Reserve wrapper alternatives

Question

When a reserved item is scanned in at our library, a reserve wrapper will print. It has the member's name on the spine and the pull date for its removal from the shelf, and member contact information on the front. It is wrapped around the book with a rubber band and placed on a shelf to which members of the public have access. The purpose of the wrapper is not only to identify the borrower but also to protect privacy - it is not obvious what my neighbor Mrs. Smith is checking out since the title is covered by the wrapper.

We process 70,000 reserves per year. That's 140 reams of paper. Do you have a successful means of identifying reserves that requires less paper and also protects member privacy?

Answer 1

We have a bookmark sized printout, which is shut in the book so that the borrower's name is showing at the top. Then the book is put on the holds shelf, but spine down. Our holds shelf is in the public area, and borrowers collect their own holds.

When we first started putting holds out on a publicly-accessible shelf, privacy issues were brought up. We decided that if anyone objected to having their books "on display", we could keep their holds behind the desk and the borrower could ask for them. We had a sign to this effect, but after a year no-one had objected. Some people have commented that they like seeing what other books are being requested, so they can add to their TBR list.

Edited to add:

Sorry, crappy scan, but the slips are 8cm x 12.5cm, and are printed on thermal paper, on an Epson receipt printer. The font can be changed so that the name prints larger.

Answer 2

From your description, I assume the patrons go and pick up their own books? this might not work for you, as my local branch keeps them behind the circ desk, and you have to request for them to get any books you have on hold.

Rather than cover the book, they print out something that's more bookmark sized -- it has the person's name at the top, and then the information. It's placed in the book so that the person's name is visible, but it's in a small enough font that someone would have to be close (or use a camera w/ zoom, from the correct angle, which would be difficult for all but those on one side of the shelves)

The general public might be able to make out what books have been pulled, but they can't easily tell exactly who they're for. (they might be able to guess, as the shelving is by patron name, so you might be able to tell it's someone whose name starts with 'S', but you can't get an exact person.)

It's been a few years since I've requested a book through ILL, so I haven't looked at exactly what's on one of the slips, but I'd assume you'd likely want the pull date printed above the patron's name in a larger font to make it easier to identify those that were abandoned.

Answer 3

I have worked in places where bookmark sized slips are printed (printed on thermal paper on epson printers), but the name is omitted from the slip for privacy reasons. The books are filed by membership card number. To make it easier to find reserves, there were shelf markers with number ranges on them. By doing this, the books are publicly displayed but they cannot be associated with a particular individual (unless you had memorized their card number!). I guess this could also fulfill other borrowers' desire to look at what other people are reading without disclosing identities!

Answer 4

At the local public library, I believe they use tape on the spine, and the name is written on that with a marker.

Answer 5

At the university library where I work, for holds that come from within our group of libraries, and not through ILL, little slips are printed (routing slips) rather than anything that wraps around the book. The slips have the book title, the date, and the name of the person the book is going to. They then get sorted at circulation, and given to the patrons as they come request their holds.

As for ILL requests/holds, those have a band of paper (thermal, I believe - I don't print them, I just band and stamp them as appropriate and deliver them to circulation) that go around the cover and have more info, like the lending insititution and the patron's name and the university name, fine information, due date, etc.