Library staff use a code to signify which books have already been sorted. Books left upright have been sorted and those left lying down have not been sorted.
Photo: Mac Barber, NewsNetNebraska
Keeping track of more than 3 million books is no easy task for the staff of Love Library. Even with a top-notch security and tracking system from 3M, books are bound to get lost, misplaced or even stolen.
As the largest library in Nebraska and one of the largest college libraries in the United States, the library and its staff members have difficulty getting an accurate count of missing books. While the Daily Nebraskan reported in 2007 that as many as 30,000 books could be misplaced, stolen or long overdue at any given time, Deb Pearson, circulation librarian, said the number is difficult and time-consuming to confirm.
"It takes at least three hours to run a list through the database (of missing or stolen books)," she said. And such lists aren't entirely accurate, she noted. Sometimes these books aren't stolen or lost at all, but merely misplaced in the library, a term Pearson described as "shelving." If there are limited books available for a class, patrons will "shelve" or hide a book within the library so it isn't available to other patrons.
The library's new security system is state of the art and uses sensors implanted in the books, Pearson said, but patrons always seem to find ways to circumvent the system. If books needed by a patron have been lost or stolen, the library has to resort to its interlibrary loan system, which can be costly.
The free system allows the library to have access to libraries around the world. However, it costs money, time and labor in order for it to work. Once a book is located, delivery can take five to 10 business days, and the discharge process starts all over again.
The library has taken steps to correct mistakes. A double-discharge system, which has been in effect for more than three years, scans each book twice to make sure each book has been completely discharged off of a patron's account. Pearson said this system has eliminated about 95 percent of discharge errors.
"Two eyes looking at a book is better than one," she said.
Junior civil engineering major Danny Jablonski scans a set of books once they are returned to Love Library.
Photo: Mac Barber, NewsNetNebraska
Still, some patrons have expressed their dissatisfaction with the library system, like senior elementary education major Brandon Tovado.
"It's kind of not a user friendly system," Tovado said. And the size of the library makes checking out books a daunting task, he added.
Pearson understands the frustration. She noted that lost or stolen books negatively affect the learning community of students and faculty.
"It's much nicer for (the patrons) to go to the shelf and get it," she said.
With the library continuing to offer more resources and databases online, a sophisticated security and tracking system may seem unnecessary. But Pearson said the demand proves otherwise.
"People are still checking out books, which means they're not getting everything electronically."
Books returned to Love Library must pass through the sorting room before returning to the shelves. Photo: Mac Barber, NewsNetNebraska
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