Championing the Wellness of Physical Collections
Collection management projects are ultimately tools to optimize the space and discoverability of library collections. Inventories, reclassification, RFID implementation, and shelf-shifting projects are great projects to consider outsourcing, which allows for the least interruption of day-to-day operations. When thinking about libraries, ‘book’ is typically the first word that comes to mind. Yes, libraries have books—and […]
From Publisher to Shelf: Cataloging for Acquisitions
What if your recent purchases arrived cataloged and neatly labeled, ready to hit the shelves? Backstage refers to this scenario as ‘shelf ready processing’, and it’s a phrase we use in a number of situations. Perhaps your library has just been gifted a book collection, and it needs to be made available quickly for an […]
Preparing for Cataloging, Do You Copy?
The sharing of catalog records among libraries has long been the most economical way of ensuring access to and consistency in collections all over the world. When a cataloger begins processing a collection, they will likely start by searching for an existing bibliographic record that matches the item in hand. Backstage refers to the rate […]
The Catalog Polyglot: Metadata and World Languages
Collections come in all varieties of languages, and, sometimes, in non-Roman character sets. How does a catalog handle Kanji, Cyrillic, Hangul, or Perso-Arabic? Which language goes where? Let’s refresh on the basics for those non-catalogers in our audience. The same principles apply, but become a little more complicated, when we start considering character sets alternate […]
Day-To-Day Responsibilities of an On-Site Project Manager
Projects come in many shapes and sizes. Some can be sent off-site for cataloging and other maintenance. Some are too large, or too fragile, to move; or, the type of work is such that it must be performed at your library, such as an inventory or massive RFID tagging project. In these cases, Backstage is […]
4 Ways to Lighten Your Collections Management Workload
Collection management projects like RFID tagging, reclassification, inventory, and moving may involve handling nearly every item in a library’s collection. To meet your library’s project requirements, we offer four tiers of on-site services.
A Simple Guide to Weeding your Library
Weeding, or deaccessioning, is the process of permanently removing an item from a library’s collection. A careful weeding plan is an integral part of keeping our libraries trusted sources of current information and library professionals work hard to curate their collections. Weeding policies are frequently tailored to the separate needs of public, academic, and school […]
Product Spotlight: LC-CAP/COOP Made Simple, Tailored to Your Library’s Needs
“The LC-Coop workflow we’ve created: it works very well, and it’s well organized. We’ve come up with helpsheets for the project to make cataloging even easier and more accurate. Overall, it’s a smooth process from start to finish.” – Heather Dukes, Metadata Project Manager We’ve written about Backstage’s LC Coop service in the past. Recently, […]
Worrying about legacy tags as you plan your new RFID project?
RFID tags have been used in libraries for decades, but current open source ISO standards weren’t developed until 2005, and these became the official standards in 2011. This means some early adopters find themselves with legacy RFID tags that won’t integrate with modern systems. As those libraries look to transition to new technology, there must […]
