RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
5.5 Shelving, displaying and filing materials
Once materials have been classified and catalogued, they are ready to be put on
shelves, on display, or in files in the resource centre.
5.5.1 Shelving materials
Shelving means arranging materials on shelves according to their classification
number. Materials on the same subject have the same classification number, so they
are arranged together alphabetically by the first three letters of the author’s name,
or by title if no author is given.
Good shelving:
• makes it is easy for users to find what they need
• makes it easy for staff to do a stock check
• helps staff to answer queries.
It is very important to ensure that each material is put in the right place. If books
have been mixed up, they must be rearranged in the correct order. This is called
‘shelf reading’, and needs to be done regularly.
Book supports are useful to ensure that books stay upright (see Section 3.3:
Choosing furniture and equipment).
It is best not to overcrowd shelves
SECTION 5: ORGANISING THE INFORMATION
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