ALMA Physical Processing

There are two carts located in the front of the processing area:

  1. IN TRANSIT – Items on the IN TRANSIT cart are already marked as being on the way to Cooper. These items should have been checked for quality by the acquisitions receiver. Scan the item BARCODE into SPINE-O-MATIC. The Call number should populate. (If you receive an error message, contact either the Library Manager or Team Lead.) The second cart is the IN PROCESS cart (see step 6)

NOTE: Special Collections items are not marked with a spine label or barcode, or stamped with a property stamp; instead, labels/barcodes are put on a locket. Long strings of lockets are put inside the book.

  1. Library of Congress (LC) call numbers include the following;
    1. Line 1 defines the general subject class and subclass [B = philosophy and religion]
    2. Line 2 is the classification number and defines a narrower subtopic within the specified class [1078 – dreams]
    3. Line 3 is the cutter number and represents the author’s name or the title of the work [.S5=Ella Freeman Sharpe]
    4. Line 4 is the publication year [1978 -usually the year the book was published, but could be the copyright date]
    5. Line 5 is the copy number [if  a library has multiple copies of the same book, these will be identified by a copy number]
        1. view labels by pressing the hyperlink.
    6. Clemson University Libraries formats labels as follows:
    7. LC Call numbers are read from left to right, and from top to bottom.
  2. LOCATION PREFIXES are indicators that the item is shelved in a specific location and/or at a specific facility and may have loan restrictions.
  3. Check to ensure that the call number on the label is the same as the call number inside the item (on either the copyright page or first blank page). If the call numbers don’t match, fill out the Error Reporting slip and leave the item on the cart outside of the library manager or team lead’s office.
  4. Trim and affix the label to the bottom spine of the book. Be sure to trim the label before affixing. Check the top of the book to ensure that it has a CLEMSON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY stamp. If it does, place the book in the bin for the facility where it is to be housed. Stamp any items that have not been previously stamped on the top of the book.
  5. Items on the PROCESSING CART, should be checked for quality:
    1. Check the call number to ensure that what’s written in the book, matches ALMA
    2. Check the record by using the SCAN IN ITEM function (Fulfillment)
    3. When the Institutional record populates, click MANAGE in PROCESS to check the call number (050 MARC field), author (100), title (245), edition (250), publishing/copyright (264) and page numbers, prefix, measurement and any other descriptive features match what is in the physical book. IF everything matches, click DONE (located at the end of the row…seen when clicking on the dots)
    4. After checking the item re-scan the barcode into SPINE O MATIC. Trim, affix the label and stamp the book (if unstamped)
    5. Upon completion of processing, place the item in the bin that corresponds with the item’s new facility.
    6. Items going to Cooper should be placed in the RED bin, Gunnin items should be placed in the GRAY bin, Education Media Center items should be placed in the BLUE bin, and Special Collections items should be placed in the BLACK bin.