| Author |
Message |
Tracy Van Niel
New member
Username: Tracy_van_niel
Post Number: 15
Registered: 04-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 04:23 pm: |    |
For those of you who still maintain print style catalogs ... Do you identify catalogs (with a colored dot on the spine or some other identifier) of manufacturers or products that are NOT in your masters? |
William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS
New member
Username: Wpegues
Post Number: 26
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 04:47 pm: | |
Print catalogs are still the best way to compare multiple products from mulitiple manufacturers - there is only so much room on a screen.
Yes, we keep products from manufacturers where their products do not appear in our master. We need to know about the things that are almost what we want as well as not what we want at all.
We do not identify the catalogs any differently. Actually, I am not sure that would work. Most items we do specifiy appear in catalogs where we don't specifiy many or any of the other products listed there. Putting an indicator of one way or the other would seem to serve no real purpose.
We keep a printout of our master in our library as well so that any of the project architects can see what we do specify as a standard for any given section. |
Mark Kalin
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 04:48 pm: | |
We don't identify catalogs of products that are not in our masters, because we work as consultants for many firms, and the products of choice change constantly. We've actually rearranged our catalog library alphabetically and not by CSI number. I thought this was heresy at first, but even the Masterspec library in Alexandria is arranged this way. After a few months, even our most strident spec writer prefers this approach. |
Anne Whitacre
New member
Username: Awhitacre
Post Number: 24
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 08:28 pm: | |
We also have gone to an "almost alphabetical" system in our library. The catalogs are broken out by Division... and then alphabetical after that. Although, I can see the benefits of a completely alpha system, but this way makes for a smaller wander if you want to compare products that sort of do the same thing.
As for the identifying of catalogs not in our masters -- no, it changes too often, we get substitution requests for things not in our masters and we are doing work all over the country, so the components change from job to job. |
David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI
Junior Member
Username: David_axt
Post Number: 72
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 09:48 pm: | |
WHAT!!!! You guys alphabetize your library?!
How the hell do you find anything? What do you do if you want to search for a certain weird door hardware in order to match and existing piece?
We put file our catalogs in CSI section numbers. For something like door hardware we alphabetize because there is no other way to break it down. But we don't mix wood doors, steel doors, and glass, windows, etc. in with each other.
Problems arise when a manufacturer (Like The C/S Group) has several products in several divisions/sections. Then we try to get separate literature.
Loose literature is a pain. We sometimes file it, but I usually toss it.
Unfortunately we have specified products that we don't have a catalog. I am trying to toss catalogs for which we don't specify.
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Doug Frank CCS
New member
Username: Doug_frank_ccs
Post Number: 14
Registered: 06-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 08:45 am: | |
Like "most" everyone here I keep catalogs of many manufacturers who aren't listed in my Master, for most of the same reasons. I recently went through a three month long process of ensuring all the catalogs are current and up to date (used a bunch of our intern architects to save me the time and to educate them). The catalogs are labeled, and in an electronic database, based on MasterFormat 95 numbering system.
Although it sounds like heresy, I'm kind of wishing they were alphabetical now since the numbers will all change pretty soon when we go to MasterFormat 04 numbering system.
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Tracy Van Niel
New member
Username: Tracy_van_niel
Post Number: 16
Registered: 04-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 08:56 am: | |
Wow! Thank you for lots of great input. I have had a couple of Project Architects and Project Assistants who were given the job of compiling product cuts tell me that they assumed that since a catalog was on the shelf that it was an approved product. I was curious to find out what other people where doing about identifying non-"standard" catalogs.
The comments about alphabetizing also sound appealing. Actually, the catalogs were alphabetized in our library when I came to this firm 11 years ago and I'm the one who "modernized" it by getting everything organized by section number ... |
William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS
New member
Username: Wpegues
Post Number: 27
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 10:27 am: | |
I have to confess something that others may find useful.
A number of years ago, we took on the services of a professional librarian. We have an interiors group as well as architecture, and the libarian was originally hired to maintain their library of samples (fabrics, carpets, etc.) I maintained the catalog library.
But in the early 90s, when we moved the library, we put all of that under the librarians responsibility.
The library could be sorted any number of ways, that's not the issue.
I thought that I would simply mention that some might consider the use of a librarian for larger libraries. The librarian does checkes for those catalogs that become dated, established and maintains an electronic file that gives the details of the catalog, corporate contact numbers, local rep's number, web site, etc.. It works very well. They even take charge of coordinating all the product and educational seminars that we do weekly.
They only come into the office 1 day a week.
Our librarian actually has a company that does only this, and has several assistants that rotate around. They specialize in architectural and engineering libraries and they provide the service for a number of firms in our region (DC).
We have used the same librarian service for close to 15 years now, and its been fantastic.
If you are a small company, its not really necessary. But if you are larger, or you have a large library of catalogs and samples (carpet, fabric and furniture catalogs and samples take up about 3 times the shelf space that our architectural catalog and samples shelf space) then it can be a real benefit.
Just something to think about. A professional librarian specializing in architectural and engineer offices might be available in many major metropolitan areas. I would not hesitate to pass on a recommendation for our own service. |
John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI
New member
Username: John_regener
Post Number: 33
Registered: 04-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:55 pm: | |
How about organizing the library in descending order according to the quality of free lunches, baseball caps and calendars?
Maybe organize according to color of binder.
Seriously, the issue of loose literature is daunting. Getting loose stuff, which comes in the mail and is accumulated from product shows and luncheon presentations, into binders or files is possible only if there's a librarian or nothing else for the spec writer to do ... which usually means unemployment.
It's maintenance and retrieval that make on-line access to product information the only practical means for presenting product information.
Hey, I have an idea! Why doesn't CSI develop a standardized format for product information so that it's easy to compare products. It could be organized like specifications, using MasterFormat. I think a catchy name would be, SPECData. |
John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA
New member
Username: Bunzick
Post Number: 44
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 08:43 am: | |
I only save loose materials when I believe that the product may be otherwise hard to find in the usual sources. That cuts down on the volume a lot. With so much available on the internet now, the amount of loose materials I need to save is reduced even further. Our library is by CSI number, with a database that hase "secondary" classifications for those manufacturers that have products in more than one section. |
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