Flags used in technical services operations
Acquisitions flags
The Acquisitions Department maintains a colorful flag
chart on their Intranet site.
 Branch or
location flags: Materials destined for a location other than D.H.
Hill stacks should be flagged by color. With call numbers no longer being
inscribed on an insert or on the piece being cataloged it is important
that these flags be present. This is the only way to let Marking staff
know that the material needs to be labelled for a branch or non-stacks location.
- Branch flags
- AARR: salmon ♠♠♠
- College of Education Media Center (previously LRL): Tarheel blue ♠♠♠
- Design: red ♥♥♥
- Natural Resources: green ♣♣♣
- Textiles: yellow ♥♥♥
- VetMed: tan ♠♠♠
- Working collections: light green ♣♣♣
- Location flags
- Reference (goes to head of queue): pink ♥♥♥
- Reserve: white
- Special Collections: white
Priority flags: Used to move particular 
materials to the head of the processing stream and/or to indicate post-processing
patron contact needs to be made.
Priority flags
- Hold (goes to head of queue): grey ♠♠♠
- Notify (goes to head of queue): white
- Rush (move to head of stream; send to Marking via Rush truck): yellow with red letters ♥♥♥
- Walk-through (remove from stream and process immediately; hand-carry to Marking): lavender ♦♦♦
Process flags: These flags are used to describe the source of accompanying copy or the lack thereof and special characteristics or processing needs of the material itself.
Process flags
- Accompanying material: white
- Bindery: white
- CatSep: light blue ♠♠♠
- CatSep (electronic): light orange ♥♥♥
- CIP (no longer used): light yellow ♠♠♠
- Contributed: white
- Donation (keep): pink ♥♥♥
- Errata: white
- Exact match: neon green ♣♣♣
- YBP batchload (no longer used): lilac ♥♥♥
Cataloging flags
Reference question shelf flag: These flags were designed 
to enable catalogers to question the suitability of materials for the
reference collection. The top half of the flag contains the cataloger's
name, the date the material was placed on the shelf, and the LC classification
of the item to help RISD staff direct the material to the right subject
specialist. The bottom half is for the RISD decision and any special instructions
as to destination (e.g. Ref Desk, Business Alcove, etc.).
Preservation flags
Members of the Acquisitions Department will continue to evaluate materials based on guiding principles (see below) and will place a white flag that has the word "PIGGY BACK" across the top. Everything that might need treatment except Errata will receive a "piggy back" bar code in the item instead of a regular bar code and will be placed on the title page in the left bottom corner instead of on the inside cover. The Marking Unit supervisor will evaluate the materials with flags and decide if treatment is needed. If treatment is needed the item will be sent to the Conservation Unit or the Bindery Unit where the item will have the piggy back bar code placed on the new binding or pamphlet binder after treatment. If the Marking Unit staff decides the item does not need treatment the piggy back bar code will be removed and placed in the center inside bottom of cover.
For materials that need to override a preservation decision (there is a policy to bind this item, collection manager decision, etc. or errata) the Acquisitions or Cataloging staff member will turn the flag over and pick from choices (send to bindery, pamphlet bind, errata, box) and again use a piggy back instead of a regular bar code. If the override is chosen initials must be marked in case the preservation department needs to ask questions.
Errata material should be paperclipped to the Preservation flag and will be treated after marked. Flags can be placed on the volume at any time in the process, but should continue to flow through the process as any other volume and won't be treated until ready to be marked. After treated the material will go to the stacks.
In general, the guidelines for evaluation include anything that seems too flimsy to go onto a shelf, but specifically:
"Piggy Back" flag:
- Any book with minor damage (ex. Small tear in spine, torn page, pages stuck together, etc.) that can possibly be repaired instead of returning to the publisher
- Any book less than 1/4 inch thick
- Any book less than 5 inches in height
- Any instruction sheets or booklets to accompany CD ROMS
- Any spiral bound book
- Any book in loose leaf format
- Any book larger than 1/4 inch thick without substantial binding.
"Preservation" flag:
- Any book designated by a Collection Manager to bind upon receipt, or with
other instructions from Collection Manager
- Any book with an errata
- A book that by policy or procedure needs special treatment
Conservation will make flags and the flags should be re-usable. If you need flags, contact someone in conservation and let them know.
The following procedure was implemented in November 2002:
ERRATA FOR ALREADY ACQUIRED MATERIAL (materials already in stacks)
New Procedure: Acquisitions staff member receives errata message (through the mail or electronically), places the errata or a print out in a box marked "Acquisitions Errata Sheets" on the shelf in conservation unit, conservation unit retrieves the book and tips in the errata and returns the book to circulation.
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