Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery - Staff Wiki


Circulation Student Manual - Shelfreading

Shelfreading is an absolutely essential task. A mis-shelved book is a lost book, and shelfreading is how we find them and make them available to patrons. Please keep the following in mind while shelfreading:

  • Work from left to right on each shelf, checking for call-number order and aligning spines with the edge of the shelf.

  • Look behind the books to see if a book has fallen between the rows.

  • Folios do not belong in the regular stacks, and vice versa. Keep an eye out for this.

  • Books that are extremely out of order (more than one or two shelves) should be brought down to Circulation and checked in the Item tab, to see if they have been reported missing. If the book has a status of Lost, Reported Missing, On Loan, or In Process, leave the book on your supervisor's desk with a note.

  • Books that don’t fit properly on the shelf should be left on your supervisor's desk with a note.

  • Reference and Serials materials should be brought down to Circulation and placed in the appropriate bin.

  • Books that fall apart in your hands should be brought down to Circulation and placed on the Mending cart with a Stacks Mending slip.

  • Don’t forget to track your progress and turn in your completed shelfreading slips to your supervisor.


Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery . University of Maryland, Baltimore County . 1000 Hilltop Circle . Baltimore MD 21250
(410) 455-2232. Questions and comments to: Web Services Librarian