Williams, one of three locksmiths on Belknap Campus, should know. His shop maintains records of each of those keys, makes sure that they work properly, and rekeys doors when they are lost. That's a lot of doors, a lot of locks. Theirs is a relaxed, yet orderly, workplace. A visitor might find James Taylor playing in the background as they work.
Work orders come into the shop via miniforms on the administration's Web page.
The locksmiths pull them off the computer, process them and fill them. Often filling a request requires nothing more than making a key, an obvious part of their job. It's getting more complex. It's come a long way from when I first started. It's not just keys and cylindrical locks anymore.