A series of strange coincidences

[altivo]

Most libraries in the US no longer have card catalogs. We use computer databases instead, and mine is no exception. We do, however, still maintain what is called a shelf list, a series of catalog drawers that contain one 3x5 card for each book we own, arranged in the same order in which the books would be on the shelf if they were all here. Various incidental bits of information may be recorded on those cards, such as the date a book was sent to be rebound (yes, we still do that occasionally) or the name of a donor, etc. We no longer type those cards up manually, but instead have them generated by our computerized cataloging system as we catalog each new book. The cards are actually printed in Dublin, Ohio on a specialized printer that does only catalog cards, and are mailed to us daily.

I do check to make sure all of them arrive. As it happens, the shipments for December 21 and December 23 have been missing, and I'm on the point of ordering them to be reprinted. I figured they got lost somewhere in the holiday mail, because they are just small envelopes. Today the December 23 packet arrived. We didn't notice the cancellation on the envelope (they are mailed using a postage meter, so typically have no cancellation.)

When I took the cards from the envelope, a small handwritten note fell out:

1/8/06
Hello, Harvard Diggins Library,
Just thought you would like to know that these cards arrived in Juneau, Alaska on Jan. 7, in a package of gifts from Norway. The Norway package had been damaged & repaired, & somehow your envelope ended up included--imagine our puzzlement when opening our Norwegian treasures!
Best Wishes for 2006;
Your friends in Juneau

On re-examining the envelope, sure enough, it was cancelled on the back in Juneau, Alaska, on January 8. I wonder where the other packet from December 21 got to...

Comments

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Wait, do I get the anthro-wolves for letting you use the shelf list or for not letting you?

It is indeed possible to use a shelf list as a catalog, but requires considerable skill. In essence, it is a sort of classified catalog, a concept familiar in Europe but rarely seen over here. To use it that way, you have to already know the Dewey Decimal System (or whatever other system is in use) fairly well. And in fact, if you know that, you probably don't need the catalog much anyway, except to find out if a book should be on the shelf or is checked out (something the shelf list will not tell you.)

The main use of a shelf list is inventory. You can carry a drawer to the actual shelf and match books to cards individually, finding out what is missing and requires further investigation. In theory the computer could provide a similar feature but in practice it never does. The complexities of actual shelf arrangements seem to flummox the programmers too badly.

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

*the anthro wolves are wearing black suits and shades, one of them
holds a paw to his ear and the piece, he nods and they get into
an unmarked van and drive to your house*

XD

Well, I know enough of the Dewey system but not /that/ much.

Still, I'll have to let slip the Words Of Power in the library
now. XD