Summary of Barcodes for bound periodicals query - long Meg Robinson Arnold 19 Dec 1995 16:42 UTC
Okay, I asked about folks who barcode their bound periodicals, and promised to summarize the responses for the list, and I haven't. I'm not a bad person, just a busy one. Herewith, then, a summing up of what I e-heard: >Anybody know of a barcode that's specifically designed to use on bound periodicals or buckram? - No, no one did. >Anybody have any secrets to getting them to stay on? - This was a controversy, I'd say the answers were about half and half, they stay on with no problems, they don't stay on at all. Several people who put their barcodes on the outside did say that they had as big a problem with students removing them thinking they were the security strip as anything else. Here are some highlights: "We switched from the inside back cover to the outside back cover ... 2 years ago. We are now seeing truckloads everyday of items missing their barcodes." "We place our barcodes on the outside front cover, in the upper, left corner. We have had no problems with the labels not sticking and do not use any protective cover." "We barcoded our periodicals about 8 years ago and put the barcode on the spine to facilitate future inventories and use surveys. So far, heavy use has not caused them to fall off on their own. We do have problems with people peeling them off, but that could happen where ever the barcodes are placed." "We have barcoded our entire periodical collection, bound and unbound, and all periodicals circulate except for the 'current' year. We have gone to using 2 qualities of barcodes, a cheaper less durable one for the unbound periodicals and a thicker very durable one for the bound periodicals...We have had a few problems with patrons removing the barcoding...but usually, they stay on until the volume is bound. We have had no problems with the more expensive barcodes staying on the bound periodicals." >Have you found covers (over the barcodes) to be practical? Some used them, some didn't. Most didn't, but no one complained about them. One person said : "We do not cover our barcodes, but other libraries have. Either way, the barcodes will stay on. I have used mylar protectors from Demco, they are easy to use and do not cause problems with scanning the barcodes." The other person who mentioned covers said: "We use standard barcodes with a label protector on it. We got the label protectors from: Universal Products, Inc. Holyoke, MA, phone 1-800-762-1165. To make them stick better we used a squeegee from Kapco Library Products, phone 1-800-791-8965". >Any magic location that works best? - Of course, everyone thought their location worked best, except one. They were variously: Upper left hand corner on the front of the volume, outside back cover (this was the person who was forced to switch from the inside cover to the outside cover, and is now having truckloads to replace), on the spine (this one had trouble with people removing them), lower left front cover, outside back lower right corner, outside back cover, upper right hand corner [about 1/2 inch in from the spine] A few people sent specifics about where they got their barcodes - "I order our labels through SOLINET...I sent my order to: Mary Phillips, Barcode Label Service, SOLINET, 1438 West Peachtree St., NW, Atlanta, GA 30309-2955 ... they're covered with a protective laminate... $22.18 per 1000". "I just ordered a new batch from Yankee Concepts, Concord, NH" "From 1992-1995 State University of NY had a contract with Davis and Henderson of Toronto, Ontario. I did hear that some of the SUNYs had problems with barcodes, although I have not heard that we had problems here." That's pretty much what I found out. If anybody wants more specifics, I can forward the actual responses I got, although most of my responses were other folks wanting to know what I found out. This seems to be a popular question right now. Thanks to everyone who responded, we still have not settled this issue - right now we have too many people thinking about it. ************************************* Margaret Robinson Arnold Bindery Supervisor ali00mer@email.uncc.edu Atkins Library (00 = zero zero) UNC Charlotte ph:704-547-2127 9201 University City Blvd Charlotte NC 28223-0001 *************************************