Matt, This is something we deal with here and I don't recommend LC for film. Here is why: LC means nothing to the patron. They want things to be in an order that makes sense to them. We use LC and I can't tell you how often I wish we had a simple numbering system for them. The call numbers are all so similar that it is difficult for us (the supposed professionals) to find things, I can't imagine how difficult it would be for the patrons if we shelved them that way. We shelve the cases in order by the first letter of the title in the browsing area but the actual disks are in call number order behind the desk and the disks are so easily misfiled it's mind-boggling. We do embrace the video store model here though and the collection accounts for more than a third of our overall circulations. You might try talking to the faculty and students to see what way they would search the collection to see how you might organize it to fit their needs. Karen Glover Circulation Services Librarian, Assistant Department Head Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
________________________________ From: "Ball, James (jmb4aw)" <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, May 23, 2011 11:41:11 AM Subject: Re: [Videolib] Question about LC call numbers Re: [Videolib] Question about LC call numbers Christine, Indeed, our DVDs are in open stacks now (we moved them out a few years ago) which our patrons LOVE. Now they’re requesting that we put them “in some kind of order.” It’s true that our patrons can find videos in our catalog by genre, language, etc. so this hasn’t really been a burning issue with me, and I do like to avoid the perception of the library video collection being like a video store, but this request is so persistent, and from faculty as well as students, that I decided to start thinking about it a little bit. Cheers, Matt ________________________________________ Matt Ball Media and Collections Librarian University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 22904 [email protected]| 434-924-3812 From:[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of CROWLEY, CHRISTINE Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 11:20 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Videolib] Question about LC call numbers Maybe I am missing something --I can see accession numbers for closed stacks where the DVDs are retrieved after a patron finds them in the catalog. However, what about browsers who want to look through foreign films, musicals, etc. Accession number order would be a nightmare for serendipity, no? Christine Crowley Dean of Learning Resources Adjunct Faculty--Theatre Northwest Vista College 3535 N. Ellison Dr. San Antonio, TX 78251 210.486.4572 office 210.486.4504 fax [email protected] Northwest Vista College is one of the Alamo Colleges www.alamo.edu/nvc/lrc ________________________________ From:[email protected] on behalf of Rick Faaberg Sent: Sun 5/22/2011 9:51 PM To: Videolib List Subject: Re: [Videolib] Question about LC call numbers On 5/22/11 7:02 PM, "Randal Baier" <[email protected]> sent this: In my opinion, humbled by such an august group, this is a compulsion up with which I will not put. Given the catalogs we use, if there are decent subject headings and full information, and format filters, I don't really think it's necessary to LCify media. Incremental accession numbers work for us. I concur. I did the LC thing with our K-12 collection way back when – and the library users (teachers) did not like it at all. (The school librarians did like it, but that’s another story :) One year later, back to the subject headings and accession numbers. Best Rick Faaberg
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
