Introduction

Overview

Breaks

Computer Rules

Customer Service

Daily Routine

Dress Code

Floor Assignments

Floor Supervisors

General Policies

How to Shelve a Book

How to Use a Book Truck

Job Duties

Labeling

Library Lingo

Lost and Found / Theft

Meetings

Orientation- General

Payroll- Clocking In/Out

Problem Books

Projects

Safety

Schedules and Attendance

Shelf Reading / Blocking

Shelving Guidelines

Shifting

Student Organization

Book Shifting

When shifting books we typlically allow for 5 years of growth. The amount of space needed is determined by looking at the current shelf and noting how many inches of growth the shelf has had in the last 5 years. This is more difficult for books than it is for periodicals because all of the more recent volumes may not be together on the shelf. You can estimate the amount of growth by noting the average width of books on that shelf and then counting the number of new books from the past 5 years and multiplying. You should record these shelf by shelf as it will make your planning go more smoothly later in the process.

Recording your Measurements

Use this form for recording your space. The first two lines have been filled in as examples

On this form, you are recording

1. Call Number or Call Number Range- this way you can identify the specific areas in need of extra space which will help you in Step 2 of the planning phase.
2. Estimate for Growth- This should be based on how much space the past (x- number of years you are planning for, usually 5) years have taken up. Make sure you plan for the same number of years for every area.
3. Row Number- This will help you to get a general idea of where space is needed on the floor once you start adding up the numbers.

Determining Your Space

• The first step in making a shifting plan is to determine the amount of space you have. To do this for books you
  1. Add up the total number of inches currently taken by books on the floor (this does not include your growth estimates). This process will take a while as there will be many pages of number to add up. Make sure to double check your work as these numbers will affect every other part of the shift.
  2. Add up the total number of inches estimated for growth.
  3. Add up the total number of inches of shelving available for the materials to be housed on. Each shelf is 35.5” long and most units are 7 shelves high (I don’t believe there are any exceptions to this rule), the length is the changing variable to the equation.
  4. Add: Total Current Inches + Total Estimated Growth Inches = Current Amount
  5. Subtract: Total Inches of Available Shelving (Determined in Step 3) - Current Amount = Amount Available for Growth (in Inches)
  6. Divide: Amount Available for Growth / Number of Shelves (Determined in Step 3) = Number of Inches Per Shelf for Growth
  7. An ideal number of inches to have for Number of Inches Per Shelf for Growth is 9. This would mean that there is a quarter of each shelf that is empty. If you have less than this you may want to consider building new rows of shelving if possible.  Another possibility is weeding some of the materials that are seldom used. Either of these options need to be discussed with administration before a decision can be made.
  8. If you have more than 9, feel free to use some of the extra space to place a couple of extra blank shelves in each row to allow for error. You may also simply divide this extra space up between all of the shelves.

The shift plan is a grid system. In each box of the grid you write down the first call number and volume that will be housed on that shelf. You then follow in the next box will the first call number on this shelf. You continue this going from left to right, top to bottom. When you are done you should have one sheet per row for every row to be shifted.

You determine what call number will go on each shelf by measuring 35.5 inches and accounting for growth space. Therefore you would measure 27 inches ideally for a shelf where you can leave 9 inches of gowth space and there is no added growth space needed. When you have filled 27 inches, write down the first call number that falls after this as the first call number for the next shelf. If 5 extra inches of growth room are needed on the next shelf then measure out 22 inches and write the next books after that as the first of the next shelf, so on and so forth.

The process of making a shifting plan is very detailed and when you are done ANYONE should be able to detemine where the books should be placed.

In general it usually takes about 1.5 -2 hours to plan 2 rows of books on 12 x 7 rows. Usually the most efficient way to do this is to go through and slightly pull out the books that will be the first on their shelf, then go through and write them all down. This is more efficient than pulling and writing at the same time and is also helpful if you have two people working on the plan at the same time.

Implementing your Shift

This part of the process should require the least amount of thought. Once your shifting grid is complete you should be able to begin shifting. The key to starting this process is to figure out where the majority of your space is and start shifting on that end. If you start where you will run out of space quickly you will need to house some materials elsewhere while completing the shift on that section. Try to make sure that materials are displaced for the shortest amunt of time possible. There is usually some point near the middle of every shift where books need to be placed on carts to wait for shelves to free up to be put on. Don't worry, this is normal.

As you go along it is sometimes helful to go down a row and pull out slightly the first book of each row so that you do not have to consistently refer to the grid as you are actively moving books. Just make sure not to forget growth shelves where necessary!

One other quirk of shifting is the approximately 2 rows of extra space that appear towards the end of every shift. This is very common and do not feel that you planned poorly if this happens. No matter how well you plan this seems to happen to everyone. You should be happy that you have more space to work with rather than less!

Shifting Notes:

• Left align all shelves. All titles need to be pushed to the far left of the shelf.
• Do NOT separate titles! It’s tempting and makes sense that the titles should be separated but doing this:
• Breaks the reading flow. It’s harder to read call numbers when there are spaces separating them.
• Uses a lot of bookends.
• Rule of thumb: 1 bookend per shelf. This forces you to left align the entire shelf as well as prevent the separation of titles.
• Note: Due to space restrictions on the last 3rd floor shift this was done with a number of titles, as titles become increasingly electronic and growth room develops space can be made in the appropriate areas to allow this rule to apply.

• Keep growth moving forward. Most titles are situated so that the addition of volumes is added at the end of the title. Do not shift the title back to make room. Also remember that some titles are situated so that they run into another title on the next shelf. Just make sure that the growth moves forward.

Finishing Touches- End Panel Labels

The last step (and a step that should be taken as you are going along) is making end panel labels. To do this please see the directions and template lacated in the Labels section of this website.