[Genealib] Rearranging collection

[Ryan, Honey]

This has been a problem with our collection.  We have 19 branches in a
3-county regional system.  It took the genealogy staff a long time and a
change of cataloging staff before we could have county books catalogued
so that they'd be shelved together (Dewey, for the most part takes care
of the geographical arrangement.  The Cutter is the county name, so that
they are arranged alphabetically by county.)  However, we can do this
only with titles unique to the genealogy collection.  If there are
multiple copies of a title in the branches, then the same call number is
used for the whole system.  

Honey Ryan
Reference Librarian
Georgia History & Genealogy
Live Oak Public Libraries 
Savannah, GA  31401
912-652-3697
ryanh at liveoakpl.org

-----Original Message-----
From: genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
[mailto:genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu] On Behalf Of Anne Gometz
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 8:43 PM
To: genealib at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
Subject: [Genealib] Rearranging collection

We are constantly asked to rearrange our collection (like Rowan 
County's!), but I've always wondered how you integrate this with the 
rest of the collection in the library/libraries?  If we get 2 or 4 
copies of a book on some local history topic e.g. true crime, labor 
strike, geology, etc. and 15 copies for the circulating collection, does

the cataloger have to put them in one number for the genealogy and local

history collection and in another for the main collection?  We do 
heavily emphasize the local history aspect of our small collection and 
we do get many questions that are more historical than strictly 
genealogical.  If you have a multi-county system with a local history 
room in each county, what do you do?

I will say that I recently had to try and find a book where the person 
in charge of the local history room had reorganized it to be more 
convenient.  However, all the books had not been recataloged.  They'd 
just been moved and the catalog gave the Dewey number.  After half an 
hour, the hapless clerk who happened to be at the desk when I came in 
had to say that the only one who could find the book for me would be the

local history person when he was there. So reorganizing may mean a lot 
of work for your cataloging staff.

          Anne Gometz
          Gastonia, NC
"Mine and mine alone."

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