[LM_NET] Hit: smart bar code

[DMickelson <coreys@CHIBARDUN.NET>]

Thank you to everyone that provided answers. I never knew there was a smart bar 
code and dumb bar code.

A generic (or dumb) barcode is a barcode label with just the barcode
lines and the number. A Smart barcode is the barcode, author, title,
etc. printed on the label.

Smart barcodes "know" which book they belong on, and the MARC record that will come 

with them will have the barcode information entered as a part of the holdings. 
Smart barcodes will also have the author, title and possibly the call number 
printed in very tiny print on the label, so you can put the correct label on the 
corresponding item. Usually Smart barcodes are used or generated during a project 
like a retrospective conversion, when the library is getting its holding put into 
machine readable format while they're automating the library.

Generic bar codes require you to "link" the barcode number to the correct MARC 
record and then enter the item's info (call number, etc.).

Smart bar codes have the title and author of the book on them. So,
specific barcodes have to go into specific books. Generic bar codes
simply have the barcode and you can stick them in any book and enter the
information manually.

A smart bar code includes the title and author's last name on the bar 
code sticker.

A generic barcode can be assigned to any book as it only has the 
barcode and number on it.

It's my understanding that the smart barcode usually contains "people
readable" information as well as the barcode itself. When I did my
retrospective conversion, the company supplied the barcodes for each
book, and each label also had the title of the book, its call number,
and its copy number printed on it, as well as the barcode itself. When
I order books from jobbers, I usually also order smart barcodes.
However, I also have sheets of barcodes that only have "Spackenkill High
School Library" printed on them over the barcode. I use them when I
rebarcode items that have illegible original barcodes, or if I add
something to the collection myself.

Another possibility for "smart" would be an RFID encoded barcode label.




"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home"  Edward R. Murrow

Donnette Mickelson
Library Media Specialist
Colfax Elementary School
coreys@chibardun.net
Colfax, WI 54730




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