Guidelines for Preparing Volumes/Archival Material for LSF: INSPECTION, BARCODING, AND PACKAGING In order to facilitate the efficient handling of materials, LSF seeks to impose reasonable uniformity on the way in which materials are evaluated and physically prepared during processing for transfer. The following procedures for the inspection, packaging, and barcoding of materials to be shelved at LSF should routinely be observed. I. Inspection of Materials At the Campus Library A. Each item earmarked for transfer to the LSF must be inspected by the campus library as it is selected from the shelf in order to determine its overall integrity. The purpose of such an inspection is to confirm eligibility for transfer with the primary criterion being whether or not an item may be safely transferred to LSF and processed without incurring damage. Items which satisfy this criterion should be pulled from the shelf and sent on to the bibliographic control station. If, however, in the judgement of the selector or his/her delegate, an item may be at risk during the transfer process, a decision must be made either to secure the item in some way (thus rendering it fit for transfer) or to leave the item on the shelf. B. The Preservation Department has identified certain physical characteristics which may indicate that a container or volume is unfit for transfer to the LSF in its present state. These item conditions include, but are not limited to, the following 1. Volumes: a. One or both covers/boards loose or falling off b. Spine loose, separated from boards/covers. c. Many pages loose, leaf loose d. Pages crumbling from very advanced brittleness e. Leather, vellum, etc. bindings are rotting, rubbing off, crumbling f. Leather, vellum etc. bindings are cracked, splitting in solid pieces 2. Volumes/Archival Containers a. Spills, stickiness obvious anywhere on container b. Pest (worms, etc.) obvious to eye c. Container appears wet/damp, verified by touch d. Container has been seriously mutilated/is torn, cut in some way e. Heavy smell of mildew C. As a matter of principle, every reasonable effort should be made to transfer those materials designated by selectors for shelving at LSF. Items considered at risk may yet be transferred if properly prepared by the campus library. Such preparation may include placing vulnerable items in properly sized acid-free envelopes, standard archival containers, or slip cases; tying items with binding string; or wrapping items in paper. Items identified by the campus library as vulnerable but are still determined to be eligible for transfer to LSF must be grouped together in specially marked book totes when shipped, to facilitate identification and handling of such items upon their arrival by the staff at LSF. D. All bookmarks, technical processing forms, paper clips and other "hardware," as well as other non-archival items that are not a part of the original item should be removed by the campus library before transfer. E. The manager of the LSF reserves the right to return an item to the campus library if the item cannot be handled routinely or processed to the LSF shelf without causing damage to the item. Moreover, the LSF will not, under any circumstances, accept material for shelving which displays signs of mold/infestation or which, for any reason, is judged to present a risk to other materials housed at LSF. II. Barcoding Placement of Barcodes A. Volumes 1. The LSF requires that all items transferred for shelving must have a barcode label attached to them in some manner. Volumes which have circulated at campus libraries will already have the barcode affixed, most usually to the inside back cover of the item. In the case of such books, no further barcoding in preparation for transfer is required, since duplicate barcodes for the outside front cover of these volumes will be generated at LSF. 2. For volumes which have never been barcoded, the barcode should be placed during initial processing by the campus library on the outside of the front cover of the book in the upper-left hand corner. The top of the label should be parallel to the upper edge of the volume. In order to promote the most efficient handling of items once they are received at LSF, barcodes should be placed as near to the upper left corner of the volume as possible without jeopardizing the stable attachment of the label to the cover of the item. 3. Volumes deemed semi-rare will be prepared in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Preservation Department: the barcode will be affixed to a strip of acid-free paper wrapped around the exterior of the book. The same procedure should be followed for volumes which cannot be barcoded due to poor physical condition (rotting leather, extremely soiled/mottled/rough surface, etc.). B. Archival Boxes/Storage Containers Archival boxes should have the barcode affixed to the front of the box in the upper left hand corner. For the purposes of barcoding, the front of the box is defined as the narrow face or width of the container. On a standard grey archive box (letter), for example, measuring 5.25" x 12.5," the front of the box is the 5.25" face; on a paige box with a width of 13" and a length of 17,", the front of the box is the 13" face (the side where the handle of the box appears). When attaching the barcode label to archival boxes, the following rules should be observed: 1. Care should be taken to insure that barcodes are securely affixed to every container. Barcodes should not be placed in such a way that the label extends beyond the edge of the box, nor should they be attached to the metal support on the edging some standard containers have to strengthen the container's structure. 2. When placing the barcode label on an archival container, care must be taken to insure that the edges of the label are fully pressed down. Failure to attach the barcode label properly clearly increases the risk of barcode loss with the consequent problem of identifying unbarcoded items. C. Envelopes The barcode for items placed in envelopes should be affixed to the front of the envelope in the upper left-hand corner. The same directions-and cautions--apply to the barcoding of envelopes as apply to the barcoding of bound volumes. III. Packaging A. Volumes Book totes with the LSF logo will be provided for the transfer of volumes from the campus library to the LSF. Volumes should be placed in the totes in a uniform manner, with the bindings of all volumes turned in the same direction (front cover facing up). Care should be taken that the totes are not overloaded; the covers of the tote should be able to close easily, thus minimizing the risk of damage to its contents due to improper packing. B. Pamphlets 1. Unbound pamphlets submitted to LSF as individual items and not as items contained in a boxed set or other container grouping, will be placed in one of three standard envelopes designated by the Preservation Department. In order to make the most effective use of available space, pamphlets should be placed in envelopes that most closely approximate their actual size. Pamphlets so prepared will be processed--sorted, sized, and placed in book trays--in the same manner as bound volumes. 2. Pamphlets already stored in an adequate container/box will be processed in the same manner as items stored in archival boxes. C. Archival Material 1. In order to make the best use of available shelving space, archival materials must be submitted to the LSF in standard, acid-free containers. These containers come in various configurations and sizes and include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: archive (legal/letter), half archive (legal/letter), flat grey, card, map, and paige boxes of various dimensions. Non-standard/ custom boxes are not acceptable for the transfer of archival material without the prior consent of the LSF Manager. 2. Campus libraries will be held accountable for examining the packaging of archival material before it is shipped to LSF; if the packaging appears to be inadequate (too small, brittle, torn, etc.), items must be re-packaged before they are eligible for transfer. When preparing archival boxes for transfer, the campus library in particular must insure that containers are not overloaded. Boxes overloaded to the point where it is impossible to close the covers of the container, pose an increased risk of spillage (potentially leading to loss or damage of material). Such containers must be re-packaged before shipment to LSF. 3. The LSF should be notified if any archival material proposed for transfer contains contents of an unusual nature (i.e., any substance other than paper or paper products). Such items, if accepted for shelving, must be clearly marked to alert the staff to their presence. The LSF reserves the right to refuse to shelve any material which it deems potentially hazardous or which falls outside of the parameters of its mandate as described in the document Selection Policy for Off-Campus Shelving (September 1996). 4. In order to facilitate the shipping/receiving of materials, it may be desirable under certain circumstances for campus libraries to place on the front of archival boxes an eye legible label which clearly indicates the unit's ownership. Document Updated: 11-3-99 LSF HOME PAGE Yale University Library Copyright Last modified: 16 November 1999 Comments: danuta.nitecki@yale.edu This file is located at http://www.library.yale.edu/lsf/volprep.html