Collection development & acquisitions: Sample library survey

This survey is based on one drafted by Barbara Doyle and Veronica Storey-Ewalt and published in: Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd Ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 65-66.

The staff and directors of the Anytown Public Library are conducting this survey to evaluate library service and plan for the future. Check off the boxes which best reflect your knowledge, use or opinion. Your input is valuable to us.

1. Do you know the location of Anytown Public Library?

Yes

No

2. Have you ever used the library?

Yes

No

3. Is there another library you use regularly?

Yes

No

Which library?

Why?

4. When was the last time you used the Anytown Public Library?

In the last week	In the last six months
In the last month	In the last year
In the last three months

5. Why do you usually come to the library?

Keeping up on a subject	Sports or recreation
Making or fixing something	Personal or family health
My work or job	Government information
A hobby	To attend a program
Personal interests	To bring my children
Class or course reading	A course paper or report
Other:

6. How often do you find what you are looking for?

Less than 50% of the time

50 – 75% of the time

More than 75% of the time

7. Which of these items have you checked out from the library?

Paperback books	Magazines
CDs	Newspapers
Audiocassettes	Children's toys
Films	Cameras
Video cassettes	Art prints
Equipment loan	Maps

8. Which of these services have you used?

Children's storytime	Bookmobile
Website	Teen homework help
Films or lectures	Referral to other places
Adult tutoring	Materials by mail
Computer training	Online chat with reference staff
Materials from other libraries	Phoning the library to answer a reference question

9. What two things would increase your use of or satisfaction with the library?

Open longer hours	More newspapers
More help with looking for books or materials	More copies of a popular book
More help answering questions	More childrens' materials
More teen materials	More adult materials
More programs	More magazines
More electronic magazines	More video materials

10. What age group are you in?

under 12	19 - 39	65+
13 - 18	40 - 64

11. Sex:

Male

Female

12. Occupation

Agricultural	Business/Professional Military	Government
Homemaker	Industry/Manufacturing	Retail
Retired	Student	Unemployed

13. What was your approximate household income last year?

$0 - $9,999	$35,000 - $44,999
$10,000 - $14,999	$45,000 or more
$15,000 - $24,999	Don't know
$25,000 - $34,999	Prefer not to say

14. Highest education level you have reached:

Less than high school	Some college
High school graduate	College graduate

15. Number of people in your household:

16. Number of library card holders in your household:

17. How long have you lived in Anytown?

All my life	10 - 20 years	Less than 5 years
20 years or more	5 - 10 years

18. Part of town you live in (please circle number on the map below which is closest to your home).

Thank you for taking the time to answer this survey. Do you have any other comments or questions for us? Please mention them in the space provided on the next page.

Survey results highlightsHighlights from a community survey by Barbara Doyle and Veronica Storey-Ewalt and published in: Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd Ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 67.

Requested materials or services:More romance, mystery, westerns
Open evenings and all day Saturday
More magazines
New children’s books

Subject areas of interest:Medicine
Agriculture (general and animal husbandry)
Home economics (cooking, nutrition, sewing, child rearing)
Children’s in 300/500/600 Dewey classes and fiction
Sociology and anthropology

Collection development & acquisitions: Information needs assessment

The information needs assessment is the first step in the collection development process.

Requirements are

• a profile of the community that the library serves
• a profile of the library to indicate what resources and services are presently provided and how satisfied the users are
• a comparison of the two profiles

Analyse the community, collection and services. Are there any gaps? Why are the gaps there? Are there gaps on both sides? What do people need? What isn’t needed?

Six reasons to analyze your community

• Collection development
• Creating new or modifying existing services
• Deciding on service points or changes in physical facilities
• Gauging community’s attitudes about services and collections
• Predicting staffing needs
• Budgeting process

Are branches located in the right place? Why would new branches replace old and closing branches? How do the community feel about the collection? The Internet markets feedback. What does everyone feel and think? Do workers represent the community? All staff need to be surveyed. Does the community find easy and convenient access? Once you know what’s wanted, you can allocate more money.

Community analysis and library budgets

• Budgets based on actual objectives not increments from previous year
• User data helpful in defending budget

What do you want to accomplish? How do you want to accomplish it? Back up with what you know is wanted in the library.

Community analysis and public relations

• Generates interest in the library
• Shows library cares about the community

Remind people you are there, and you care about what they think. Look at the potential community.

Information gathered

• Why a person does or does not use a product or service
• How product or service is used
• Where is the product or service used
• Good and bad qualities of product or service
• What new product or services would be of interest

Determine points. Where is the busiest branch? Why is it the busiest branch? What do people think about products and services? Get ideas to improve.

Basic information seeking behavior observations

• As importance of information increases, so do the amounts of money, time and other resources devoted to acquiring accurate information
  o If you really need something, you’ll spend more money and time to get it
• Law of least effort
  o We want it to be easy and near (perhaps retrievable from the Internet). If a user cannot find what they’re looking for, they’ll go to the library. If it’s not important, they may not bother.

Factors influencing individual’s information seeking

• Cultural background
  o Different people expect and want different information
• Past experiences with political systems
  o They would be weary if they had had a bad past experience
• Group membership
  o Different people view libraries differently. Libraries may not seem cool to those without access.
• Personal mind-set
  o A bad day’s demand would be different from a good day’s demand

Hire a consultant?

• Advantage
  o outsider’s view
• Disadvantage
  o costly

Analysis is time consuming. Do you hire someone with experience and with no background knowledge regarding libraries? Their experience is useful. They would interview both staff and the public.

In-house study

• Advantage
  o Understand how results will be used
  o Increases commitment to assessment process

  * Staff will get involved and feel more relaxed knowing what is happening

  o Streamlines communication of results
• Disadvantage
  o Lack of expertise
• Not many people are trained in customer knowledge and are experts, so use management
• o Scheduling problems
• How do you expect the job to be done on regular time?
• o Personal biases

What is studied in a community analysis?

• Historical data
  o census
  o population data
• Geographical information
  o Different libraries within a specific area may combine but may not accept the joining.
  o Which direction is the library growing?
  o How does the library help all patrons?
• Transportation availability data
  o Very important
  o How is location reached?
• Legal research
  o Who has purchasing authority?
  o Are rights obeyed?
• Political information
  o Is the library a political issue? This applies to all libraries.
• Demographic data
  o Extremely important
  o In public libraries, look at who’s using it.
  o In school libraries, how many new students are enrolled?
  o Market research may be available
• Economic data
  o What businesses are in the area?
  o How does this affect the community as a whole?
  o How do you attract businesses?
• Communications systems
  o Look at Internet, Cable TV
• Social and educational organizations
  o Real allies with cooperation organizations
• Cultural and recreational organizations
  o public: who is the competition providing materials for same purchases? There is a lot of teen competition, so be aware
• Other community information services
  o where information can be gathered from, e.g. newspapers and radio

How and where to collect data

• Key informant
  o Individuals and public officials who tap into community and libraries. Their information shouldn’t be relied on solely, there will be biases. They will see the library more favorably if they feel involved. Very important.
• Community forum
  o Get information from everyone. Can be expensive with extensive advertising. Get two extremes, the middle won’t appear.
• Social indicators
  o From census and reports.
• Field surveys
  o Questionnaires and interviews can also be used. Use a combination of structured and open ended questions. Can be time consuming. Must honour privacy rights. Survey in primary languages library serves – gives a positive look you’re concerned about all the community.

Needs assessment in special libraries

• Activities approach
  o In-depth interview with group or individual.
  o What is a typical day like?
  o Forms questions.
• Data analysis method
  o Sources used in department, with technical.
  o Determine all sources
  o What is not included in reports?
• Decision-making approach
  o Focuses on necessary information to make decisions
  o Establish delay costs
• Problem-solving approach
  o Similar contact different people in different departments

Internal data for library profile

• Collection
  o type and quality of material
• Usage
  o By type and capita
  o How many people are registered members out of all area population?
  o How many different requests are asked?
  o What materials are used?
  o How many people use the library and for what purpose?
  o How many people visit in an hour, day, week, month?
• Staff
  o How many work full time?
  o How many work part time?
• Budget
  o % spent on materials, most on staff
• Compare library with others
  o Look at different libraries and compare
• Compare library against standard checklists
  o What are the best materials to have

How to analyze data

• Tally sheets list range of responses and overall totals
• Perform statistical analysis e.g. averages and standard deviation
• Prepare graphs relating different variables to one another
  o Have someone who can analyze data

How to interpret data

• Questions asked when reviewing data
  o What are the most important needs?
  o What needs are most relevant to mission and experience of the library?
     * It may not be the library’s role to need, or someone may not be around to do it.
  o How do we reconcile conflicting needs?
     * Roles may cancel one another out. Is one more important than the other?
  o What are realistic expectations for re sources to respond to needs?
     * A role may be expensive. Do you remove a program or role to support it? Do you apply for a grant?

Final report

• Should include:
  o Objectives of study
  o Methodology used
  o List of problems identified
  o Prioritized list of recommendations

Acquisitions

Collecting development process


1. Decide who you are serving. Different communities need different materials.

2. What is necessary? Why is it necessary? Why does it pertain to the library? How do you decide what to buy? How do you decide what not to buy? What is important? Can better decisions be made?

3. What is the process of selection? Look at different tools.

4. There are many different places to acquire materials from.

5. Is it time to remove books because they are now inappropriate? Note that the library’s audience may have changed since the original purchase.

6. Go through the collection, how good is it? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the library?

Note the cycle repeats.

Collection development cycle

The collection development cycle is a life cycle, repeating itself. Decide what to buy when selecting materials. Make them accessible after cataloguing and classifying. Maintain the collection, throw away items when they’re no longer usable. Again, the cycle repeats.

Collection development
What is collection development?

The process of making certain the information needs of the clients using the collection are met in a timely and economic manner using information resources both inside and outside of the organization.

Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 77. 

Collection development is information resources, not just the books in the library. It’s also not restricted to physical materials – the only requirement is that the material must fit the collection policy. Materials can be used inside and outside of the library.

Questionable methods

• Seat-of-the pants method
  Don’t think about what is being brought, especially when there’s limitations for users and the collections
  
• Voilà method
  Donations need to be in good condition, and to not just be books either. Plan an approach regarding how to acquire material
  

Community analysis (Needs approach)
Community analysis can also be called a needs approach. They are the same idea, just different terminology.

• The process of learning more about a target collection
  (Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 32.)
  
• Community includes users and non-users.
  
• Should the library attract new users?
  
• The analysis identifies the users
  
• The analysis identifies the potential users
  
• The analysis identifies their needs

Collection development policies

• Provide staff with guidelines for choosing items for inclusion in the collection
  o The primary reason for policy. It’s not a competition to have better materials than other vendors, e.g. videos/DVDs against a video rental store.
  
• Include related issues such as gifts, weeding and cooperation
  o Do you cooperate with other libraries?
  
• Selection policies
  o provide information useful in deciding which items to purchase
  o Do you select non-print, print, hardback, paperback? Which subjects do you cover?

Selection

• Process of deciding which materials to acquire for a library within a specified budget
  
• May involve
  o deciding among items on the same subject
  o deciding whether an item can stand up to the use it will receive
  * Do you permabound a popular fiction book?
  o deciding whether item is worth its price
  * Are you prepared to buy something out of policy?

Categories of appropriate materials
Does the item fit into one of the categories below?

• Essential
  o Dictionaries and encyclopedias are essential. They are items the library should have.
  
• Important
  o Items that are important should be in the library if money is available to purchase them.
  
• Needed
  o Needed items can be brought if they are within a budget.
  
• Marginal
  o These are items that do not add much to collection.
  
• Nice
  o It is hard to justify having a ‘nice’ book in the collection.
  
• A luxury
  o These are out of sight and unnecessary.
  

Everyone goes through the process. Items can change category if the community changes. 

Acquisitions
Acquisitions work is the process of securing materials for the library’s collection, whether by purchase, as gifts, or through exchange programs.
Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 19.
Acquisitions are not generally brought materials.

Weeding
Weeding, or deselection, is the activity of examining items in the library and determining their current value to that library’s collection (and to the service community).
Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 20.

Books may no longer be relevant to the current library and be better somewhere else.

Evaluation

• What are the strengths of the collection?
  
• How effectively have we spent our collection development monies?
  
• How useful are the collections to the service community?
  
• How do our collections compare to those of our peers?
  
• Evaluation completes the collection development cycle and brings one back to needs assessment activities.
  

Evans, G. Edward. Developing Library and Information Center Collections. 3rd ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 401.

Money is only spent wisely if the collection is regularly used. Compare the city of Winnipeg to the city of Edmonton, not the city of Toronto. They have similar people, size and community surroundings.

Vendors exercise

Brodart: http://www.books.brodart.com/
Coutts: http://www.couttsinfo.com/canada/index.htm
Follet Library Resources: http://www.flr.follett.com/
Midwest Library Services: http://www.midwestls.com/
Baker & Taylor: http://www.btol.com/library.cfm

Brodart

1. Which types of libraries does this vendor primarily provide services for?
a. school
b. public
c. academic

2. Which major services does this vendor offer?
a. selection assistance
b. McNaughton children’s and young adults subscription plan
c. free order typing and quotation service
d. access to database title information, status, availability
e. electronic interface
f. fund control
g. circulation and technical services, cataloguing and processing options

3. Which types of publishers does this vendor supply?
a. McNaughton Books
b. Random House
c. Simon & Schuster
d. Harper Collins
e. Stackpole Books
f. Pearson

4. Does this vendor prefer to receive a purchase order for more than one title?
yes

5. How many days does this vendor wait before claiming an unfilled order?

6. How often does this vendor ship filled orders?
2 days

7. What is this vendor returns policy for firms order?
Not applicable

8. Does this vendor have approval plans?
Yes

9. What are the readership levels assigned in an approval plan?
Not applicable.

10. Does this vendor support Electronic Data Interchange?
Yes

11. Does this vendor provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing service?
Yes

12. If it does provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing services, which classification schemes does it support?
a. Dewey Decimal
b. Library of Congress
c. Sears
d. LCAC

13. Does this vendor provide MARC cataloguing records?
Yes.

14. Does this vendor provide a permabinding service?
Yes.

Coutts:

1. Which types of libraries does this vendor primarily provide services for?
a. academic
b. medical,
c. professional
d. reference libraries

2. Which major services does this vendor offer?
a. ebooks
b. electronic ordering
c. bibliographic database
d. shelf-ready services
e. reporting and invoicing
f. delivery

3. Which types of publishers does this vendor supply?

4. Does this vendor prefer to receive a purchase order for more than one title?

5. How many days does this vendor wait before claiming an unfilled order?

6. How often does this vendor ship filled orders?

7. What is this vendor returns policy for firms order?

8. Does this vendor have approval plans?
Yes

9. What are the readership levels assigned in an approval plan?

10. Does this vendor support Electronic Data Interchange?

11. Does this vendor provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing service?
Yes

12. If it does provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing services, which classification schemes does it support?

13. Does this vendor provide MARC cataloguing records?
Yes

14. Does this vendor provide a permabinding service?

Follet Library Resources:
1. Which types of libraries does this vendor primarily provide services for?
a. school libraries

2. Which major services does this vendor offer?
a. personalized service
b. TITLEWAVE, TitleWise, TitleMAP, TitleCheck & QuizCheck
c. new schools
d. cataloguing and processing
e. accelerated reader cataloguing and processing
f. reading counts cataloguing and processing
g. classroom labels
h. do not exceed
i. order typing
j. gift certificates

3. Which types of publishers does this vendor supply?
a. numerous

4. Does this vendor prefer to receive a purchase order for more than one title?

5. How many days does this vendor wait before claiming an unfilled order?

6. How often does this vendor ship filled orders?

7. What is this vendor returns policy for firms order?

8. Does this vendor have approval plans?
no

9. What are the readership levels assigned in an approval plan?
N/A

10. Does this vendor support Electronic Data Interchange?
no

11. Does this vendor provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing service?
Yes

12. If it does provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing services, which classification schemes does it support?
Library of Congress and Sears

13. Does this vendor provide MARC cataloguing records?
yes

14. Does this vendor provide a permabinding service?
no

Midwest Library Services
1. Which types of libraries does this vendor primarily provide services for?
a. university

2. Which major services does this vendor offer?
a. book acquisitions
b. collection development
c. continuation and standing orders
d. book processing
e. electronic services

3. Which types of publishers does this vendor supply?
a. University presses
b. Scientific, technical, and health science publishers
c. Trade presses
d. Small presses
e. Reference presses
f. Textbook presses
g. Paperback presses, including trade, quality and mass market
h. Religious and theological presses
i. Reprinters
j. Associations
k. Societies
l. Institutes
m. Non-profit organizations
n. Privately published
o. Corporate

4. Does this vendor prefer to receive a purchase order for more than one title?

5. How many days does this vendor wait before claiming an unfilled order?
never

6. How often does this vendor ship filled orders?
weekly

7. What is this vendor returns policy for firms order?
Most books are shipped on a fully returnable basis in line with our philosophy of maximum service. Returns for credit should be made within 90 days and be in new condition

8. Does this vendor have approval plans?
yes

9. What are the readership levels assigned in an approval plan?
N/A

10. Does this vendor support Electronic Data Interchange?
Yes

11. Does this vendor provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing service?
Yes

12. If it does provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing services, which classification schemes does it support?
LC and Dewey

13. Does this vendor provide MARC cataloguing records?
Yes

14. Does this vendor provide a permabinding service?
Yes

Baker & Taylor
1. Which types of libraries does this vendor primarily provide services for?
a. academic
b. public
c. schools

2. Which major services does this vendor offer?
a. acquisitions
b. audio-visual
c. before on-sale shipping
d. collection development
e. continuation
f. customized libraries
g. information
h. MARC
i. Spanish language

3. Which types of publishers does this vendor supply?
a. popular

4. Does this vendor prefer to receive a purchase order for more than one title?
a. yes

5. How many days does this vendor wait before claiming an unfilled order?

6. How often does this vendor ship filled orders?

7. What is this vendor returns policy for firms order?

8. Does this vendor have approval plans?

9. What are the readership levels assigned in an approval plan?

10. Does this vendor support Electronic Data Interchange?

11. Does this vendor provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing service?

12. If it does provide cataloguing and shelf ready processing services, which classification schemes does it support?

13. Does this vendor provide MARC cataloguing records?

14. Does this vendor provide a permabinding service?