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A Library Manager's Guide to the Physical Processing of Nonprint Materials

by Karen C. Driessen and Sheila A. Smyth
A Review


OLAC sponsored the publication of this book. It is a very useful guide to the physical processing of audiovisual material. The authors examined processing manuals from many libraries in compiling this manual and consulted a wide range of librarians, museum specialists, special collections experts, preservationists, and commercial library supply vendors. In the first part of the book, the authors write about management factors such as who the library users are, the library philosophy, the budget, the facilities available, the physical environment, the equipment owned by the library, the staffing level, the time staff members have available for processing, and the variety of formats included in the collection which must be considered in making processing decisions. Library decisions and policies on circulation, storage, preservation, and security that affect processing decisions are also discussed. In the next section the authors discuss options for physical processing such as commercial processing, cost factors, packaging/repackaging, what to do with accompanying material, ownership marks, labeling, circulation pockets, etc., and barcodes. Ms. Driessen and Ms. Smyth present different options for processing such as classifying audiovisual materials with accession numbers or with Dewey or Library of Congress call numbers.

The rest of the book consists of detailed information on physical processing practices for cartographic materials, sound recordings, motion pictures and videorecordings, graphic materials, computer files, three-dimensional artifacts and realia, and kits and interactive media. For each type of media, the authors provide a definition of that type of material, considerations for its storage, types of containers that can be used to store it, options for labeling it, where to place circulation pockets, locations for barcodes, security devices, how to store accompanying material, and where to attach gift plates. Different options are given in all these areas. The authors include many figures to illustrate the placement of labels, etc. The appendix includes a list of processing suppliers and products, a selected bibliography, and an index.

This book is an extremely thorough and understandable guide to the physical processing of media. It will be very useful to a library just beginning to collect audiovisual material, a library adding a new type of media to its collection, or a library that would like to review its physical processing procedures to determine if they could be improved in terms of saving time, providing more security for materials, easier retrieval of media by staff members and/or patrons, and better preservation of media.

Published in 1995 by: Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. (xxiii, 241 p.) in the Greenwood Library Management Collection. ISBN 0-313-27930-6. $59.95 hdbk.

Reviewed by Katherine L. Rankin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Last updated: April 8, 2003
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