Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library
Have you ever wondered how a book makes its way to your holds shelf? From selecting materials and adding them to the Library's collection to delivering them to branch locations, this is part three of a series taking you on the Journey of a Book. If you missed the other parts, catch up on our blog.
The Distribution Center, known among Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library staff as "the DC," opened in fall 2019. While closed to the public, the location is essential to getting materials — books for all ages, CDs, DVDs, and more — into the hands of our customers. That's you!
How do materials get out of the DC to Library Customers across CHPL's 41 locations? The answer is the Shipping and Receiving Department.
After materials are inducted on a sorting machine, they're placed in bins based on what branch location they're headed to. Once the bin is full, it gets staged for when drivers come by to load them up for delivery.
According to Shipping and Receiving Manager Matthew Todd, there are four to five trucks on the road on a given day. They deliver Monday through Saturday, and several locations get two deliveries a day. There's also a truck dedicated to picking up and dropping off materials for the Downtown Main Library.
"The first delivery will get to the branch before they open for the day," says Matthew. "So, then branch employees are able to get everything ready and then shelved out onto the public floor. Customers can come in and just grab their hold."
Second deliveries generally arrive in the early afternoon. Matthew says the Library implemented second deliveries on Fridays about a year and a half ago to help customers get their holds ahead of the weekend.
"Every day, we are trying our hardest to get these materials out to [customers] as quickly as possible," says Matthew. "It's our goal to get materials into the hands of our customers each and every day, six days a week. We just want them to have the material."
Along with books and materials, the Shipping and Receiving Department also delivers items and resources to branches for events or community needs. Matthew says that "anything [he] can do that can better the community" through his department's work is what makes his job fulfilling.
The Library Is How Books Find Their Way to You
Every day, thousands of books, movies, and other materials travel through CHPL's sorting and delivery network on their way to customers across Hamilton County. Before a book reaches your hands, there's an entire team helping it get there. Read the rest of the Journey of a Book series.
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