Stacks has two main responsibilities:

1. To daily pick up about the library materials that are taken from the shelf for whatever reason and return them to their proper homes. We shelve somewhere around 10,000 volumes a week. One thing that often surprises people is that the great majority of these materials are not books that have been checked out of the library and returned to circulation, but rather volumes that simply circulate for various reasons inside the building. Only about 30% of the volumes that we shelve on any day have actually left the building. Our goal is to shelve every volume that comes to us within 24 hours. We probably accomplish this 90% of the time.
   
   
2. To try to find space. We are constantly running out of space in the stacks. It is difficult to predict the new hot topic so we constantly have to shift materials to make space for new materials. The installation of compact shelving is a great help to the space issue in Main, but that installation also means that stacks personnel have to move materials before installation and then again after the new shelving is installed.

Our real job is to fight chaos. There are 40,000 or so people taking things off the shelf and 20 or 30 putting them back.

Locating Materials

What should you do if you can't find an item? First, make sure you understand the Library of Congress (LC) call number system, and know which floors cover which call numbers. At various locations throughout the library and at the elevators you can find green slips of paper that show a breakdown of call numbers and floors. If you think you're at the right spot but your item isn't there, try these steps:

1. DOUBLE-CHECK ON MAGIC for the item's location and status - if under "Location" it does not say "Main Library" the item could be with the oversized books on the ground floor, in Special Collections, or at a branch library; in the "Status" field, if the item is not checked out it should say "Check Shelf".
   
   If you're sure you're in the right place and the item is not checked out, try these spots next:
   
   
2. BOOK TRUCKS. On the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th floors of the East Wing turn right when you walk off the elevator and usually you will see some book trucks loaded with books. These books are waiting to be shelved and are in call number order. Check to see if your item is there.
   
   In the West Wing, trucks waiting to be shelved are on the ground (basement) floor just through the doorway that splits the "T" call numbers.
   
   
3. SORTING SHELVES. If you haven't found your item on a built truck or on the sorting shelves, it may be on the shelving just to the right of the East Wing elevators on the first floor; it may be at the copy center on 2 West; it may be sitting on a desk or table; or it may have been shelved incorrectly. At this point, your best bet would be to request a search at Circulation. A staff member will go into the stacks and look for your item.

Please don't hesitate to ask library staff for help. That's why we're here!

Advanced Shelving Techniques

• http://www.library.northwestern.edu/preservation/chlm/
• http://www.lib.umd.edu/TSD/PRES/care.html
• http://www.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/materials.html
• http://www.librarypreservation.org/management_and_planning/shelving.htm
• http://www.bl.uk/services/npo/pdf/handling.pdf
• http://libwww.syr.edu/information/spcollections/conservation/CareAndHandling.pdf

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Care and Handling Notes:

Audio/Video Tape - Film - Books/Print - CD ROM/Digital - Microforms - Vinyl/Records - Photos