Question

Maintaining accuracy of books on the shelves in a college library is an important task. Consider the following problems that are often observed: • Books are not placed in the correct shelf position, which includes those books that have been checked out and returned, as well as those taken off the shelves for use within the library by patrons. • New or returned books are not checked in, and consequently the online catalog does not show their availability. What procedures or poka-yokes might you suggest for mitigating these problems? You might wish to talk to some librarians or administrators at your college library to see how they address such problems.

Answer 1

Solution for Problem 1 :

Self Book Drop Bins, can be placed in the library where the students can put the books according to the catagories assigned, such as one bin for checked out and returned another for books taken out of shelves, where librarian can put back the books to its assigned shelves.

Solution for Problem 2 :

In this case, you need to talk to the librarian, as due to non entries in their database, books will not be either checked in or show availability, therefore asking the librarian to regularly update the book information in the database will resolve this issue.