[PADG:744] Re: barcodes on covers

["Eyler, Carol" <ceyler@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In my experience, having barcodes on the outside of the cover is *far* 
preferable to having them inside.  Placement on the outside speeds up 
circulation and makes it possible to  inventory portions of the collection 
quickly using a portable barcode reader.  The more standard the position, 
the better.

If a barcode becomes damaged or unreadable (which is very rare), we simply 
replace it and enter the new barcode number into the item record.  Barcodes 
are very cheap compared to labor!

My personal opinion is that the best barcode position for inventory is 
front top left corner (vertical.) -- just inside the joint.  At Carleton, 
we put them on the back top right corner (horizontal.) -- established 
before I arrived.  If you use or plan to use self-check, there may be some 
specific placement requirements.

~Carol
=========================================
Carol E. Eyler                                 ceyler@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Head of Technical Services
Carleton College Library                507-646-4268 voice
One North College St.                    507 646-4087 fax
Northfield, MN 55057
=========================================

--On Monday, November 14, 2005 9:00 AM -0500 Andrew Hart 
<ashart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> UNC-Chapel Hill may be moving materials to a high-density shelving
> facility that requires a barcode on the outside of every book cover. To
> reduce the amount of re-barcoding in the future, we also have a proposal
> on the table for putting barcodes on the exterior of new books going into
> open stacks. If your library has exterior barcodes, please comment on any
> associated problems you  have observed. If your library has recently
> considered this practice, I would also be interested in some of the
> arguments, pro and con, and what you decided to do.
> Thanks,
> Andy
>
> --
> Andrew Hart
> Preservation Librarian
> CB#3910, Davis Library
> University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
> Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
> Tel. 919-962-8047
> Fax 919-962-4450
> Email: ashart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx