What they call the Circulation Department at the Hangzhou Library and what we call Circulation are two very different animals. Their non-fiction collection is divided by call numbers just like ours but what might be our 100’s would be their category A. Their fiction is shelved by subject area rather than by author.
So, let’s say I’m the area administrator of section A. I do everything with that area. I scan the books in, I shelve them, clean my area, keep tabs on the equipment, market my collection with displays and answer brief questions from readers about my section. I would even have a little picture of myself with my name on the endcap of the shelf.
I also weed the section–sort of. I decide which books I think are no longer useful and then give those suggestions to my team leader. Then the team leader gives the suggestions to the head of Circulation and he makes the final decision. Books are not discarded. They are sent to small branches that have very small budgets.
