by Annette DeFuso
Part of my daily work in the Technical Services department at the library is making sure that all of our books and other materials can be found by searching our online catalog. My department enters on-order records for new items so our patrons can see what will soon be hitting the shelves and can add their names to a waiting list for them. Once new items arrive, we update the data in the catalog, adding more information to make the items easier to find, such as subjects and series notes. We’ll also input tables of contents and summaries to help increase findability through keyword searching. Finally, we assign new items to each of our locations, creating connections across our branch libraries to our collections.
The library’s delivery van travels around the county five days a week, delivering new materials between our branches and assisting with our goal of connecting our patrons to our resources. The library also participates in an interlibrary loan service, which allows us to borrow books we don’t own from other libraries outside of the county. This greatly expands the amount and variety of resources we can offer to everyone.
What I find interesting are the unique ways that collections can be connected. I’m currently reading a history book from our library’s nonfiction section and discovered a historical fiction series that is set during the same time. I also made a note of more titles referenced in the footnotes in my history book to track down, further reading along on my own unique path through the library. I suspect this has happened to many of our patrons, too. One minute, you’re reading a cozy mystery set in a bakery (with recipes!), and then find yourself browsing through our cookbook collection. Perhaps you’ve listened to a classic novel on audio and then sought out the film version or mini-series on video. The library provides the opportunity to learn, explore, and make new connections, and all of our collections are free with your library card.
Annette DeFuso is the Technical Services Librarian at the Adams County Library System.