Help me pass my library shelver test

October 6, 2013 11:25 AM

I'm looking to get work as a library shelver in a county library. I've passed the minimum requirements and have moved onto the next phase- basically- the library shelver test. I have no idea what this test will require other than them handing me a stack of books and telling me to go shelve them properly. Besides being versed in the Dewey Decimal System.... what do I need to know to pass this test and not have anxiety about it going in? I realize every library system is different but I would very much like your input.

Questions:

Have you taken a library shelver test before? How did it go?
What should I expect?
How to prepare?

I am familiar with the library and know how the call numbers work but what am I missing? Thank you.

PS: The test is one hour long.

posted by rabu to Work & Money (7 answers total)

It's been a while since I've taken such a test, but assuming you get a truck to hold your books to shelve, one way to improve your speed and accuracy is to presort the books you're going to shelve on the truck. Make sure you understand what order to use (ask if the library has a specific shelving guide you should follow), don't grab too many books at once (you risk dropping them!) and try not to fall off the Kik-Step. For dress, make sure you're wearing something you can move in easily (you could be reaching high shelves or crouching for low ones). And you generally do not want to shove all the books back to the rear of the shelf. Try to line spines up with the front of the shelf, so that everyone can see the spine labels easily regardless of the books' different sizes.

It's mostly accuracy and speed -- you're likely to get more instructions about how to do anything more complicated if you get the job. The other thing to remember is that if you get questions from patrons, your answer is almost always "let me show you to the reference desk -- the librarian there will help you."

Good luck!
posted by asperity at 11:37 AM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Are there floorplans on the website? Do they only use Dewey, or do they use the Library of Congress classification at all? Are all of the sections organized the same way, or do they have any alphabetical sections? Any special displays, large print sections, etc.? Agree with presorting, comfortable clothing, and accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Good luck!
posted by jetlagaddict at 11:47 AM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Mostly make sure you are careful and are paying attention to specific things that can be weird. A few things I always think of, in addition to the presorting advice which is excellent.

- Dewey books can have long numbers, make sure you know how to sort books that are 123.12345 versus 123.01234
- Mc/Mac names - some libraries do this in some different way other than strictly alphabetical. Make sure you know which your library does.
- Genres - some libraries interfile biographies and the like with the regular books, some don't. Some of them even have spine labels that will say a thing (i.e. BIO) even though the book needs to go with regular non-fiction. Make sure you put things with their category and are loosely aware of the categories your library has.
- Large items - do they go in a special place? What about odd items that your library might lend such as daycare bags, board games or whatever else you might have.
- Media - do books on CD/tape go in a different place than DVDs of books? Make sure you are careful looking at what sort of media you have.
- Time-sensitive stuff - does your library have a special place for new books or for popular or display books that is different from the regular area? This was the one that always tripped me up.
- Kids books - if your library is like mine there may be special locations for board books (those small chunky kid books), other children's books, juvenile, YA and kids' series books. If you don't have kids these categories can be a little weird.
- Along those lines, some categories can be subdivided by age group (YA graphic novels versus adult graphic novels, kid DVDs versus adult DVDs, magazines for kids/YA/adult) so make sure you're putting things in the right places that are age appropriate

I've outlined a lot of stuff here, but mostly the advice comes down to making sure you know

- house rules
- house layout
- house categories

and are thoughtful and considerate as you go. Good luck.
posted by jessamyn at 11:59 AM on October 6, 2013 [8 favorites]

I haven't had a shelving test, but I've worked in libraries.

I'd want to make sure whether they use Dewey Decimal or LOC, but it sounds like you're already familiar with their system.

There are often special indicators for YA literature, Reference or "special periodicals" - I'd keep an eye out for call numbers that look differently from the standard collection numbers - say with an "R" at the top for Reference, above the call number. Sometimes YA is shelved alphabetically by author. It absolutely shouldn't count against you to not know all of these intricacies, but noticing and asking is good.

I imagine that the most important thing is to 1) get it done right and 2) within a reasonable amount of time.

Honestly based on your post I think your biggest hurdle here is anxiety. Do what you need to do to prepare and then get some exercise and go to bed early. Good luck :)
posted by bunderful at 12:08 PM on October 6, 2013 [2 favorites]

I've done a shelving test before (I ended up not taking the job, but did qualify for it) and they provided me with house rules beforehand. My particular test was in the back circulation room with a cart, instead of an actual shelf. Everyone's advice so far is pretty good.

My experience with actually shelving IRL has been that pre-sorting saves a lot of time. For instance, when I worked at a smaller branch I would often pull off everything in a range (fiction A through C) put all of the As together, all of the Bs together and all of the Cs together on a single cart, and then wheel that cart over to the shelf to work.

Another aspect of shelving is space management. You might have a shelf that's super full (I'm looking at you, Stephen King), so it's useful to rearrange stuff on less full shelves to make room for it. You might also run into an area that isn't completely filled. At this point you could usually arrange books in a front facing way to display them - maybe something that hasn't been checked out recently and is in the same range as where you're shelving (although this might also be the responsibility of a reference librarian, depending on how they divide labor). In addition to getting the stuff on the shelf in the right spot, you might also want to think about fielding questions about making it look neat, and giving the collection a good representation.
posted by codacorolla at 12:24 PM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

My shelving test was the worst job test I've ever had.
The substantive part of the test was simply to pre-sort a trolley of books, so they could check my accuracy and speed. My belt had caught on something as I arrived and the buckle had broken, so I soon realized to my horror that my pants were very determinedly trying to fall down. I was young and flustered, so rather than make an excuse and macgyver something in the bathroom, I soldiered on. You are smarter than this! At all times, I needed at least one hand or arm pressed into my hip to stop my pants falling off, yet not so obviously that it was apparent that I was holding my pants on with my hands. AT ALL TIMES. So I sorted the trolley using approximately 1.2 of my 2 arms, in a cold sweat.
Apparently I was surprisingly quick and extremely accurate, and passed with flying colors. I can only assume they sometimes get people who aren't very familiar with DD? Or maybe it was the adrenaline and terror.
If was the later, I'm not sure I'd recommend my method.

Anyway, I think my main point is that unlike actual shelving, sorting a trolley allows them to check your accuracy afterwards, so I'd expect that will happen.
posted by anonymisc at 3:16 PM on October 6, 2013 [9 favorites]

Much of what already has been posted will be helpful. Doing the actual job, just presorting each cart of books with accuracy helps. Accurate is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Part of my test was finding X amount of pre-placed, tagged books that were errantly left in the stacks and placing them in the correct place. Lesson being 1. always be aware of minute details and 2. know the DDS.
posted by Giggilituffin at 2:18 PM on October 7, 2013