[PADG:709] Re: Some questions about coding items in custom boxes

["Patricia P. Selinger" <patricia.selinger@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Ann,

I can respond to your questions based on my experience at Virginia 
Commonwealth Univ. We used to place all loose materials in the box 
without a barcode on the outside of the box. (Barcode was placed inside 
the item.) But we discovered a nifty tool called a barcode duplicator 
and now use them to duplicate barcode numbers onto parts and protective 
enclosures. A number of commercial companies sell barcode duplicators 
but they all seem to be made by Zebra (www.zebra.com 
<http://www.zebra.com/>). We purchased ours from ValuTrak 
(http://www.valutrack.com/), one of many distributors for Zebra 
products. Dick Steinhoff is our rep (rws@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
<mailto:rws@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>) and very easy to work with. The duplicator 
can attach to a scanner that will read OCR and/or barcode or you can 
order a keyboard to type in numbers. We do it both ways – scan and key 
in numbers. The basic unit with keyboard, software, ribbons, and high 
quality label stock is under $1000. We use it to duplicate barcodes for 
all materials coming through the department. This year we changed the 
location of our barcode to the outside of the back cover. The barcode 
had previously been applied to the inside of the book.

Regarding question#2 about the message alerts: we put the message “Item 
in protective box” in the “Circ Note” field of Aleph (our ILS). We will 
also input messages regarding other damage, such as “Mild water damage. 
Shelve as is” or “Corner missing. Shelve as is”, whether or not the item 
is in a box. Putting a note in this field makes it visible to Circ staff 
upon check out and check in so staff can make sure the box stays with 
the item. Also, students won’t get charged for previously noted damage. 
We purchase only clamshell boxes for the general collections – no 
strings, Velcro, or folds which seem to confound most of our students. 
If the item in the box is in loose leaves (brittle or not) or if it is 
just brittle, we put a plate (4”x3”) inside the box that reads “FRAGILE. 
Please handle with care so it will be here when you need it again” with 
a little decoration around it. It was designed by our Development Office 
and we just photocopy the page when we need more. (Six plates to a 
page). The plate is applied with PVA.

It’s great that you are addressing the damaged items in the circulating 
collection. It’s not an easy task and I wish you all the best.

Patricia

Patricia Palmer Selinger
Head, Preservation Department
Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries

patricia.selinger@xxxxxxx
(ph)   804.828.1096
(fax)  804.828.0151




Ann Nez wrote:

> We're planning to box some damaged items in our circulating 
> collections that have been tied with cloth tape. Most of these volumes 
> are already barcoded. I'm interested in how other libraries have handled:
>
> 1) barcoding - if you retain the original barcode on the volume, are 
> you recording it on the box; are you re-barcoding with doubledumbs; 
> other methods?
>
> 2) Are you adding any kind of message that alerts circulation staff to 
> look inside the box and/or point out to patrons that the material is 
> fragile (statements like: damage noted: volume lacks cover; or damage 
> noted: brittle paper, damaged text block)
>
> Any box related ideas and suggestions are welcome!
>
> Ann Nez
> Head, Serials and Acquisitions
> University of Washington
> Gallagher Law Library
> Box 352035
> Seattle, WA 98195-3025
> 206-543-6516
> Fax: 206-685-2165
> acnez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx