Shipping & Receiving

What do we do?

The Baker / Berry Shipping & Receiving Department provides a variety of services in support of the various Baker / Berry and computing services departments as well as the other campus libraries.

Shipping & Receiving has three primary functions: mail services, shipping and receiving interlibrary loan/borrow direct books and the library courier service. Besides the three primary functions, the Shipping & Receiving Department handles all miscellaneous incoming truck freight and vendor deliveries. Miscellaneous outgoing freight for the various departments is also processed.

The Shipping & Receiving Department is staffed by three full time employees: Jim Guay (Supervisor), Philip Garran, and Bruce Weidrick (Assistants).

• Mail Services
  Outgoing postal mail is metered for all Baker/Berry Library departments and other campus libraries. Mail Services can perform all the functions of a post office with the exception of selling stamps and money orders.

  Incoming first class mail, periodicals, magazines, newspapers and books are received in the Shipping & Receiving Department through the United States Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express, and DHL daily,  to be sorted and distributed to the various departments. Campus mail is also received from the Hinman Post Office once a day for sorting and distribution.

  Mail is sorted for 31 departments and libraries and is delivered once a day to 23 Baker/Berry departments, Computing Services departments, and Rauner Library.  Department mail is delivered and picked up  between 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m..

  As part of Mail Services, new books are received in for the Acquisitions Department. Book titles are verified against the invoice and are separated between Monographs and Serials. Incoming new books are processed daily.

• Interlibrary Loan/Borrow Direct Book Processing
  Interlibrary loan books are picked up daily in the ILL department in Berry Library and are also received through the library courier from the other campus libraries.

  Interlibrary Loan books are processed and shipped daily for the various libraries. Each book is verified with its ILL routing slip for the correct call number and shipping destination along with any special shipping instructions. Books are wrapped and packaged for shipping within 24 hours of receipt and are usually delivered within two to five working days.

  The majority of books are shipped by means of the United Parcel Service (UPS). The Shipping & Receiving Department has an online shipping system which allows us to ship and track books sent to other libraries. Books are insured for $100.00 at no cost and can be tracked by the call number and the library that it was sent to. Each shipment has an assigned tracking number that can be used to trace the shipment as to the date and time delivered and who received the book. The Shipping & Receiving Department has shipped out books to every state including Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska. Books have also been shipped to 33 different countries.

  Books are also shipped  by Federal Express on special request and through the United States Postal Service with some tracking capabilities.

  ILL books are also shipped through the New Hampshire State Library Van Service. These books are specially marked for the van service, which makes deliveries and pickups on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This service is provided for most libraries in the State of New Hampshire.

  Interlibrary loan books being returned are also received in the Shipping & Receiving Department through the US Postal Service, United Parcel Service and Federal Express. Books are removed from their packaging and distributed to the appropriate library.

  In line with Interlibrary Loans, Shipping & Receiving processes outgoing Borrow Direct books which are shipped to 7 Ivy League libraries for delivery within four days from the patrons request.  Because of the volume of Borrow Direct books shipped,  each book bar code is scanned before being boxed and a tracking number is recorded for each box being shipped.  Borrow Direct books are shipped by UPS only. Borrow Direct books are processed and shipped the same day of receipt.    Borrow Direct books are also received in the Shipping & Receiving Department by UPS for unpacking and  distribution.

  On average, over 2000 ILL/Borrow Direct books are shipped each month.  The Shipping & Receiving Department shipped a total of 42,824 books for the calendar year 2006 which included books loaned and returned.

   

   

• Library Courier Services

  A Courier service originating from the Baker/Berry Library is provided between all campus libraries to include the Matthews-Fuller Library, Storage Library, Dana Library, Paddock Library, Rauner Library, Feldberg Library, Kresge Library,  and the Hood Museum.  The courier transports books, interoffice mail and supplies to the various libraries twice a day. The courier service enables libraries to expedite the transfer of interlibrary loan /borrow direct books and other materials between libraries and various departments.  On occasion, the library courier will move large volumes of books to the Storage Library from other campus libraries.

We are a service department striving to provide the best service possible. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. To send questions, comments or suggestions please email Shipping.and.Receiving.Baker.Berry.Library@Dartmouth.EDU or contact us by phone at (603) 646-2054.

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