Series

This year I have been working to fill in the gaps in my series books, as well as acquiring ones that the kids were asking for. It is hard to keep track of all the series and to know which books are part one since it often isn't marked on the book. I decided to get the round colored dot stickers to keep track of series books. I put the dot on the top of the book spine and write the number it is or use a "P" if it is a prequel. For books that are part of a series, but aren't in any particular order I use blank dots. This has made series books really stand out on the shelves.

When cataloging a recent order, I discovered I was going to have to keep track of what color dots are used for each series. It is hard to finish cataloging when all the books in the series are checked out and I'm not sure which dot to put on the book. I could wait until one comes back, but it would be helpful to have a record. I decided to go old school and use index cards. Each card has the author and series titles down the left side, and genre and dot color under the series title on the right. The Juvenile Series and Sequels page from the Mid-Continent Public Library is very helpful for making these lists. I then highlight each title that I have and can easily flip through the cards to add missing titles to book orders. The cards can be used in the stacks to periodically check that each series book has a dot. As I check which titles I have in the catalog, I update the series information in the record. This process has worked well so far.

How do you keep track of series books?