A library receives about 50 new books to catalog, but you have no experience, and a professional librarian will join in six weeks. What is the most advisable course in the meantime?

A library receives about 50 new books to catalog, but you have no experience, and a professional librarian will join in six weeks. What is the most advisable course in the meantime?

• A. Let the users take the books even though they are not cataloged
• B. Lock the books in a secure storage room
• C. Begin informal cataloging by memory
• D. Return the books to the supplier

Answer: (A)

Providing access to new materials even when they aren’t yet cataloged tests how you balance service with incomplete processing. The priority in a library is to serve readers and get resources into use, not to delay access while you’re waiting for a full catalog entry. So the most sensible course is to let patrons check out the books, while putting in place a simple temporary mechanism to track loans. This keeps the collection usable and demonstrates good service in the interim. If you held the books back or tried to catalog by memory, you’d risk lost materials, misfiling, or inaccurate records, which can snowball into bigger problems once the professional arrives. Returning the books to the supplier would deprive users of needed resources for six weeks, and locking them away denies access altogether.

Providing access to new materials even when they aren’t yet cataloged tests how you balance service with incomplete processing. The priority in a library is to serve readers and get resources into use, not to delay access while you’re waiting for a full catalog entry. So the most sensible course is to let patrons check out the books, while putting in place a simple temporary mechanism to track loans. This keeps the collection usable and demonstrates good service in the interim.

If you held the books back or tried to catalog by memory, you’d risk lost materials, misfiling, or inaccurate records, which can snowball into bigger problems once the professional arrives. Returning the books to the supplier would deprive users of needed resources for six weeks, and locking them away denies access altogether.