When we think of academics and libraries, we are often fascinated with how books, periodicals and documents are tracked. Many people remember the Dewey Decimal System developed back in the late 1800’s that became THE standard for sorting out key book classifications into a simple numbering system. It has served us well and continues to be used in over 200,000 libraries worldwide to monitor the location of books and other media on library shelves.

Over the years, several variations of the Dewey Decimal developed…a more complex variation of it was the Universal Decimal Classification that combined both Dewey numbering with punctuation marks. Then the Library of Congress Classification system was created adding more categories. There were several other book retrieval systems that came along after that.

Fortunately, barcodes were also being developed and in the 1970’s they started to replace manual checkout programs, taking the complexity out of those different filing systems. Today we find unique Code 39 and Codabar barcodes regularly used in library automation programs for cataloging and tracking books and reference materials.

By tying to special library software, these systems not only help locate items, but they can also validate a patron’s library card, assigned due dates, and check to see if the book has been requested by someone else.

When it comes to putting a barcode label on library book, it is important to consider the book's construction and where you are going to place such a label. Very old books for instance, may be bound in leather or wood, and be highly valuable but fragile. An acid-free label would be a first choice for such a publication. Newer books tend to be made with various papers ranging from glossy to a textured clothette. These surfaces require other types of Library Label Materials, ranging from inexpensive paper to durable vinyl or polyester. Some facilities prefer to place their library labels on the outside of the book cover to facilitate barcode scanning when taking inventories. For extra protection however, you may find barcodes best applied to the inside back cover of a book.