Ask a school auditor, a college inspection team or a library committee what the library owns, and the answer they expect is the accession register. It’s the oldest tool in library management, and in schools and colleges across South Asia it’s still the official record. It’s also easy to keep badly: skipped numbers, reused numbers, blank columns and no trace of books that were lost.
This guide covers what the register is for, a column layout that works, and the handful of rules that make it something you can rely on.
What an accession register is
An accession register is, in the classic definition, “the chief record of the stock added to a library”. Every item gets a number in one continuous sequence as it is added, and that number, the accession number, is “never repeated or reused”.
It answers three questions no other record does:
- What has the library ever acquired, and when?
- Where did each item come from, and what did it cost?
- What happened to it: is it still in stock, lost, or written off?
The register is not a catalogue. It’s ordered by arrival, not by author or subject, so nobody uses it to find a book. It’s the library’s stock ledger.
Accession number vs call number
The two numbers written in a book are easy to confuse:
| Accession number | Call number | |
|---|---|---|
| Identifies | One physical copy | A title’s place on the shelf |
| Comes from | The next line in the register | A classification scheme, such as Dewey |
| Three copies of one book | Three different numbers | The same number |
| Changes? | Never | Can change if you reclassify |
The columns of a standard register
A ruled accession register, bought from a stationer or printed yourself, usually has these columns:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Accession no. | The next number in the sequence |
| Date | The date the item was entered |
| Author | As printed on the title page |
| Title | As printed on the title page |
| Edition | If stated |
| Publisher and place | As printed |
| Year | Year of publication |
| Pages | Total pages, or volume number for a set |
| Source | Bought (supplier name) or donated (donor name) |
| Bill no. and date | For purchases |
| Price | As paid, in your currency |
| Call no. | The classification number, once assigned |
| Withdrawal no. / Remarks | Lost, damaged, written off, with the date and reference |
The LIS Education Network lists much the same set, with ISBN as an optional extra. If your register has no ISBN column, write it in the title column for new books: it helps later if you move to software.
Rules that keep the register reliable
- One sequence, no gaps. Every item takes the next number. If you spoil a line, strike it through and write “cancelled” rather than tearing out a page.
- Never reuse a number. A lost or withdrawn book keeps its line forever. The remarks column records what happened.
- Write the number in the book. On the back of the title page and on one other page the library always uses, so it survives a torn-out title page.
- Enter an item when it’s processed, not when it arrives. Books waiting on a shelf for months make the dates meaningless. Enter them the week you stamp and label them.
- Use ink, and initial corrections. The register is an audit record. A neat strike-through with initials is better than correction fluid.
- Decide what gets a number. Most libraries accession books and bound volumes, but not newspapers, loose magazines or pamphlets. Write the decision down so the next librarian follows it.
Donations, sets and multiple copies
- Donated books: accession them only once you’ve decided to keep them. Put “Donated” and the donor in the source column. See what to accept before you do.
- Multiple copies: each copy gets its own line and its own number, even if every other column is the same.
- Multi-volume sets: one number per volume, with the volume number in the pages column.
Withdrawing books: lost, damaged and weeded
When a book leaves stock, don’t delete anything. In its line, record:
- the reason (lost by a member, damaged, weeded as out of date),
- the date,
- a reference, such as the committee meeting or write-off order that approved it.
Many schools and colleges keep a separate withdrawal register with its own numbers, and write that withdrawal number in the accession register’s remarks column. Either way, the stock figure is simple: the last accession number, minus withdrawals, minus cancelled lines. A stock verification checks that figure against the shelves.
Keeping the register in software
A paper register is fine for a small library. It gets harder when you need to know which copies are out on loan, who has them, or how many books a class borrowed this term. Library software can keep the register’s core information and use it at the desk.
In Khulla, a free, open-source library system, the accession number becomes the copy’s barcode. Each copy records its barcode, the date it was added, its shelf and notes, and belongs to a title with the author, publisher, year, edition, pages, ISBN and a replacement cost. Barcodes are unique, and a copy that’s withdrawn or marked lost keeps its record and its number, so a new copy can’t take it. Spine labels print from the same numbers.
What it doesn’t do, and why you may want to keep the paper register:
- It has no column for supplier, bill number or the price actually paid per copy.
- There’s no spreadsheet or MARC import: existing books are typed in.
- Dates are recorded in the Gregorian calendar.
A common arrangement is to keep writing new books in the paper register for the auditors, and use the same numbers as barcodes in the software for everything else. Our guide to moving from an accession register to software walks through the switch step by step.
Summary
- The accession register is the permanent, numbered record of everything the library acquires.
- An accession number identifies one copy; a call number places a title on the shelf.
- One unbroken sequence, never reused, written in the book and in ink.
- Record donations, withdrawals and losses in the register; never delete a line.
- Software can take over lending while the register stays the official record, using the same numbers as barcodes.
Questions
What is an accession register in a library?
The permanent, numbered record of every item a library adds to its stock, in the order it arrives. Each item gets the next accession number, which is written in the book and never given to another item.
What is the difference between an accession number and a call number?
An accession number identifies one physical copy and says nothing about its subject. A call number, such as a Dewey number, says where the book belongs on the shelf. Three copies of one book share a call number but have three accession numbers.
Can an accession number be reused when a book is lost?
No. The lost book's line stays in the register with a note in the remarks column, and the next new book gets the next unused number. Reusing numbers breaks the link between the register, old loan records and audit reports.
Do donated books go in the accession register?
Yes, once you decide to keep them. Write 'donated' and the donor's name in the source column, and leave the price blank or enter an estimated value if your auditors ask for one.
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