Inventorying and Shelf Reading the Collection with Voyager

1
Inventorying and Shelf Reading the Collection
with Voyager

• Presenters
• Doug Frazier, University Librarian
• Ann Fuller, Head of Circulation ILL
• Armstrong Atlantic State University
• May 17, 2007

2
Others who led the way

• Paul Johnson, Bryan College
• Shelley Schultz, Kirkwood Community College
• Richard Palladino, Iona College

3
Two parts of the project

• Performing inventory on the collection, presented
  by Ann Fuller
• Using inventory scans to find errors in shelving,
  i.e. shelf reading, presented by Doug Frazier

4
Inventory method in a nutshell

• Record what is on the shelf (scan barcodes)
• List what is supposed to be on the shelf
• (Microsoft Access query)
• Flag the discrepancies

5
Use a handheld scanner

• Symbol Technologies P460 scanner

6
Use item statistical categories as flags
7
Create a file of scanned barcodes
8
Open a blank Excel worksheet, format the first
column as text
9
Load the barcodes from the scanner
10
Save the worksheet as a text file
11
Also save the barcodes as an Excel file for
later use
12
Use Access Reports to create a list of items that
should be on the shelf
13
Items Not Out List created by the Access Query
14
Save the not out barcodes
15
Open Voyager Pick and Scan in the Circulation
client
16
Set statistical category to inventory missing
17
Switch to the items tab and select the file of
not out barcodes
18
The statistical category will be set for each
barcode in the file
19
Next, change the statistical category to
inventory present
20
Switch to the items tab again and process the
scanned barcodes file
21
The inventory missing code is cleared and
replaced with inventory present
22
Access query for items flagged inventory missing
23
List of inventory missing items
24
Shelf reading in a nutshell

• Link shelf-order list of scanned barcodes to
  Voyager database information
• Use an Excel function to flag incorrectly shelved
  items.

25
Create a local table of item records with call
numbers and titles
26
Make-table Query
27
Barcodes, Items, Call Numbers, Titles
28
Open the Excel file of scanned barcodes, insert a
column and number the rows
29
Insert a row and add column headings
30
Import the spreadsheet into Access
31
Choose Excel file type
32
Use Excel column headings for the Access table
field names
33
Index the number field with no duplicates
34
Index the item_barcode field
35
The number will be the key field
36
Save the table with a descriptive and distinctive
name
37
Create a query with the table you just imported
and the main data table
38
Query the two tables with a left join
39
Query builder view showing left join
40
Barcodes and related information in scan order
41
Send the query to Excel
42
Insert a column labeled status
43
Function to check for errors in shelf order
44
Example shelving errors
45
Use conditional formatting to highlight problem
rows
46
Problem rows highlighted
47
Final product
48
Problems

• Wouldnt scale well without some modifications in
  procedures
• A lot of manual work is involved that could
  perhaps be automated
• Runs of miss-shelved books wont be labeled as
  problems except for the first or last book in the
  run.

49
Problems (cont.)

• Time lag between scanning and flagging records
  may introduce errors.

50
Miss-shelved item not marked
51
Bonuses

• Requires very little training for people doing
  the scanning
• More accurate than manual shelf reading
• Uncovers special kinds of problems

52
Record and spine label dont match
53
Zero used in call number for O
54
Barcode not linked to an item
55

• The End