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Our library automation Newsletters Some of of our favorite places on the Web
A great new way to start library automation A low-cost answer to getting MARC records from the Internet Should you do a do-it-yourself recon? Hardware Headaches in the library Who's Your Tech Support?
How full is a Full MARC Record? Barcodes – Smart and Dumb Peace of mind in closing for the summer What's Coming in Library Automation Your Library on the Web
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#6 Library Automation Q & A - an independent view
A great new way to start library automation *
New * Robert Rowen is an independent library automation consultant and president of Library Automation Management. Q: What are the first steps we can take to automate? We don’t have much money and it will probably be a few years before we can get more than 1 or 2 computers in our library. A: In our previous two columns, we talked about in-house Recons (you have to be up to it) and in the last, about getting records from the Internet (it’s cheap and wonderful). Now let’s combine these ideas to answer your question. Providing you are not totally maxed out on time, you could start a slow, at-your-own-pace process to conquer what is usually the biggest, most expensive part of automation: the Retrospective Conversion. And you might be able to employ one of the ideal principles of a good Recon: touch the book one-time-only. You will need one computer with an Internet connection, plus BookWhere and Mitinet MARC software and some dumb barcodes (see our column about assigning barcode numbers). The idea is to go on-line, take a book, type its title into BookWhere, and choose from the results taken from across the US or the world. Now, pull up the new MARC Notepad (you can have each program sized comfortably on your Windows desktop and open on your Toolbar). Check and possibly customize the Marc record you imported. Enter in your local call number and type or scan in a barcode. Now the MARC record is ready to load into most any circulation /catalog system and the book is ready to return to the shelf. In fact, Mitinet is a rudimentary catalog where you can look up your holdings by title, and even do spine labels and catalog cards and lists. Some librarians have worked this way taking the books from the returns cart. This tends to get the most circulated part of the collection first. And since these books are in transit anyway, that’s really touching the book one-time-only. Here are the economics:
Compare that with an out-of-house recon, which, for 10,000 items, typically runs $5,000 to $6,000.
Of course, you will need more barcodes for bigger collections One day, when you get a full circulation / catalog system, the BookWhere / Mitinet setup can continue to serve you. And you can continue to get free records from around the world. BookWhere and MARC Notepad can be ordered directly from Library Automation Management. A full working version of Bookwhere that can be used for a 45-day trial can be downloaded off the Web at www.BookWhere.com. Both are available for purchase from Library Automation Management. If you have questions about automation and your library, send them to 101 Clark St, 27C, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201 or email them to Q&A@LibraryAutomation.com
Robert
Rowen
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