- Acquisitions
- Purchases new library materials; tracks new and donated materials through the process of getting added to the collection; keeps track of expenditures. Acquisitions staff may have little public contact. Acquisitions in considered a technical services department.
- Administration
- Office of the library director. Office management duties such as handling scheduling and communications for the director and other administrators. Maintains personnel files, such as time cards, etc.
- Automation
- Implements and maintains library hardware, software, and networking needs. May have extended responsibilities for the online catalog and the integrated library system that tracks circulation, etc. In some libraries, the Automation dept. is responsible for managing public use computer stations. A technical services department.
- AV or Media
- Handles CD's, DVD's, video tapes etc.; provides public service. In some libraries this department maintains equipment for the library patrons to use the materials. Often this department does its own acquisitions. Some libraries classify their AV materials and assign regular call numbers, other do not use local numerical schemes instead of regular call numbers. (For example: CD 1002 may be given to the CD that was acquired next after CD1001.)
- Cataloging
- Creates and/or maintains online catalog records for all materials owned by the library. Processes new materials for the collections (by attaching the spine label with the call number, inserting security device, etc.) The Cataloging department works very closely with the Acquisitions department. In small libraries, both acquisitions and cataloging may be done by one person. A technical services department.
- Children's Services
- Provide reference services to children, parents, and/or teenagers. Conducts story hours, summer reading games and/or arranges other programs for children and/or teenagers. Performs collection development for materials for children.
- Circulation
- Checks out books and other materials to library users; collects fines for overdue materials; and clears records when materials are returned. Reshelves materials and keeps the shelves in order. In most libraries circulation conducts inventories from time to time in conjunction with the cataloging department to identify misplaced or lost materials. In some libraries, the Circulation dept. is responsible for managing public use computer stations. A public service department.
- Collection development
- Not a separate department except in very large research libraries. Depending of the size and type of library, the function of deciding what materials to buy may be performed by the Reference dept., by the Acquisitions dept., by the library director, or by a faculty committee of the associated school or college.
- Friends of the Library / Gifts
- Receives donations from library users. Sorts donated materials to identify items that the library might want to add to their collections. Operates a small shop and/or organizes used book sales to raise money for the library. In most libraries this department is staffed by volunteers.
- Government Documents
- Receives and organizes government publications. Most libraries organize United States government publications by the SuDoc number instead of Dewey or LC call number. Makes documents available to the public. Both public service functions and technical service functions.
- ILL
- In large research libraries, this department arranges Interlibrary Loans for materials needed by patrons that the library does not own. In medium size or smaller libraries this services is handled by the Reference dept., the Cataloging dept., or the Circulation dept. if it is offered at all.
- Periodicals
- Maintains subscriptions to periodicals, receives issues, claims missing issues, and eventually discards issues, prepares them for binding, or replaces them with microfilm. These are technical service functions. In many libraries the Periodicals dept. is also responsible for processing periodical issues for public use, keeping them in order and managing their circulation, if that is permitted. This department may have both public service functions and technical service functions.
- Preservation
- Performs physical maintenance of library materials, mending torn pages, and the like. Manages the process of sending books out to be rebound. May also work with de-acidification and other advanced techniques for the preservation of fragile but valuable items. In smaller libraries this function may be handled by the Circulation, Cataloging, or Acquisitions departments. In some libraries this department is called Binding and Mending.
- Reference
- Helps the public to find the library materials or information that they are looking for. Teaches bibliographic instruction and/or orientations to the library for new users. Arranges library programs and displays. In some libraries, the Reference dept. is responsible for managing public use computer stations.
- Reserves
- In large academic libraries, this department maintains a collection of materials specifically selected by instructors for students in courses. In smaller academic libraries, the reserve collection is usually managed by the circulation staff. These materials are usually in 'closed stacks,' that is, library users are not allowed to browse the shelves -- instead library employees retrieve items in response to requests written on call slips. Some of the reserve items will be books owned by the library, but others will be books or folders of pages supplied personally by the instructors. Increasingly, reserve materials include electronic documents, which are housed in a database server and may be retrieved remotely with special password requirements. Confusingly, many public libraries use the term 'reserves' to refer to hold requests, or regular circulating items that have been requested and set aside for one person.
LIBR 51: Introduction to the Use of Libraries
This page last updated 24 January 2005
|
