The Ups and Downs of Floating Collections

Johal, J., Quigley, T., Bartlett, W., Kressler, T., Gafiney, J., Bartel, C., & ... Cropper, D. (2012). Take The Plunge! Implementing Floating Collections in Your Library System. Public Libraries, 51(3), 13-20.

Summary:  

 This article presents five large, multi-branch libraries, Vancouver Public Library, Cuyahoga County Publich library, a consortium of Ohio libraries, Sarasota County Library, Brown County Library, and their experiences implementing floating collections in their libraries.  Here, floating collections are defined as collections in which “materials remain where patrons have returned them rather than being shipped to an owning branch” (p. 13).  The goals of floating collections are to “reduce the amount of material in transit, reduce the workload of...staff, increase the availability of items on the shelf for users, refresh the collections...and let the collection move itself” (p. 13-14).  Although there were several different approaches to implementing floating collections, the success of their undertakings seemed to vary depending on how gradually or quickly they applied new policies.  For instance, surveys at the Vancouver Public Library, where floating collections were fully introduced over the course of a single year, indicated that only 48% of staff were satisfied with floating, while at the Cuyahoga County Public Library, where floating was implemented incrementally over 3 years, “the vast majority of staff members are comfortable with floating” (p. 15)

Response:

             I had never heard of a “floating” collection before reading this article; to me, it sounded like an idea that is great on paper but so difficult to execute well in practice that the obstacles would outweigh the benefits.  Indeed, the logistical hurdles that can be created by changing collection management procedures proved to be an issue for all five libraries studied in this piece; however, those that implemented changes gradually and planned carefully were ultimately able to provide patrons with a continuously refreshed collection and easier access to in demand items.  If a library exists as a part of a group of libraries in the immediate area, treating separate collections that are already being shared regularly as a single, unified entity seems like a good way of making more of the library’s collection available to patrons.  Floating, applied perhaps only to certain areas of the collection, might even benefit small consortiums of academic libraries with good histories of cross-circulation, potentially providing participating institutions valuable insight into necessary acquisitions and weeding opportunities while giving students easier and more flexible access to materials.