Collection Development Based On Patron

 Mao Yang

APA: Allen, M., Ward, S., Wray, T., & Debus-López, K. (2003). Collection development based on patron requests: Collaboration between inter-library loan and acquisitions. Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services, 27(2), 203-213.

Summary:
Allen, Ward, Wray, & Debus-Lopez (2023) used this article to see the effectiveness of collection development based on patrons. They called this method On-Demand Collection Development. On-Demand Collection Development is when the librarian purchases a book rather than borrow through inter-library loan. It was found that this method was more cost-efficient and patrons received their requests faster. Allen, Ward, Wray, & Debus-Lopez (2023) believes that on-demand collection development is a practical aspect that meets both patron and library needs.

Evaluation:
This article focused on using the method on academic libraries. I think this method works well in academic libraries because the patrons are university students or faculty member. I would like to see if this method would work on public libraries. When there is a wider range of interest and patron, I wonder how the on-demand collection development would work. Overall, I think it's a great method in collecting books because the library owns the book compared to inter-library loans.

San Francisco Public Library Needs Assessment: Report on Findings

 Stephanie Armatis

Wonder, Valerie (2010). San Francisco Public Library Needs Assessment: Report on Findings. WebJunction. Retrieved from https://www.webjunction.org/content/dam/WebJunction/Documents/webJunction/SFPL-Patron-Needs-Assessment.pdf 

Summary: This is a needs analysis performed by the San Francisco Public Library system in 2010. They identified a need to increase library services though they were dealing with a decrease of library funds. The main goal was to start an online instruction program. To perform the needs assessment, library staff gave written and oral surveys to patrons, organized focus groups, and compiled informal observations and existing data in order to understand user needs and the potential for the proposed program. From this they identified patron needs, which included: career-centered assistance (like resume and application help), social and government help (like citizenship and tax help), educational assistance (like homework help), enrichment and recreational activities, and various skill-based needs like computers and how to use the library and its resources. From these observations and conclusions, they were able to develop their needs assessment and the next steps that their library will take in order to achieve them.

Evaluation/Opinion: This resource can be useful to see how other libraries perform a needs assessment since that is one thing that can affect collection management decisions. Though this needs assessment is older (2010) it was done in response to the recession. Many libraries are dealing with decreases in budgets because of the current pandemic, so the two scenarios will have some similarities. I liked the suggestions about instruction that were mentioned, like marketing what the library already has to offer and to not do it alone (meaning you don’t have to create everything in-house and you can direct patrons to online tutorials that can be found elsewhere online). With dwindling budgets, tips like these will be especially useful for libraries nowadays.

I Want it All. And I Want it Now.

Geist, Karen

Brasile, F. (2019). I Want it All. And I Want it Now. The Washington Library
Association Journal,35(1), March, 5-7.

The article I Want it All. And I Want it Now describes how today's collections reflect a different reality.

Library collections have changed over time as new formats emerge and old formats retired. Instead of one
format replacing another, formats now coexist. We have print books, LT books, books on CD, e-books
or e-audio books. Patrons want it all. They have more options than ever to consume content. The formats are more flexible than ever allowing patrons to interact with materials on the road, in the office, or atop a mountain. Digital media circulation has grown substantially while print circulation has decreased.  This is great for the patron but presents significant challenges to many libraries. “Determining how to allocate the library materials budget has become increasingly complex in recent years,” says Helen Gutierrez Collection Services Manager with SPL. Print books have a set cost, digital item pricing is inflated often 3x that of the retail price. Digital collections vary in terms of access- perpetual or metered.  Seeking funds beyond the materials budget also had its limitations. Libraries can select fewer copies of items or eliminate certain formats. All may accomplish the goal of reducing costs but will that negatively impact patron and decrease customer satisfaction? Libraries are trying to work with vendors to develop better tools to aid in managing digital collections and demand. OverDrive is working with libraries by the addition of “Always Available” content.  OverDrive added a collection of travel books that patrons can check out anytime, as many times as they like. They also added fifty of the most popular audiobooks to provide unlimited access. The challenge is going to be how to provide our patrons with well-rounded, current collections with limited funds.

This article surprised me on a few levels.  I did not realize the actual cost of digital items and never
realized the challenges faced by any Collection Management staff.   I naively thought that you buy a
digital item and it is yours, like a book. There are so many options with various costs. Print books
are on the decline while digital items are in demand but I think that everything will level off.  I think
standardized options for digital items are on the horizon. How can it continue this way? I think more
vendors will brainstorm ideas to make working together with libraries easier and more cost effective.

Collection Managment

Smith, Cassandra

Engelson, L. (2015). Collection management [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qOxRIVr-aY

Summary
This 19 minute video explains that simply having materials in your collection isn't sufficient. It is imperative to be able to find and retrieve the information easily through Collocation and Differentiation. The five laws of library science are explained as:

1. Books (materials) are for use
2. Every reader his book
3. Every book its reader
4. Save the time of the reader
5. The library is a growing organism (garden)

It is further explained that each library should be unique. Or in other words, you don’t need nor should you have a copycat collection. The focus ought to be on the needs of the users, which can greatly vary from library to library, even within the same system.

Evaluation

More an more libraries are adapting to the needs of the users rather than just covering a little bit of everything. Some places have diverse communities that demand for materials in various languages. Other places have collections that are entirely digital. There are even libraries that circulate more than just books, such as tools, seeds, toys, musical instruments, and so on. The key is to find out what is needed by the users, acquire it into the collection, and get it into the hands of the community that needs it. Having like items grouped together makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for, rather than having to wander around and asking questions. A library must be user friendly.

Sacred Stacks: The Higher Purpose of Libraries and Librarianship by Nancy Kalikow Maxwell, MLS

St. Jerome in his Study, 1480 - By Domenico Ghirlandaio - 
Italian Artist - Ognissanti, Florence, Italy - SAINTS - 1480 - fresco

DiBello, Amy

Maxwell, N. (2006). Sacred stacks: The higher purpose of libraries and librarianship. 

Chicago: American Library Association.

Nancy Kalikow Maxwell, MLS, M.A., is a Jewish librarian who maximized

her time during her tenure at the Catholic University, Barry University,

by getting a degree in Catholic theology.Her book Sacred Stacks: 
The Higher Purpose of Libraries and Librarianship is a treatise about the 
spiritual and sacred qualities of libraries and librarianship.

Maxwell begins with an examination of how many Americans identify as

"spiritual, but not religious". The sacred and secular blend of libraries is something

most library patrons have identified and expressed to me over the years.

I also consider libraries to be sacred and feel blessed to have meaningful work

in our admirable profession.

There are the patron saints of librarianship to look up to St. Jerome,

St. Catherine of Alexandria, and most notably St. Lawrence,

who would not surrender the archives to Imperial Roman officials in 258 BCE,

which resulted in his being grilled alive. St. Lawrence is famous for telling

his torturers that he was done on one side and to turn him over.

Sacred Stacks equates librarians as confessors through the art of the reference

interview and social justice warriors fiercely protecting patrons' privacy.

Melvil Dewey, creator of his famous Dewey decimal classification system

referred to the education of librarians as “the suburbs of the holy field.”

Librarians do not have supernatural powers, such as parting the Red Sea,

but their knowledge and instincts with cataloging, classification and

saving patrons from drowning in fruitless Google searches, earns Maxwell’s

accolades of “Representing the universe of knowledge through organized systems

for thousands of years.”

Design Thinking for Libraries: A Process Model for Putting Patron Needs First

Van Halsema, Pamela

Citation:
Ideo. (2015). Design Thinking for Libraries: A Toolkit for Patron Centered Design. Retrieved May 1,        2017, from Design Thinking for Libraries website: http://www.designthinkingforlibraries.com

Summary:
The Design Thinking for Libraries publication describes a process that libraries can use to approach the design of space and services based on the needs of their patrons first and foremost.  This publication is part of a series from Ideo, and offshoot of the Stanford D School, which has made a name for itself in developing a process model for human centered design.  The process is largely centered on three steps: Inspiration, Ideation, and Iteration.  The publication provides an overview of the process, with case studies and explanations, and a practical toolkit which guides the librarian through the process at their own site.

Analysis:
I've been a fan of Design Thinking as a strong model for rethinking and refashioning systems to make them better from a user's perspective.  There is clearly lots of room for reflection on that idea in the library space, as so many times our systems can become the boss of our work, instead of a more empathetic approach to redesign our policies, procedures, programs and spaces to make the patron experience great.

Just like our inquiry learning process we teach in our libraries, the design thinking process begins with a question: How might we......??  (eg. How might we create user friendly web experiences that are on par with the 21st century digital landscape? or How might we create a welcoming ambiance in the library environment that encourages users to linger and stay?) Simply the fact that these questions and search for answers are conducted in a collaborative process that involves many stakeholders and most importantly some patrons, this approach to problem solving can be a powerful opportunity to get to know how others view the library and learn how to make it better.

Several possible solutions emerge in the process and quick experimental implementations, help reveal whether they are effective approaches.  Research, communication, visualization, and iteration are all important elements to finding the best answers to the 'How might we' question.

Along with empathy for the patron, the process involved humility for the librarian, and a willingness to listen, look, and respond to the experiences of the people who use the library.  Perhaps such an approach is what we need to reinvent ourselves and remain relevant in this shifting information landscape that threatens the very existence of libraries today.