[Publib] Best strategies for getting to know my collection - sheving seems old-fashioned, but it works!!!

[Judith Turner]

Having written my piece about the value of shelf reading and seeing several messages about gaining in-depth knowledge of a collection, I'll add 2 other activities that work in smaller libraries where staff wear multiple hats.

Purchasing is one way to get to know what's in a collection.  Cataloging is even better, imo, and has the advantage of applying to digital collections as well as physical ones.  Caveat: don't just copy catalog, look at the record and look at the item and adjust the record if necessary.  

I understand that the limits of a work week and the volume of material often keep technical services staff in the back rooms but it bothers me that they are so often an untapped resource of knowledge about what the library contains.

Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI

"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved." ---- "Silence in the Library"  (Doctor Who, Season 4, Ep. 8)