Last month I asked for ballpark figures on barcoding a library
collection (size of collection, number of staff involved, time the
project took). Here is a summary of the responses I received.
There were 21 replies. The information was even more varied than I
expected and very useful in our planning process.
I heard from librarians all over the U.S. and several in Canada and
Australia. Library collections ranged from 11,000 to 1.5 million
items. Most used a combination of smart and dumb barcodes. Many
libraries involved all staff in the barcoding project; some
students were included in most projects. The largest number of
people involved was 65, the smallest six half-time staff hired just
for the project. Only four libraries reported closing during the
project (three days, 1 week, "between New Year's Day and the start
of second semester," and two weeks for half days). Those who
didn't close reported projects taking from 25 days to 12 weeks or
"the three summer months." Clean-up generally went on for years.
Almost everyone used two-person teams. Some estimated the number
of barcodes which can be attached in an hour, and the range was
from 30 to 240, with quite a few coming in around 100-150 per hour.
The tediousness of the work was mentioned by quite a few people,
and many gave suggestions for making the project "festive" and
providing snacks, completion parties and other rewards. Several
people sent me copies of procedures or offered to provide
additional information (which I will follow up on).
Following are several useful articles mentioned by a couple of
respondents:
Barcoding of collections in ARL libraries, Spec Kit 124, Office of
Management Studies, Association of Research Libraries, 1986.
Bluh, Pamela, "Barcoding a library collection," Law library
journal, Vol. 82, No. 4 (Fall 1990), pp. 727-736.
deKlerk, Ann, "Barcoding a collection: why, when and how, LRTS,
Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan/Mar 1981), pp. 81-87.
Epstein, Susan Baerg; Freeman, Gretchen, and Iacono, Pauline,
"Custom barcoding as a better way, Library journal, Vol.114, No. 14 (September 1, 1989), pp.
156-159.
Gatten, Jeffrey N., "Barcoding projects: preparation and
execution," Library hi tech, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1990), pp. 21-27.
Stone, Alva, Impact of barcoding on book processing & catalog
maintenance, prepared for AALL Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN,
June 18, 1990.
Strong, Janet, "Barcoding: another way," PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 56,
(Spring 1992), pp. 34-57.
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