Frequently Asked Questions

Patrons sometimes express concern about the placement of bar code labels on materials. Unfortunately there is no easy or right answer to where to place the label. No matter where it is placed, it stands the chance of covering information someone finds desirable. The back cover on the bottom next to the publisher provided ISBN is problematic as many people confuse the two codes and try to scan the ISBN. The ISBN can also interfere with the ability of the self check scanner to properly read the barcode if they are too close together. On the top of the back cover may interfere with the publisher's blurbs which many people like to read and given that most people carry their materials face up, it can be confusing if the barcode is not readily visible. 

In our situation, av materials already used the front cover in the middle so we chose to put the barcode there instead of the bottom of the front cover where it was also more likely to cover up author information 

The rationale was also that most people hold their stacks of books face up so they would already be conveniently positioned in order to read the barcode if it were in the middle of the front cover. 

We understand that the placement of the barcode may, at times, cover information or the cover art. However, with 516,000 items in our collection we have to have consistency and had to make a choice. 

Sometime in the future we may be able to migrate to a radio frequency id tag system which would eliminate the need for barcodes. At this time, such a venture is too expensive to contemplate but it would address your concern. 

Thank you for understanding and please know your comments are taken seriously