Costs of Expanding the Card Catalog of a Large Library

PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES f o r e x p a n d i n g the c a r d c a t a l o g of a l a r g e uni v e r s i t y l i b r a r y h a v e been descr ibed in a p r e v i o u s issue of C&RL.1 T h i s a c c o u n t a t t e m p t s to s u g g e s t the costs of an e x p a n sion o p e r a t i o n w h i c h f o l l o w s in g e n e r a l the p r o c e d u r e s discussed by T e r r y . L i k e the e a r l i e r a c c o u n t , it is based u p o n the reo r g a n i z a t i o n of a s ing le l i b r a r y c a t a l o g , but it m a y be i n d i c a t i v e of the p r o b a b l e scale of the costs of this a c t i v i t y in a n y l i b r a r y . T h e f i g u r e s g i v e n here a r e l i m i t e d to l a b o r costs a l o n e : expenses f o r n e w c a t a l o g cabinets a re eas i ly d e t e r m i n e d by app l i ca t ion to the v a r i o u s m a n u f a c t u r e r s of l i b r a r y f u r n i ture , a n d expenses f o r suppl ies a re n e g l i g i b l e if spoi led c a r d s tock is used f o r l abe l s a n d if there is no need to s u p p l y n e w g u i d e c a r d s t h r o u g h o u t the ent i re c a t a l o g . O n e r e s e r v a t i o n s h o u l d be m a d e at the outset . L o c a l v a r i a b l e s w i l l a l w a y s o p e r a t e to increase or decrease the costs of a n y ca ta l o g r e o r g a n i z a t i o n . A m o n g the f a c t o r s bear i n g u p o n o v e r a l l costs a r e : I . the s ize of the c a t a l o g i t se l f , 2 . the m a n n e r in w h i c h that c a t a l o g is o r g a n i z e d , 3 . p r e v a i l i n g s a l a r y scales w i t h i n the ins t i tu t ion , 4 . the e x t e n t to w h i c h n o n p r o f e s s i o n a l t i m e m a y be ut i l i zed in the o p e r a t i o n , a n d 5 . c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s 1 Terry, Altha E. , "Techniques for Expanding the Card Catalog of a Large Library," College and Research Libraries, 13:242-45, 252, July , 1952. of the c a t a l o g e q u i p m e n t . ( F o r e x a m p l e , if d u a l t r a y l a b e l h o l d e r s a re used, t r a y s m a y be r e n u m b e r e d in less t ime a n d at less expense t h a n if s ing le l abe l h o l d e r s a re e m p l o y e d so that t r a y n u m b e r s h a v e to be a f f i x e d s e p a r a t e l y . See b e l o w . ) I n D e c e m b e r , 1 9 5 2 , D u k e U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y a d d e d a n e w 6 2 4 t r a y cab inet to its c a t a l o g . T h e D u k e L i b r a r y n u m b e r s some 1,085,OCX) v o l u m e s a n d its c a t a l o g is a div i d e d one h a v i n g three m a j o r d iv i s ions ( e x c lus ive of the D u k e c o p y of the a u t h o r c a t a l o g of the U n i v e r s i t y of N o r t h C a r o l i n a w h i c h is housed in the p u b l i c c a t a l o g r o o m ) . T h e s e d iv i s ions a r e : 1 . the a u t h o r t i t l e ca ta l o g , 2 . the s u b j e c t c a t a l o g , a n d 3 . the ser ia l s c a t a l o g ( a m a i n e n t r y c a t a l o g o n l y ) . C a r d s f o r c e r t a i n c a t e g o r i e s of m a t e r i a l a r e exc l u d e d f r o m the p u b l i c c a t a l o g . T h e s e a r e : 1 . a u t h o r , sub jec t , a n d t i t le entr ies f o r U n i t e d S t a t e s d o c u m e n t s ( a n a u t h o r c a t a l o g in the D o c u m e n t s R o o m suppl ies this app r o a c h , a n d g o v e r n m e n t indexes f u r n i s h a s u b j e c t g u i d e ) ; 2 . a u t h o r a n d t i t le entr ies f o r U n i t e d S t a t e s s tate p u b l i c a t i o n s ( a separa te a u t h o r c a t a l o g is m a i n t a i n e d in the D o c u m e n t s R o o m ) ; 3 . s u b j e c t entr ies f o r m a t e r i a l s housed in ce r ta in b r a n c h or dep a r t m e n t a l l i b r a r i e s : S c h o o l of M e d i c i n e , B i o l o g y F o r e s t r y , C h e m i s t r y , E n g i n e e r i n g , a n d P h y s i c s M a t h e m a t i c s ; 4. c a r d s f o r m a n u s c r i p t m a t e r i a l s r e c o r d e d in a separa te M a n u s c r i p t s C a t a l o g ; a n d 5 . entr ies f o r n e w s p a p e r s w h i c h are k e p t in the N e w s p a p e r R o o m c a t a l o g .