Workflow overview

Materials arrive from different areas in Houghton Library and are processed for delivery to different locations:

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Houghton Library (including WPR and HTC) closed stacks) / 

Harvard Depository

Most of the materials come directly from cataloging, but other activities also generate the need for end-processing, including acquisitions, conservation and preservation, and public services, resulting in a mixture of new items new to the collection and existing collection materials material requiring new enclosures and/or barcodes. Bays and shelves are organized according to the flow of the process. For example, incoming shelves are in the first bays, followed by pasting and drying shelves, then processing and ready for shelving. Placement of the bays and/or shelves are designated as:

After materials are delivered to Books End-Processing and placed on the appropriate shelves, end-processing can begin. Books are placed upright and spine-out. Materials in flat boxes or fragile materials items laid flat for enclosures are placed in the appropriate area as space permits. If space is limited, please connect with the Technical Services Assistant or the Technical Services Librarian Rare Book Section Head for consultation.

Catalogers:

•  Place items on "incoming" shelves by size.

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  • • CAVEAT:  Sexually explicit materials must be given to the Technical Services Assistant directly instead of placing them on incoming shelves.

  End-processors' procedures:

  • Create labels, tabs, and plates according to routing slip directionsAeon slips' staff notes directions and/or information contained in Holdings records.
  • Check labels, tabs, and plates for errors.
  • Paste labels, tabs, and plates.
  • Remove blotters from the materials, and place on the correct outgoing shelfroute accordingly for shelving.
  • Wrap (if necessary), barcode, and label the outgoing items.

  TS Assistant's additional procedures:

  • Update the item records in Alma and finish Aeon requests.
  • Scan barcodes again to make sure they are functional.
  • Enter all end-processed items in the Books End Processing Log.
  • Pack HD items in grey bins and notify HD for pickup.
  • Bring on-site items to appropriate stacks location for shelving
    
    

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  3.3. Every item should have information on provenance on the routing slip. The routing slip indicates which bookplate to use on an item. Many book plates are stored and others will need to be created. Check the book plates cabinets and/or the box of most used book plates and retrieve the appropriate book plates for each item. Place the book plates inside the book or box with the ownership labels.

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  4.4. Tyvek Envelopes. For books destined off-site at the Harvard Depository, they must have an enclosure. If a book, mostly hardcovers,  does not have a CMI, prefab, or phase box, it must have a Tyvek envelope. There are five sizes of envelopes, so select the size best suited for the book. Place the book inside the envelope with the cover facing the front of the envelope. Fold the top of the envelope over the back of the envelope. Cut a piece of cotton string to wrap the envelope. With the book face up on the table, place the string underneath height wise and fold to the front. In the middle, intertwine the string width wise and bring the left side of the string underneath the book to meet the right side of the string. Tie a bow on the right side top of the book.

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  4.5. Spine Labels. All books and boxes without a tab will have a spine label. There are two places to place spine labels according to the enclosure being used. For CMI and phase boxes for vertical shelving, the spine label is placed on the bottom of the spine about a half-inch above the bottom edge. If necessary, the spine label may be trimmed to ease placement on the spine. For Tyvek envelopes and prefabs, the spine label is not placed on the spine but one-inch below the top of the upper left hand corner of the envelope or prefab. All spine labels are covered with a spine label protector: a clear, plastic, adhesive film. Center the protector over the spine label and press for adhesion. This ensures the ink from the label doesn’t wear away or smudge.

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  4.7. Final Processing. For items going to Harvard Depository, add the appropriate sticker to the item. There are three two stickers that correspond to the three barcodes: HD HOU (used for Houghton and Poetry), and HD THE (Harvard Theatre Collection) , and HD POE (Woodberry Poetry Room). Place the sticker underneath the barcode and flush left and above the spine label.

  5. Broadside Processing. Broadsides are placed in appropriately sized folders by either the accessioner or cataloger. To see more about Houghton broadside and flat file procedures, go to Appendix G or   <https://wikiharvardwiki.harvardatlassian.edunet/confluencewiki/display/HoughtonTechnicalServices/Broadsides+and+Flat+Files> End-processing procedures for broadsides are similar to books with some exceptions.

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  • Label routing slips "RUSH" and place items on the "RUSH" shelf at the top of bay 1.

  End-processors' procedures:

  • When making labels, always include items from the "RUSH" shelf first.
  • Check and paste rush items immediately after finishing the batch. If this is not possible, give to the end processing supervisor before the end of your shift.
  • After pasting, do not place on the drying shelves, but give directly to the end processing supervisor.

  TS Assistant specifically's additional procedures:

  • Edit item records, enter statistics, and deliver before the end of the day.

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