Chapter 1 Organization

Most libraries have materials arranged in a specified order according to a library

classification system, so that items may be located quickly and collections may be browsed
efficiently. Some libraries have additional galleries beyond the public ones, where reference
materials are stored. These reference stacks may be open to selected members of the public. Others
require patrons to submit a "stack request," which is a request for an assistant to retrieve the
material from the closed stacks: see List of closed stack libraries (in progress).

Larger libraries are often divided into departments staffed by both paraprofessionals and
professional librarians.

 Circulation (or Access Services) – Handles user accounts and the loaning/returning and
shelving of materials.[131]

 Collection Development – Orders materials and maintains materials budgets.

 Reference – Staffs a reference desk answering questions from users (using

structured reference interviews), instructing users, and developing library programming.
Reference may be further broken down by user groups or materials; common collections
are children's literature, young adult literature, and genealogy materials.

 Technical Services – Works behind the scenes cataloging and processing new materials and
deaccessioning weeded materials.

 Stacks Maintenance – Re-shelves materials that have been returned to the library after
patron use and shelves materials that have been processed by Technical Services. Stacks
Maintenance also shelf reads the material in the stacks to ensure that it is in the correct
library classification order.

Figure 1- 1 Library shelves in Hong Kong, showing numbers of the classification scheme to help readers locate works in that
section

Basic tasks in library management include the planning of acquisitions (which materials the library
should acquire, by purchase or otherwise), library classification of acquired materials, preservation
of materials (especially rare and fragile archival materials such as manuscripts), the deaccessioning
of materials, patron borrowing of materials, and developing and administering library computer
systems. More long-term issues include the planning of the construction of new libraries or
extensions to existing ones, and the development and implementation of outreach services and
reading-enhancement services (such as adult literacy and children's programming).

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published several standards regarding
the management of libraries through its Technical Committee 46 (TC 46),[132] which is focused on

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"libraries, documentation and information centers, publishing, archives, records management,
museum documentation, indexing and abstracting services, and information science". The following
is a partial list of some of them:[133]
Table 1:1 ISO standards for information documentation

ISO Information
ISO 2789:2006 Information and documentation—International library statistics
ISO 11620:1998 Information and documentation—Library performance indicators
ISO 11799:2003 Information and documentation—Document storage requirements for
archive and library materials
ISO 14416:2003 Information and documentation—Requirements for binding of books,
periodicals, serials and other paper documents for archive and library use—
Methods and materials
ISO/TR 20983:2003 Information and documentation—Performance indicators for electronic
library services