Catchier Updates...

Being in the spirit of appreciating that evolving in one's profession allows that individual, and by proxy that profession, to become positively enhanced, the following are recent updates, items in the works, and planned out agendas made for USF Tampa Library Stacks Management.


Things Put Into Motion:

1.) There will be the inclusion of new signs around the Stacks areas of the library to be placed on the ends of every few rows of book ranges informing patrons of the presence of Sorting Areas, (if they were not previously aware), to assist them if they cannot locate a book on the shelf initially. There will also be signs posted in the Sorting Areas informing patrons of the Book Search Form should the desired item(s) not be located. A special thanks to Jane Duncan for the suggestion.

2) Additional signs may be posted, if space, time, and astrology allows, in the lobby or some public area within the library informing patrons as to which floors are being sorted and shelved on that particular day. The new Sorting/Shelving schedule is posted on the Stacks Management home page. A great thanks to Eileen Thornton for her help with all sign work.

3.) A possible inclusion of the last return date for library items listed as "Available" in the library catalog. The purpose of this is to allow an individual to approximate where in the sorting/shelving process the item would be based on the return time. i.e.: 12 hours ago, probably the Bookroom. 6 days ago, probably the shelf. There are many technological elements and individuals involved in this process so it may take some time to evaluate its reality. Thank you to Ginny Cunningham and Drew Smith for the idea and to Todd Chavez for getting the ball rolling.

4.) Quality Control Student Assistants, (SAs), have been assigned to specific floors to monitor the progress of sorting and shelving and report back to Stacks Management with any issues, concerns, or praise as necessary. There are three such individuals, one for each floor of the Circulating Collection, allowing for a greater sense of ownership of the material being worked on and facilitating a greater flow of communication between Stacks Supervisors and the individuals they are in charge of.


Things Accomplished:

1.) As is evident, there is a blog set up for Stacks Management in which all individuals are invited to participate in questions, comments, etc., to help open a creative flow of ideas and information to assist in making access to the printed texts of the USF Tampa Library as efficient as possible. The peer institutions of USF, (a list of which can be found on the library website while the fellow Stacks/Circulation individuals of these institutions can be located on the Stacks Management home page), have been invited to participate. Upcoming will be an invitation to FSU, UF, and UCF.

2.) The standards to which Stacks Management SAs are held to have been compiled into a singular list and are now available through the Stacks Management home page.

3.) As mentioned, the schedule for transporting material from the Bookroom to the appropriate floors along with the sorting and shelving schedule has been posted to the Stacks management home page.


Things to be Started:

1.) A schedule for the shelf-reading of the Circulating Collection by Stacks SAs is going to be compiled and posted on the Stacks Management home page no later than 6/5.

2.) A plan is being drawn up that is to be put into place to anticipate the large influx of material that follows the end of each semester. The plan is to begin taking effect on the Monday after Spring Break and the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. It is the goal of Stacks Management to implement this strategy to alleviate a backlog of Circulating material before it ever arises. What this plan will consist of and who will be involved is yet to be determined, but rest assured that updates will follow as events warrant.

Updates...(Catchy Title, huh?)

In conjuncture with this blog, a web-presence has been created for the USF Tampa Library's Stacks Management area in the form of a homepage. The website is linked on the upper-right area of this current webpage and will bring any user to information about USF Tampa Library Stacks Management including schedules, helpful information, personnel, etc. This blog is also linked on the Stacks homepage. Please visit and use this forum as a place to insert feedback or contact the Stacks management supervisors directly at their listed contact information.

The Flood of '09

The librarian's worst nightmare: with minimal staff an emergency occurs involving water, multiple floors, and thousands of volumes of material. Not just a dream any longer. One week ago the USF Tampa Library had the dubious honor of joining the ranks of libraries that prove themselves with a trial by fire. Or in this case, water...and a lot of it. An aspect of building construction that is interesting regarding the USF Tampa Library is that its second floor extends out beyond the exterior walls of the rest of the building to create an effect similar to a four-walled alcove around the perimeter of the mass structure. This creates the need for a second roof to be placed above the small jutting area and it is this roof which played the fateful role in the following events. As is well-known in this part of the country, the summer brings the wet season with rains falling at near clock-like intervals throughout the day and night which is of no hugely negative consequence unless a drainage pipe on the second floor extension detaches itself in the midst of said rain and allows an aw some mass of water to enter, hypothetically, a Periodical section of a large academic library. The water would build at an alarming rate on the ceiling tiles until they collapsed, flooding the second floor with inches of water over a large extent of periodical texts and carpet. This water would then accumulate at such a rate and to such a degree that it collapses the ceiling of the first floor, which might, simply for argument's sake, contain Media Resources items such as VHS and DVDs, with an adjoining area for music scores. This scenario could only possibly be made more catastrophic by the occurrence of water leaking through yet another floor into basement PRESERVATION. Though if one is lucky, the water might not be coming at a continuously alarming rate and stop short of damaging anything already in need of repair. These afore mentioned events are the very real recent history of the USF Tampa Library. Having been literally under the waterfall himself, working with several VERY dedicated employees to save as many bound periodicals as possible and stop the leak, this author is still not privy to give insight as to the exact nature of the cause of the drainage pipe failure, however he can pass on that the work done by USF Tampa Library employees at the time, (most "mere" part-timers), was far above standard job description. In the end, in the past week, and certainly currently, Media Resources is roped-off, being dried with industrial fans and plastic partitions as is Periodicals. It must also be noted that though the periodical texts are shelved by Stacks Management employees, the department has its own staff who handled the relocation, organization, and planning for recovery in a most professional manner to the point that the second floor has been able to operate as an active area of the library despite the entire incident. Though at the moment, a patron may find a few extra texts on carts or out-of-the-way places so please seek an employee and remember that Herman Melville and Melvil Dewey do not mix.

Welcome!

Greetings and welcome to Academic Library Stacks Management, a web presence designed for the communication of ideas, resolution of problems, and overall academic progress of the most intrinsic purpose of libraries: providing unbiased access of information to a population, thoroughly through the text collection of academic libraries. Please feel free to share your experiences in the Stacks, interesting stories, management ideas, and future plans.