Art Books at the Library Have Their Own Room

What Does This Sign Mean?

Art books, or as we in the library biz call them in Dewey Decimal-ese, the 700's, have their very own room at Berkeley Heights Public Library. If you are browsing in the non-fiction stacks and have wandered from the 010's (Bibliography, not to be confused with Biographies), through the 100's (Philosophy and Psychology) and so on through the 600's, ending up in the 690's (Buildings), you will jump right into the 800's (Literature.) So we put up a sign explaining where in the world the 700's are. See photo. But you might wonder what a 'Circ Desk' is. Again with the Library Land Lingo. Circ is short for Circulation which refers to the library department whose intrepid staff members are the front line in library customer service; they check books in and out all day, put books on hold for patrons, create library cards, shelve new materials, find lost books, send out overdue notices, create book displays, and collect fines :-( among many, many other responsibilities. The closest I can describe working at the Circ Desk is that it is a cross between working retail and being a bartender, but without the fun of serving beer. We take your fines, but you do not get beer. We do listen to whatever stories you may have while we wipe down the counter with seltzer, or at least we wipe down the computer monitors with anti-static cloths.
So anyway, BHPL has a terrific collection of art books, craft books, books on knitting, holiday crafts, hobbies and collecting of all kinds and at the end of the 700's are books on photography, music, sports and games. So come on in and browse in the 700's room which is the room behind the big glass window near your friendly library Circulation Staff.

Related websites:
The Dewey Decimal System explained 

Library Terminology Glossary  

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