Cataloging: Day 5

Today's observations:
This was definitely the most challenging day so far. Not necessarily because I didn't catalog any books today (though that is slightly disheartening), but because of how many books we brought back. Meredith had revealed last week that there was a misunderstanding between her and the branch librarian about which books at Scooba need to be cataloged, and there are far more books than she had initially supposed. On the one hand, I was happy because the number she had given me (about 350) was so small that I was worried about the poor library that had so few books. On the other hand, I was concerned about what would happen if I couldn't finish all of the cataloging. Today I was finally confronted with the reality of just how many books remain to be cataloged, and it was a touch overwhelming.
When Rita and I arrived at Scooba this morning I told her that we need to re-check the shelves for books without barcodes. We would box those up, then throw the remaining books that had already been pulled (and which tended to be older and perhaps due for retirement) in the backs of the library van and my rental car. Once I started pulling the books from fiction, though, I realized that somewhere around half of the books on the shelves did not have barcodes, which means they have not been cataloged. I decided that since the fiction titles are probably more likely to be used by patrons, they would have to be the priority. We loaded all of the boxes that Rita had been able to find, which got us as far as the letter D within fiction. The remainder would just have to be put in the cars loose, so that's what we did. After I had pulled all of the books from fiction the shelves looked barren. It reminded me of the first time that we did an inventory and pulled titles at Book Soup after Glenn died. The shelves looked empty, and I hope that someone prepares the branch librarian before she comes in next, because it could come as a serious shock. We're able to start sending books that have been cataloged back, but obviously not at the rate at which they have been removed.
Fortunately my initial pull was slightly tempered by the fact that I had missed some barcodes. Apparently the staff weren't given instructions about where to put the barcodes when they first started using them, so their placement was more haphazard in the early days. I didn't realize this when I was pulling, so I was only checking the upper right corner of the back cover. Fortunately Rita was able to spot most of those, so they didn't have to be transported unnecessarily. Anyway, there are now hundreds more books that need to be cataloged, and I need to figure out how to prioritize, which is not something I have a great deal of experience with. Meredith is constantly concerned about how I feel about this project (because she's a dear), but my attitude remains the same. There are books that need cataloging, and I can help with that. The reminder that I don't have to spend long evenings sitting in online classes to get my final credits only solidified my opinion that I made the right decision. I regret nothing. (Except possibly not wearing shorts today. It was really hot moving those books around.)

Titles cataloged today: 0  :'(

Titles cataloged total: 263

Audio entertainment during the drive: The Monty Python Instant Record Collection; Led Zepplin III; beginning of "The gingerbread woman" - short story by Stephen King downloaded on Hoopla.

New Southern discovery: I've come to the conclusion that Southern communities revolve in large part around gas stations. Several towns I've passed through (like Scooba) don't have a grocery store or cafe. [I was expecting more mom and pop diners in these towns, but that's probably because I read too much Stephen King, and they appear in many of the small towns in his stories.] But every town has a gas station. And those gas stations tend to be very well stocked, and many even have cooked food or a Subway attached. There's one Shell on the road out of Philadelphia that has a liquor store and a Baskin Robbins! When all else fails, stop at the gas station.

Something I miss from California: Peet's coffee shops. They brew the strongest iced tea and are open forever.