February 16, 2024: Collection Development:  It’s a Process

Supervisor:  Renee Kirchner

Friday:  9am-2pm

I spent today with Renee Kirchner going over the purchasing process for collection development.  Charissa (Tech Services) gives each librarian a spreadsheet (of course) at the beginning of the fiscal year detailing the budget for each collection.  Additionally, Charissa provides a detailed information sheet outlining purchasing procedures, ordering schedules, backorder requirements, and vendor-specific requirements.  The goal for purchases is to have a steady stream of new items arriving monthly, so the percentage of budget that should be spent each month is communicated via a wonderfully detailed Charissa Spreadsheet.  The budget spreadsheet also indicates percentage of budget spent and the monthly goal budget to be spent.  We then built a cart for MIdwest Tape for children’s DVDs.  Renee chose this vendor because spending budget dollars in this area is difficult.  There are not a lot of DVDs available for purchase as streaming has changed the release schedule of feature films making them harder to find.  Renee has already decreased the budget in this area for the last 2 years but still has difficulty spending her budget allotment.  Determining the budget for collection development is a very collaborative process.

I spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the practical aspects of collection development.  The Lewisville Public Library uses the CREW method to determine when and how to weed collections.  The CREW method offers guidelines for weeding determination.  For juvenile material some things to consider are: 

• Format—paperbacks are preferred by many young adults; board books get a lot of wear in tiny hands.
• Reading level—is the level too high or too easy for young patrons who would be interested in the item?
• Current interest in the subject matter—are young people interested in the subject? Is the treatment of the subject engaging?
• Visual appeal—are the illustrations in color? Are photographs clear? Is the layout of the book open (white space) and inviting?
• Jacket art (contemporary vs. outmoded)—does the book look like something your great-grandmother read?
• Use in school curricula—are books available for the grade level where the subject is studied? Are teachers assigning specific titles?

CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries © Copyright 2012 Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Weeding is part of written policy and librarians schedule weeding their calendar.  Weeding is also a time intensive process beginning with policy, looking at usage statistics, representation as part of the whole collection, relevance to patrons, and are there appropriate replacements.  Most of the librarians take weeding in stages and start with culling worn or damaged books.  Renee asked me to pull worn and damaged books from picture books.  I worked through the A authors pulling books.  After I collected a cart of damaged books, Renee planned to double check the books, find if replacements are available, and collate usage data.  Sometimes the collection development process is completed out of order, over a long period of time, by multiple people.