As it happens, the library committee is meeting this Thursday morning to discuss bar codes, do we need them. We are a synagogue library with an active Hebrew school of about 130 students and a few industrious scholars. At the moment, our library is in boxes while the building is being renovated. The collection (under 5000 items) is about half catalogued. The library has been open all the time although I am only there one day a week. Circulation, which is not large, is done the old fashioned way. Each item has a book card. People remove the book card, write their names, use the date due stamp and drop the card into a box. So my question is: what do bar codes add to record keeping especially since so many libraries have to think of alternatives. Do bar codes do anything else for libraries that make them indispensable? I know bar codes are useful for over due notices. What else are they useful for?
Marcia Lang Schertz Nancy Mae Shaines Memorial Library Temple Israel Portsmouth, N.H. Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
