Inventory (library)

Inventories are the one method that libraries use to determine whether some items in their collection are in need of preservation or conservation activities. A modern inventory might involve examining item by item with a barcode scanner and a laptop, with the objective of adjusting bibliographic and item records in theirs and OCLC's WorldCat databases.

Libraries have thousands of books; large academic libraries may have millions of books;. Doing an annual (or less frequent) physical inventory with the laying on of hands on each individual item may not be practical for several reasons. It may not be financially feasible, employees required may not have extra time to devote to such an inventory, and there are no financial rewards for the Library for completing an inventory. Problems that are discovered (books in need of repurchase, rebinding, repair, or digitization) may require solutions that are expensive and labor-intensive. Because of these restraints, inventories may not take place for decades, if ever, at large academic institutions. By contrast, complete inventories are often a regular part of the school library media specialist's job at K-12 institutions, where inventory may be a legal requirement that shows that the libraries are accountable for the money they have spent throughout the year. Checking for lost books and materials can be similarly compared to auditing.

Although collecting new materials is viewed as a central mission of the library, maintaining the condition of library collections, which includes less satisfactory activities such as weeding, book repair, shifting and counting what libraries think they have on their shelves, are also a vital part of the library's mission to provide access to current patrons, as well as those people who will use the library at some point in the future.

Inventories help guarantee that the collections as listed in Online public access catalogs and Finding aids do not lack integrity. School libraries also use the inventory to assess the collection (numbers, age and ratio:student) against benchmarks of accrediting institutions, and also to examine each resource and determine its future in the collection based on age, relevance, currency and condition—which may include repair, replacement, disposal or cleaning to ensure that attractive, up-to-date resources are available for patrons. Inventory can also identify anomalies in the catalog and provide an opportunity to correct catalog records and labeling of items. This is also a time when shelves can be rearranged to minimize overcrowding to prevent damage.

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Wikipedia