Examining the Library, One Book at a Time!

Approximately 18 months ago, Sara Dockery, Library and Archives Supervisor, asked me if I was interested in taking over a data entry project that former volunteer Bob Porter had started. I agreed thinking that it would be steady work for a while. I just didn't realize how steady.  A year and half later, I'm still working on it two days a week. However, I'm close to completing the project since I'm on the last aisle of books..... hurray!

My project is to review and add useful information to the book catalog records located in the library catalog. I'm doing this for all the books in the library, one shelf at time. There are over 8500 catalog records representing nearly 16,000 books! When people are searching online for a particular book, the record is what they see.

 More specifically, what I do is place a shelf of books on a cart and take them to a work area with a computer and a scanner. I take a book off the cart and find the 5 digit bar code number at the back of the book. I open the catalog on the computer, go to the catalog record section, and type in the bar code number.  The record for the book then appears. This contains detailed information about the book. If the book has an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), I check to see if it is on the record, and if not, I add it. The record should also contain a small picture of the cover of the book (unless the cover is blank). If this is missing, I scan the book cover and add it to the record. If the book has a relatively short table of contents and/or index, I scan these as well and add them to the bottom of the record.

Most records contain at least two copies of a book. One copy is the LARC copy (library) and the other is the lending copy. In many cases, there are multiple lending copies each with a small piece of red tape on it to designate it as a lending copy. I make sure that each book is properly labeled as LARC or lending in the record.  As a last step, I add the book's bar code number to a word document that lists all of the books that I have scanned to date. I then repeat this process for each book on my cart, re-shelf the books, and move to the next shelf to refill the cart.

Working on this project has allowed me to closely examine the museum's extraordinary horological book collection.  Whether it is used for research or pleasure reading, the number and quality of books in this collection, including many in foreign languages, is truly amazing!

Terry Buckwalter
National Watch & Clock Museum, Library & Research Center Volunteer