LibraryTechtonics

Yet another reason to love my library. We try stuff, see if it works, entertain new ideas, and try something different if it doesn’t work out. We’ve got a lot of new stuff coming up (I’ve been remiss to write, there’s a lot going on in my non-library life, and blogging here has unfortunately taken a back seat), but I wanted to highlight this while it was fresh.

A few months back, different departments at my library began a discussion on interfiling the nonfiction DVDs. I can’t remember where it started, but like just about everything else here, it was a multi-department, synergistic brainstorming and effort to decide if it was a good idea, and how and when it should be done.

Over the past little while, we’ve been moving things around quite a bit. A flooding incident necessitated closing our nonfiction area (the entire basement) for repairs, which meant moving quite a few things around to keep them accessible, including our very popular DVD collection. We liked some of the changes so much, that with a few tweaks, we kept them. For instance, the DVDs are now upstairs with the bestsellers near the circ desk (which is the first thing you see when you walk in), instead of in the basement with the CDs and VHS tapes. Not that our circ figures on the DVDs were shabby before, but high-traffic + high-demand = high circ + better security. Not as many disappearing DVD discs as before.

(We might be moving our CDs upstairs, too, but it would require a bit more layout finagling, and a bit more planning.)

We started out a little while back interfiling the DVDs, cassettes, and CDs for language with the language books in the stacks. It just seemed silly to say, “Go one room over to the shelf with the CDs and tapes, then go downstairs on that side to the DVDs and VHS tapes, then go to this row downstairs on the other side of the floor for the books.” One stop just seemed to make the most sense, and it’s been working so far.

Today, the interfiling of the nonfiction DVDs begins. It’s not so much like patching holes in a basket, as carefully adding embellishments to a basket that could just use some sprucing. Now the “learn to play guitar” DVD can be found with the “learn to play guitar” books for music enthusiasts, and all of our WWII documentaries will live with the matching book materials, which will work out nicely for history buffs and students doing reports. You know, like mini points of service on different topics with different content media. Like, say, doing a search on the web and seeing web sites, blogs, news hits, YouTube videos, and podcasts, but, you know, more static. Reading residents might get less exercise running around, but I think they’ll be OK with that. ;D

I don’t know if other libraries do this, or how many. I don’t know if there are librarians crawling out of their skins as they read this, or nodding their heads in firm agreement, or not really knowing out to react. I’m just not sure, but I definitely feel like sharing. I, professionally, think it’s a smashing idea, and I think our patrons will like it. Sure, there will be a few puzzled looks for a while, and some “where did that move to *now*?” murmurs, even with all the moving from construction well behind us. But, overall, people tend to like our changes, and I think they’ll like this one as well.

It does bring up the interesting question of whether or not to move the VHS nonfiction tapes, too. They do still circulate a good deal, and it would be nice for people to know that they have VHS options if all of the DVDs are out. My guess is that we won’t, since they don’t circ nearly as much as the DVDs, and they make a significantly more sizeable footprint than DVDs on the shelves.

Who knows, we’ll see.

Tags: work
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