Punching the Clock: Book smarts
After spending an afternoon at the Oxford Memorial Library, I came to an easy conclusion: Being a librarian is more complicated than it looks.
People may think putting books away, straightening shelves and checking books in and out is a laid-back job; it simply isn’t so. With a collection of well over 20,000 books, there is much more that goes on behind the scenes to make the library what it is.
Library Director Nancy Wilcox, along with one of the clerks Dee Beers, showed me the ropes of running a hometown library.
Like other libraries in Chenango County, Oxford is part of the Four-County Library System. What does this mean? That members can borrow books from other libraries through an interlibrary loan system. If you’ve ever used it, you know it makes life much easier. However, being part of this system requires the librarians be ready to quickly sort, classify and distribute a large variety of books throughout the week. “We get two shipments in on Fridays. That is our very busy day,” said Wilcox.
Once the shipments arrive, they have to be sorted for the library patrons and quickly checked into the system. When new books arrive, Wilcox explains, they too have to be classified. They also need the pockets put on and an old fashioned typewriter to input the information for book classification. The book is placed on the shelf after that and is ready to be circulated. For every shipment, Wilcox showed me, there’s a spreadsheet to track how many books are passing through the library each month.
Wilcox showed me that each room in the Fort Hill Park building is designated for specific readers. “We also have a large selection of audio, CDs, DVDs, microfilm, newspapers and magazines,” said the director.
As we toured the building, Wilcox explained that the library is undergoing a building project that has opened up room for additional space for readers and will allow for the library to offer a large community room for various events.
Wilcox said her time is divided currently between Oxford library and the new branch library that is nearing completion in McDonough. “We are working hard to get the McDonough library up and running,” she said. “It is coming right along.”
After viewing the rooms and getting a feel for the building, that 200 years ago was known as a the Burr Mansion, Beers began to show me what goes into being a clerk. We started by electronically checking in books and placing them back on the bookshelves.
Classifying books depends on many variables. Each book is either placed on the shelf in alphabetical order, by title, by using the Dewey Decimal system or, as Wilcox added, the Library of Congress system.
Once the books were placed correctly, Beers showed me how to use the library computer system. I checked books in and out for patrons, put a book I wanted on reserve and even paid off my .20 cent fine. The technology Oxford uses can look up books in the 4CLS system in a snap. After placing the book I wanted on hold, Beers showed me my number on the book reserve list – 41.
When I imagine the 4CLS headquarters, I think of a time when the character Timmy on “Fairly Odd Parents” loses an e-mail and travels through cyber space to retrieve it. He discovers a massive machine that spits out -emails in every direction. That’s how I picture the headquarters to be. I learned that concept was a little off. But it is a very large building in Vestal, and many books do pass through it every day.
Confidentiality issues are another surprising factor that people do not realize the library has to follow. “If the book you reserved comes in, I can call and tell you the book is here, but I cannot tell anyone else but you what the name of the book is,” said Beers. “It’s against the law.”
Being a smaller library, the clerk said she likes to put a personal touch into her work. “When we get new books in, if I know a patron reads a lot of that author, I will call them and ask them if they know that there is a new book available,” said Beers. “This is what separates us from some of the larger libraries.”
One other advantage the Oxford Memorial Library, staff say: It’s open 57 hours a week, a luxury that other smaller libraries do not have.
The Oxford library is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
People may think putting books away, straightening shelves and checking books in and out is a laid-back job; it simply isn’t so. With a collection of well over 20,000 books, there is much more that goes on behind the scenes to make the library what it is.
Library Director Nancy Wilcox, along with one of the clerks Dee Beers, showed me the ropes of running a hometown library.
Like other libraries in Chenango County, Oxford is part of the Four-County Library System. What does this mean? That members can borrow books from other libraries through an interlibrary loan system. If you’ve ever used it, you know it makes life much easier. However, being part of this system requires the librarians be ready to quickly sort, classify and distribute a large variety of books throughout the week. “We get two shipments in on Fridays. That is our very busy day,” said Wilcox.
Once the shipments arrive, they have to be sorted for the library patrons and quickly checked into the system. When new books arrive, Wilcox explains, they too have to be classified. They also need the pockets put on and an old fashioned typewriter to input the information for book classification. The book is placed on the shelf after that and is ready to be circulated. For every shipment, Wilcox showed me, there’s a spreadsheet to track how many books are passing through the library each month.
Wilcox showed me that each room in the Fort Hill Park building is designated for specific readers. “We also have a large selection of audio, CDs, DVDs, microfilm, newspapers and magazines,” said the director.
As we toured the building, Wilcox explained that the library is undergoing a building project that has opened up room for additional space for readers and will allow for the library to offer a large community room for various events.
Wilcox said her time is divided currently between Oxford library and the new branch library that is nearing completion in McDonough. “We are working hard to get the McDonough library up and running,” she said. “It is coming right along.”
After viewing the rooms and getting a feel for the building, that 200 years ago was known as a the Burr Mansion, Beers began to show me what goes into being a clerk. We started by electronically checking in books and placing them back on the bookshelves.
Classifying books depends on many variables. Each book is either placed on the shelf in alphabetical order, by title, by using the Dewey Decimal system or, as Wilcox added, the Library of Congress system.
Once the books were placed correctly, Beers showed me how to use the library computer system. I checked books in and out for patrons, put a book I wanted on reserve and even paid off my .20 cent fine. The technology Oxford uses can look up books in the 4CLS system in a snap. After placing the book I wanted on hold, Beers showed me my number on the book reserve list – 41.
When I imagine the 4CLS headquarters, I think of a time when the character Timmy on “Fairly Odd Parents” loses an e-mail and travels through cyber space to retrieve it. He discovers a massive machine that spits out -emails in every direction. That’s how I picture the headquarters to be. I learned that concept was a little off. But it is a very large building in Vestal, and many books do pass through it every day.
Confidentiality issues are another surprising factor that people do not realize the library has to follow. “If the book you reserved comes in, I can call and tell you the book is here, but I cannot tell anyone else but you what the name of the book is,” said Beers. “It’s against the law.”
Being a smaller library, the clerk said she likes to put a personal touch into her work. “When we get new books in, if I know a patron reads a lot of that author, I will call them and ask them if they know that there is a new book available,” said Beers. “This is what separates us from some of the larger libraries.”
One other advantage the Oxford Memorial Library, staff say: It’s open 57 hours a week, a luxury that other smaller libraries do not have.
The Oxford library is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
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