.
