Making a Collection Count: A Holistic Approach to Library Collection Management

By Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly

Making a Collection Count, A Holistic Approach to Library Collection Management, Third Edition is unique in its focus on collection quality, including topics on making the most of a library collection budget, performing physical inventory, and gathering/using data and statistics about collection use. Beyond collection development, this title looks at the entire lifecycle of the collection and those with responsibilities at each step.

• Takes on new topics important in collection management such as expanded sections on inclusion, diversity, equity and access.
• Covers world events such as the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, as well as new technology-based collections and streaming services available in libraries and how they have changed the way we approach collection development
• Includes a new chapter on library budgets

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Jan 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9780443161308

Holly Hibner

Holly Hibner received an MLIS from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan in 1999. She is the Adult Services Coordinator at the Plymouth District Library in Plymouth, Michigan.

Book preview

Introduction

After many years of working on improving library service, we realized that we needed to revise our methodology. We were trying to improve one thing at a time, but the truth is that the library is a single entity of many services that are completely integrated—almost symbiotic. Everything we do stems from making information available for someone to use. Every other activity comes from that singular purpose. In order to provide the best possible library service, we need to understand the ties between various library functions.

We started looking at library service holistically, taking into account how each piece functions relative to the whole institution. This book focuses on how these relationships affect library collection quality. We need to look at our collections with fresh eyes regularly. We need to ask ourselves if the information we provide is relevant for our users, or if the community’s needs and tastes have changed. We especially need to keep an eye on economic trends that cause us to change the collection’s scope and focus. The library collection is an evolving entity within a library, changing and growing with the times and creating an eclectic mix of items. To bring library collections back into focus, they need to be actively managed.

As our approach to improving and updating our collections became more holistic, we realized that we had been fixing the obvious problems without addressing the multitude of their origins. Changing one thing had a snowball effect on various related areas of the library, effectively causing more problems. We defined what we call the life cycle of the collection and tried to take each step of the cycle into consideration when making future improvements. We tried to trace problems to their origins, even when that took us out of our own departments, budgets, and comfort zones.

This book is divided into nine chapters, and it attempts to apply general collection management principles to achieving collection quality. We will begin with a discussion of how mission, vision, and values statements inform collection policies to define the scope and purpose of the library’s collection. This chapter is significantly rearranged and updated in the third edition, with expanded discussions of collection management policies and philosophies, as well as more information about digital collections, how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted collection management, and a robust dialog about equity, diversity, inclusion, and intellectual freedom.

Chapter 2 introduces our collection life cycle model, which is the basis for a holistic library environment. Understanding what happens at each stage of a collection’s life cycle is the key to making globally acceptable decisions for a library. The life cycle of the collection has not fundamentally changed from previous editions and in fact has been put to the test in a changing world, reminding us of the human factor in delivering a collection that serves a library’s mission. World events have required libraries to change focus in collection management, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the concept of change into sharp focus for anyone involved in collection management.

Next, Chapter 3 delves into metrics and data gathering techniques, which relate to the inventory methods in Chapter 4 and the statistical reporting in Chapter 5. New information in Chapter 3 includes how academic libraries use COUNTER reports and citation analysis, a warning about using circulation to communicate a library’s overall value, and tools like the Public Library Association’s Project Outcome. In addition to the information about how to perform a general collection audit, we have added information about diversity audits.

Chapter 4 is all about physical inventory, with new guidance for using updated ILS features and mobile apps in the process. Knowing that you can trust the metrics you are gathering helps to make informed decisions about the collection. Performing a physical inventory creates that trust by verifying the data.

Once the collection is measured, audited, and inventoried, statistics can be created and collection performance can be analyzed. Collection use, average age, turnover rates, and considerations of collection size and placement are discussed in Chapter 5. Third edition updates to this chapter include advice for using interlibrary loan statistics in identifying gaps in the collection, as well as analyzing troubleshooting tickets on e-resources and databases at the time of renewal. We have also shared a case study on how one library began tracking collection diversity statistics. This chapter helps us interpret metrics and inventory data so we can make good decisions with library resources. Using statistics helps us remove personal bias about the use and users of our collections so that we are truly using our resources effectively. Tracing statistics also shows our stakeholders that we are acting as good stewards of public funds and serving the mission of the library.

Chapter 6 is a new chapter, all about weeding. While we hold firm that all parts of the collection life cycle are equally important to a quality collection, weeding is one of the more complicated and nuanced processes. We discuss weeding philosophies, excuses often given for avoiding deselection, and how to tackle weeding in an ongoing and continuous fashion. Careful and responsible discarding of weeded material is addressed, along with the need for a weeding plan for large weeding projects. Weeding can be a public relations matter, but with proper planning it can be a positive experience for everyone. Chapter 6 is not intended as a weeding instruction manual, but we do suggest some basic ideas to consider in the weeding procedure.

Physical space is the highlight of Chapter 7. The layout of a building and of individual collections impacts their use, as well as their value. Here we discuss the use of classification systems, signage, and displays to impact the quality of a collection. A change in any of these areas affects other stages of the collection life cycle. New ideas in this edition include the idea of libraries of things, wayfinding, finding the ideal collection size through capacity calculations, and how collection trends alter shelving and space needs.

Chapter 8 is another significantly updated chapter in this edition. We have focused more on understanding how libraries are funded, how those funds translate into collection budgets from a top-down approach (administrators to collection managers), and how individual collection funds are allocated. We will talk more about encumbrances, adjustments across fiscal years, and budget strategies for maximizing budget power. Transparency is a key concept throughout this chapter. Oversight, review, and documentation go a long way in preventing misuse at best and fraud or theft at worst. Tight management of funding also allows libraries to be flexible with changing situations and respond quickly.

Our final chapter sums up the idea of holistic library environments. Everything is connected. All library services play into each other, sometimes in invisible ways. Four specific library resources are emphasized in this chapter, and the connections between them are described: staff, collections, facilities, and technology. Library budgets, as well as library programming, are described from yet another angle here. This chapter reminds us that all the other concepts presented in this book are in service to the library mission statement. Nothing in a library happens in a vacuum; the activities and choices made by one department or person can affect others. Looking back at our model of the life cycle of the collection brings us full circle, illustrating much of this. It is important to take a larger view of the library in service to the community it serves.

We understand that collection quality audits and large-scale updating and correcting of library collections can seem overwhelming. After all, even small libraries have thousands of items. This book recommends a manageable process whereby smaller pieces of the whole collection are dealt with at a time.

Many generations of librarians have left their mark on a library’s collection from their individual efforts. We wish to progress that tradition by expanding the care used in collection management with a holistic approach to library service. It is our hope that the ideas presented in this book will translate into a meaningful improvement in any library setting, regardless of the size, type, or mission.

Chapter 1

Collection statements and policies

Abstract

Vision, mission, and values statements inform collection management policies. Once policies are established, collection objectives can be established, which detail what the collection manager is hoping to accomplish with each collection and state criteria for selection. Further, librarians can establish collection benchmarks to determine how well their collections perform within a variety of criteria. A meaningful collection management policy must consider inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, and intellectual freedom. Library collections should represent the diversity of the communities they serve, but also provide cultural opportunities to learn about diverse communities in other parts of the world. Staff buy-in is crucial to collection cohesiveness so that the overall collection mirrors the values and philosophies in place.

Keywords

Access; benchmarks; collection management policy; diversity; equity; inclusion; intellectual freedom; mission statements; objectives; vision statements

1.1 Introduction

All libraries have limited budgets, space, and time. The objective of collecting everything for everyone is just not possible. Essentially, this means that choices must be made. How those choices get made is where mission statements and collection management policies step in. In this section, we will describe how vision, mission, and values statements inform collection management policies and lead to collection objectives, and how the success of those objectives can be tracked through benchmarks.

1.2 Vision, mission, and values statements

Vision statements, according to Gary Hartzell, are not the same as mission statements. His article, Controlling your own destiny: Why vision and mission statements are indispensable describes a vision as defining the core values and beliefs that drive the organization (Hartzell, 2002, p. 37). He says that vision statements are timeless because they define a library’s perpetual purpose (p. 37). The Milwaukee Public Library’s vision statement, to give an example, is: MPL is an anchor institution that helps build healthy families and vibrant neighborhoods – the foundation of a strong Milwaukee (Milwaukee Public Library,