Keeping Up with Patron Driven Acquisitions

Ashley Avila 

American Library Association (2014). "Keeping Up With... Patron Driven Acquisitions", American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/pda 

Summary:

Libraries usually use the "Just in Case" Model for collection development. The model was librarians buying items in anticipation for future needs by patrons. This led to books sitting on the shelves with little to no circulation. There was then a shift to using the "Just in Time" Model. This modal was buying titles on demand, also known as Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA). Prude University conducted a study comparison of circulation rates between the two methods. It was found that using PDA model the books were twice as likely to circulate. There are benefits and challenges to using PDA model with e-books according to the author. The benefit is there is immediate access to materials and it reduces the work load of staff. The challenges are the limited availability of e-books, publisher restrictions, Digital Rights Management (DRM), and long-term licensing concerns. 

Review:

This article gives an insight on the two different models of collection development. This is an example on how collection development practices can impact the circulations rates of materials. If we anticipating needs, then books are going uncirculated due to there being no immediate need. On the other hand, when materials are bought as requested, books are more likely to circulate and the library can map the community immediate needs.

Public libraries more popular & more digital than ever

Kristin Proctor

This article includes a ton of data about how public libraries' collections have changed. My summary focuses on the overall shift from print to digital use, but the article also includes information about the changes in costs and costs per use of digital versus print collections as well as information about the wages of public library staff toward the end. Definitely worth a read.

Rizzo, N. (2022). State of US public libraries - More popular and digital than ever. WordsRated. https://wordsrated.com/state-of-us-public-libraries/

Using data from 1992 through 2019 (i.e. right before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down many libraries for in-person visits) and a series of informative graphs and charts, Rizzo describes why some people mistakenly believe "libraries are dead" because overall visits to public libraries and checkouts of physical books have declined.

However, libraries have increased numbers of borrowers, programs, program attendance, and use of digital collections. Total checkouts (digital plus physical) have increased as libraries have shifted their collections to more ebooks, audiobooks, and digital audiobooks. In addition, more people visit the library specifically to attend the increasing number of library programs, which in turn correlates with increased circulation numbers.

Overall, the data illustrate a story that library staff and visitors are already keenly aware of: libraries are very much alive and thriving. Public libraries are clearly shifting their collections in response to the needs of their patrons. They are providing more information and collections in digital format which serves the needs of those who don't visit the library in person as often while they are also providing community connection through library programming attracting visitors to the library.

Collection Assessment and Management

Gilley, Morgan 

APA Citation:

Kachel, D. E. (1997). Collection assessment and management for school libraries: preparing for cooperative collection development. Greenwood Press.

Summary:

Inside this book, it goes into detail about the stages of collection development. Ms. Kachel goes through the stages of a collection and how to keep the collection circulating. Several appendices cover in more detail collection codes and when to weed out a collection. This is a highly informative book, which is nice because it covers the steps of a collection and how to maintain it. I thought the coolest in this book was how Kachel took the reader through the steps of a collection in order. It was nice to have a book that details a collection and how to get the most out of it.

Evaluation:

This book has so much information about collections and the assessment of them. It shares information about managing a collection specifically for school libraries, but it can also be used to an extent for public or private collections. The author also has an evaluation survey at the end for the librarian to use to see what they should weed out or not. There is so much information inside this that it could also be used as a desk reference book for any library.

Does Visibility Lead to Increased Use?

Rodriguez, Olivia
Natalia Tingle & Keith Teeter (2018) Browsing the Intangible: Does Visibility Lead to Increased

Use?,Technical Services Quarterly, 35:2, 164-174, DOI: 10.1080/07317131.2018.1422884

Summary: This article analyzes the effect visibility has on library circulation. The authors looked at a variety of ways to promote print and digital materials and then analyzed whether or not these strategies increased circulation in their library. This research project also looked at the difficulties of promoting ebooks.

Evaluation: As libraries continue to weed and add more digital materials to their collection, this article proved to be quite relevant and interesting. The author brought up a great point that many patrons might think that the library’s collection has decreased due to the invisibility of electronic, online collections. One of the marketing strategies the authors used was to create large placards for their ebook collections with QR codes, prominently displayed next to its’ corresponding collection in the stacks, along with the physical, print materials. In this way, patrons can see that there are other resources available online, in addition to the physical collection. This strategy proved fruitful at BYU, where they library saw that overall “average checkouts per month increased by 58.2%” (2018, Teeter & Tingle, p. 167). This type of display is a great idea and I plan to create one for my library this summer.

Weeding and Collection Management in Youth Services

Smith, Cassandra

Library ProKits (2015). Weeding and collection management in youth services [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SCLhFcmS_Y

Summary

This 13 minute video offers suggestions for increasing circulation through weeding and other methods. One librarian explains how to use Web Dewey to find how other libraries are cataloging books so that like-items can be grouped together. They recommend having bookshelves only ⅔ full, allowing for ample room for “face outs.” Shelf ends highlight “If you liked [title of book], try one of these” posters with read alikes on display. Similar to a book store, they also recommend stacking multiple copies of books under a display copy.

Evaluation

The two ladies in this video offer great insight into how to increase circulation. Once a collection has whittled down to what users are truly interested in, circulation will increase because they won't have to sift through old or uninteresting materials. Their creative methods could prove beneficial to many libraries. Many people gravitate or shy away from books based on their covers, so it's important to showcase covers as much as possible. With fewer books on the shelves, that frees up more space for outward facing books.

Developing an Outstanding Core Collection

Chase, Matthew
Fall 2016

Citation

Alabaster, C. (2002). Developing an outstanding core collection: A guide for librarians. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Summary

Alabaster's book provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide to the collaborative development of a library's core collection. She uses the case study of the Phoenix Public Library system to thoroughly examine the process. The author defines a core collection as one in which each title circulates regularly and reflect the current interests of the local community. She addresses the issues relating to core collection development such as budgetary limitations, lack of communication among library staff, and an inconsistent understanding of what constitutes a core title.

Evaluation

I found the book to be a great resource that sought to clarify the issue of what makes up a well-established core collection. In particular, her definition of a core title resolves the misunderstanding that they only concern the so-called classics of literature. She aimed to expand this narrow criteria to include any materials relevant to the needs and the interests of a library's community. Alabaster also adds the criteria of currency and usage to determine a title's status as part of the core collection. She highlights the importance of maintaining clear communication and goals, emphasizing the need for written collection policy statements and well-organized staff forums to discuss issues. While the book proves very useful, I thought it problematic in some ways. The case study of an entire library system was of particular issue, since they sought to develop a uniform core collection across all library branches, with each library being required to purchase the same core titles no matter budget and other limitations. There were several issues arising from this ambitious endeavor as the smaller branches didn't have the funding or space to match their larger counterparts. It also neglected to recognize that some core titles won't be as relevant to some of the branch communities being served.

Implementing a Floating Collection

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.

Mining and Analyzing Circulation and ILL Data for Informed Collection Development

Poster: Curtin, Shane

Link, F. l., Tosaka, Y. t., & Weng, C. W. (2015). Mining and Analyzing Circulation and ILL Data for Informed Collection Development. College & Research Libraries, 76(6), 740-755.


Summary:

This article describes how one library tried reviewed ILL usage and  borrowing statistics for their academic journals in an attempt to asses the strength of their own collection. They drew on circulation data for each LOC class and compared it across a variety of factors. The results were more complex than they had expected. The question posed by their results was not what specific items to buy, but what subject areas to buy for.  They also realized that user preferences for different material types (such as digital journals versus print journals) could not be inferred through the aforementioned methods of study, since people will tend to order whatever is available. The researchers concluded by proposing a further study to address this question, and to establish benchmarks for collection use as it relates to purchasing. How much circulation should be expected for every dollar spent?


Analysis:

In my own library the ILL librarian does not fraternize much with the selectors. The number of ILLs we receive is small and seldom do we get more than one request per item in any considerable span of time. Due to our library’s membership in LINK+ we already have access to the catalogs of most Californa and Nevada libraries; most items can be obtained this way. We DO look at Link+ circ stats to see if we should order something, but not at ILL stats. Most ILL orders are for rare and old-out of print items anyway, not thing we could get our hands on even if we wanted to. Even so, this study was interesting vis-a-vis the content of our class. At the end of the study the author noted that the study is not to be taken as just an investigation of their own circulation, but as a parable of the effectiveness of using circulation stats as  collection development metric.

They of course, used LC call numbers as subject identifiers. While this is not the method recommended by this class, it is the only one available to most libraries, lest they choose to tag their records by subject collection, as we have been doing. In order for circulation data to be valuable to collection development in this sort of arrangement, a new field of some sort would have to be added in item records, denoting their collection grouping. An alternate method that occurs to me is to try and mine the subject data from the MARC 650 fields, but the variety of subject terms are much to numerous to  make this an effective strategy. If we escape the rigid methods of classic collection development by Dewey and item type, other methods of identification will have to be devised to make circulation data sortable in way that is useful  to selectors.

I was amused by one collection use measurement tool the author mentioned- the CFQ (Collection Failure Quotient) - a ratio of a library’s ILL borrowings to holdings. I think my own library is doing ok.

Value added: Book covers provide additional impetus for academic library patrons to check out books

Knowlton, S. A., & Hackert, L. N. (2015). Value added: Book covers provide additional impetus for academic library patrons to check out books. Library Resources & Technical Services, 59(3), 112-119.

Hooper, Pamela

Summary: This article summarizes a study conducted at an academic library on the value of leaving the dust jacket on books shelved within the library. The authors argue that the information that publishers provide on the book cover is of a different nature to information contained within a catalog entry and therefore greatly assist patrons in identifying useful books. The library in which the study was based contained six different kinds of binding and each was utilized in the study. 1,319 books were studied and were from select LCC classes and subclasses and all were nonfiction. The study concludes that books with dust jackets circulate on average once every two years versus books with no dust jackets circulating once every three years. They conclude that the extra circulation and improved customer experience makes up for the lost room on the shelves.

Evaluation: This was an interesting study. I found it to be somewhat superficial in the methodology, and more research on this topic is certainly warranted, but it should also not surprise anyone. Publishers go to great lengths to entice readers/buyers. By modifying the presentation, we remove the enticement for patrons, especially browsers.

How Graphic Novels Became the Hottest Section in the Library

Casso, Gillian

How Graphic Novels Became the Hottest Section in the Library

MACDONALD, H. (2013). How graphic novels became the hottest section in the library. Publishers Weekly, 260(18), 20-25.

Summary:
This article describes how the circulation for graphic novels has increased over the last several years, but still remains low in the amount of materials the library owns. While there are still stigmas attached to reading graphic novels stemming from the 1950s, concerns that they are poor literature have dissipated over the last several years. Interest in comics and graphic novels took off in the early 2000s due to manga becoming popularized. Acclaimed books such as Maus and Watchmen broke the ice and circulation numbers began to rise. This article explains that while librarians are getting on board with comics, publishers are still a little behind the times and it can be difficult to build a robust collection, especially when publishers themselves aren't sure about the comics and graphic novels being published. Because circulation numbers are rising, libraries are continuously adding to their graphic novel collections. While e-book lenders, such as Overdrive have graphic novels the collection is limited and can be costly.

Evaluation:
I have to say that I love graphic novels and in fact my favorite one is Fables by Bill Willingham. Over the last several years, the library that I work at has drastically expanded the graphic novels collection and it tends to be the most looked at section of the library. It was great to read an article that touched on some great points, such as how until recently it graphic novels were looked at as poor literature. I thought it was interesting how the article describes the relationship between librarians and publishers and how in the past very few publishers catered to libraries. An important point brought up in this article is how publishers feel that libraries are still prejudiced about comics and that they could be subjected to removal due to book challenges. I also find it interesting that e-book lenders have a smaller collection of graphic novels especially since the popularity has increased.