The following article was submitted by Laura Schreiner, the Materials Management/ILL Associate at Manitowoc Public Library.
“The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library” — Albert Einstein
Most area residents are aware that Manitowoc Public Library is a proud anchor (maritime-themed references always garner extra points) in beautiful downtown Manitowoc—overlooking the Manitowoc River—directly across said river from the submarine. It’s quite easy to direct newcomers to the Library itself.
What is sometimes a bit more challenging is locating a particular item within the Library. Let’s be honest—it’s a large building filled with a plethora of interesting stuff. So, we get that finding your desired item may prove difficult. While we are always ready and willing to help you locate exactly what you’re looking for, there may be times when you wish to head into the stacks on your own, find your book, and go on your way.
For some time now, MPL staff has been aware that it may be especially vexing to find books that were once part of our “Oversize” collection. Like many libraries, we used to maintain shelving units dedicated to books that were too large to fit on standard book shelves. And we used to have a lot of those books!
As time passed, however, the publishing industry changed, as did patron’s habits. Beautifully illustrated “coffee table” books became very costly for libraries to purchase and patrons tended not to check out the books we did own—many of them were quite heavy; additionally, there may have been confusion about where the “Oversize” shelf was located.
Sadly, MPL, like many libraries, gradually reduced the number of books in our “Oversize” collection. We removed the “Oversize” designation in the online catalog and moved the books to bottom shelves, below the standard-sized books found within the same Dewey decimal area. Looking for a way to best call attention to the big books on the bottom shelves, library staff brainstormed and came up with the concept of “book dummies.”
Laura Schreiner
Here’s an example of how you might locate a dummy book: You’re looking for a book containing lots of colorful photos of birds. The online catalog directs you to LIFE-SIZE BIRDS: THE BIG BOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS, located at 598.097 HAJESKI. This sounds like the perfect book! Because the actual book is too large to fit on the regular shelf, you will find the dummy book in this spot. The dummy book looks exactly like a book while on the shelf, but when you have it in-hand you will notice that it’s nearly weightless, which is due to the fact that it’s filled with Styrofoam rather than paper. The green label on the cover directs you to the actual book, found on the shelf below the dummy. If you don’t see the book on the bottom shelf, we’d appreciate you alerting staff. The book may be checked out to another patron, in which case we’ll be happy to place it on hold for you.
Here’s a sampling of the volumes for which you will find book dummies:
- AFRICA
- LIFE-SIZE BIRDS: THE BIG BOOK OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS
- MY NAME IS PRINCE: 25 INSPIRED YEARS / 1991 TO 2016
- SPINDIZZIES (nope, we didn’t know what they were either—come in and check out the book 🙂
And there are more colorful and interesting reads beyond the four listed here! Most of the books contain richly-colored photos, as well as informative text. From Frida Kahlo to tugboats, Frank Lloyd Wright to Harley-Davidson motorcycles, pick-up trucks to avant-garde art, you’re likely to find something to intrigue and inform when you find a dummy book and then check out the actual book situated on the shelf below.
See you at the Library!
