Shoestring Collection Development

1
Shoestring Collection Development

• There is never enough time, never enough money,
  and always too much development that needs to be
  done. This workshop deals with the concrete
  nitty-gritty of tweaking the best possible use
  out of our taxpayers' dollars.
• We'll examine big-picture strategies for
  wishlist tracking, purchasing, dispersal of
  unneeded duplicates and weeds, and cultivating
  relationships with materials donors we'll also
  examine specific vendors, targeting the
  best-quality, lowest-price sources for new and
  used books, A/V materials, and out-of-print and
  other special items, and best returns on
  dispersal items. Find out how much fun it can be
  to never settle for one hundred pennies on the
  dollar.
• Attendees are encouraged to contribute anecdotes
  and favorite sources.

2
Strategy

• On one extreme, a library can select one vendor
  who fulfils all its needs and offers extensive
  collection development and cataloguing support.
  This is a time-efficient approach, but not
  necessarily budget-efficient.
• On the other extreme, each item can be
  individually routed to the source who offers the
  best price. Efficient use of budget, not so much
  of time.
• In reality, every library makes compromises and
  finds a middle ground. My model of selection is
  somewhat on the money-over-time end. I have come
  to believe that this is a good solution for
  small-budget libraries in general, and thats
  what this workshop is based on.

3
Three collection development goals

• 1. Identify highest demand items and acquire
  before demand strikes at reasonable prices.
• 2. Identify gaps in collection and acquire
  desirable items at best prices.
• 3. Disperse unwanted/unneeded items in a way
  that maximizes return directly back into the
  collection.

4
Acquisition

• Acquisition is information. Knowing whats out
  there, whats hot, what is being hyped by the
  industry and by independent information sources.
  Knowing trends, both nationally/globally and
  locally. Knowing what your patrons quirks and
  counterintuitive tastes. Knowing what you
  actually have in your collection, and where to
  find something, within your time and budget
  limits, when you need it.

5
Standing Orders

• Standing orders should be flexible.
• A flexible plan offers the small library the most
  choice and control.
• Approach fixed SOPs with caution be armed with
  data.
• Fixed-selection SOPs can be invaluable, but they
  can also be completely irrelevant to local trends
  and needs. Compare past releases with circs
  compare plans with competitive flex plans.
• Never, ever hesitate to change a plan that isnt
  fitting.
• Every book counts because every dollar counts. A
  SOP is not a ball and chain it should never
  force you to buy materials that wont circ.
  Aggressively use cancel, exchange, and plan
  change options to keep your SOP strategy agile.
• Keep your standing order data handy.
• Never be without an answer to the following
  questions for each SOP to which you are
  subscribed How much is this costing us
  annually? Quarterly? Who do I need to call if I
  want to change this order? What are we receiving
  in the next 30-, 60-, 90-day period? If were
  scheduled to receive something we dont want, can
  we exchange it prior to shipping?

6
Upcoming Releases Tracking

• Standing orders should only for those items that
  we know we absolutely have to buy anyway. What
  about the rest?
• Paper catalogues bulky, time-consuming and
  wasteful, but accessible. Prioritize primary
  wholesaler and favorite publishers, file the
  rest.
• Publishers blogs newsletters a great
  alternative to catalogs usually not as
  comprehensive, but present high-interest items in
  a ready format link to more complete
  upcoming-release catalogs
• Upcoming bestseller compilers varying in
  timeliness and relevance.
• Independent bloggers, author websites other
  individual sources again, varying in timeliness
  and relevance, but favorites can become
  indispensable.
• Face to face sales contacts Should be for
  relationship-building, not impulse purchasing

7
Filling the gaps What not to buy (yet)

• Each library has to decide for itself what hot
  new books just arent worth buying on the release
  date. Some points to ponder
• How heavily have this authors previous releases
  circd in the first six months? In the first two
  years? Is it worth it to wait for the trade
  paperback release?
• Series books is the series broken up between
  hardcover and nonfiction? Is it hard to find
  titles in sequence in the collection? Would it
  be better to wait for paperback, or to build up
  the backlist in hardcover to match new releases,
  retaining a partial or complete second-copy set
  in paper?
• Do regular donors consistently donate this
  author? Is the expectation of a donated copy
  reliable enough to take it off standing order?
• Is there a local bookstore or newspaper with a
  well-regarded new release review service? Does
  the author talk at the Tattered Cover, and the
  resulting push to the top of the Post list,
  translate into circs at home? Who are your
  patrons listening to when they want to be told
  what to read?

8
Filling the gaps Annual Housekeeping

• Annual review keeps the existing collection in
  focus and lays the groundwork for ongoing
  maintenance and development.
• Learn your ILS reporting functions inside and
  out. Spend time with it. Play around. When a
  question about the collection pops into your
  head, researching the answer should be second
  nature.
• Take the time, each year, to go through primary
  vendor bestselling author lists line by line.
  Look at every authors historic circs and
  publishing frequency. Ruthlessly adjust future
  purchasing plans to current trends, not one- or
  two-year-old trends.
• This is also a good time to review series data
  what backlist titles are missing? What
  trilogies/fixed series have ended and can be
  taken off SO?
• Go over fixed standing orders. Pull up circs for
  every copy (especially on small SOPs, like
  2-per-month audio plans). Is this SOP serving
  you? Why or why not? Can it be adjusted or
  swapped for one that will? Is it time to change
  vendors?

9
Filling the gaps Pulling from ILL data

• What is ILL? Its the stuff your patrons want
  that you dont have. Learn from it.
• Are patron requests that are too new to ILL being
  automatically re-routed to Request to Purchase?
• Review ILL request data periodically for upswings
  of requests in authors, subjects, or individual
  titles.
• What about media? Are you getting a lot of
  requests for cassette titles that you have in CD?
  DVDs of titles that are in VHS? Apply this
  information to standing order reviews.
• Can some document delivery be relieved by
  in-house access to consolidated holdings? Are
  your patrons requesting journal or newspaper
  articles via ILL where they could be using EBSCO
  or FirstSearch? Is this a marketing or training
  issue?

10
Filling the gaps Wishlists

• Treat wishlists like action lists. The Getting
  Things Done method uses four types of lists
• Inbox
• Next Action
• Project
• Someday-Maybe.

11
Filling the gaps Wishlists

• Use Inboxes to gather and colate
• requests/desireable items (from patrons, staff,
  salespeople, catalogues, Lost Missing Item
  reports, etc.) and decide what to do with them.
  Once youve decided what to do with them, they
  shouldnt be in your inbox anymore. If its a
  piece of paper, throw it away/destroy it if its
  an e-mail, file it. Running across it again
  three weeks from now and trying to remember what
  you were going to do with it defeats the purpose.
• Next Action lists should contain items youve
  already committed to buy.
• If a donor walked in with a blank check, would
  you buy every book on this list today? If not,
  move it to one of the other lists. Then, you can
  prioritize by available funds, requests in
  order of placement, etc. I have two NA lists
  the patron Request to Purchase spreadsheet, and
  Bookmooch.com.

12
Filling the gaps Wishlists

• Project lists are long-term but specific
  multi-item purchase plans.
• Series to backfill if you get a request for one
  book in a series or by an author, stop and find
  everything youre missing and then decide, based
  on circs, copies held vs. copies needed, and
  other factors, whether the backlist is worth
  filling. Then file the complete list, with
  current holdings noted.
• Special collections/areas of interest to augment.
  When you come across a title that fits an area
  youre trying to develop, add it to a list even
  if youre not planning to buy it then. Whether
  you have a subject-specific grant or just a few
  dollars at the end of the month, knock a couple
  of them off the list.
• Project lists should be publicly available. It
  makes donors happy to know that theyre donating
  something the library specifically wants and will
  add to the collection. Create viewable aLibris,
  Amazon.com, Bookmooch, or other wishlists. Link
  to them from a donations page on your website, or
  individually direct inquiries to them.
• I use Amazon.com for larger-scale and
  subject-theme lists, and Outlook Notes for small
  projects, especially individual series. For the
  very biggest project list of all the Colorado
  Collection I use the aLibris Donate-A-Book
  program.

13
Filling the gaps Wishlists

• SomedayMaybe lists are for things that gee,
  wouldnt it be nice to have this? But its just
  not a priority right now.
• Every time you kill off a Project, take a good
  look at your SomedayMaybe lists and see if there
  is one that should be bumped up in priority.
• Give to donors who approach you with a specific
  theme or dollar goal. Have a new bookstore in
  town donating twenty kids books for publicity? A
  100 Amazon gift certificate? Use these
  opportunities to acquire items you wouldnt
  normally be able to.
• Send these lists and a budget - with other
  staff members to conferences.
• Keep on hand a shortlist of the top ten amazing
  things that are Just Too Expensive for your
  regular budget DVD sets, reference materials,
  coffee table books and keep an ear to the
  ground for supplementary funding.
• Every time you spend time in the stacks weeding,
  build a couple of SomedayMaybe lists. Invite
  other staff members to do the same. Authors that
  are regional but not Colorado. Classic sci-fi.
  Early B-list works by an author whos a
  bestseller now. One or two of these by themselves
  get lost, but a dozen together would make a
  display and drum up visibility for an interesting
  but low-circing subject.
• It can be exhausting and demoralizing to tread
  water. SomedayMaybe lists are also about keeping
  the job interesting by getting you to think in
  terms of possibility, not limitation. This is
  the incubator for fun and excitement, which can
  then translate up the priority heirarchy.

14
Filling the gaps Seizing the moment

• Youve got all these lists, now what?
• Some of the best sources for cheap-to-free
  library materials are incredibly time-critical.
  Make sure that you have access to e-mail at all
  times and that notifications are turned on.
  Because you have a solid and comprehensive
  knowledge of what your collection needs, you
  wont have to lose valuable time researching the
  usefulness of giveaways or other opportunities.
• Same thing with vendor sale opportunities. Be
  receptive. Get on a newsletter mailing list for
  every vendor you use. If a salesperson calls up
  and asks to send you a sale flyer, take it. Its
  easy to get sucked in to thinking of it all as
  junk mail and spam dont.
• Keep about 5 of your budget floating for big
  sales. Were shutting down an entire department
  and offloading everything at 75 off sales, not
  take an extra 5 off purchases over 200 sales.
  
• When purchasing from occasional vendors, check
  over lists to fill out orders and take advantage
  of discount minimums, or to identify items that
  are more expensive at primary vendors.

15
Filling the gaps Cultivating a culture of
giving

• Small libraries especially are and have always
  been historically dependent on donations. How
  can we nurture this resource?
• Practice an open posture. Say that you welcome
  donations, and mean it. Train frontline
  circulation and reference staff with specific
  donation guidelines, but be open to serendipity.
  
• Be prepared with tax disclosure forms. A tax
  break is not the reason people donate some will
  reject the offer outright but its a concrete
  and tangible way of saying thank you, and
  encourages future donations.
• Be prepared with points of dispersal. A lot of
  donations can be overwhelming, even discouraging,
  especially if most of it is stuff you wont
  ultimately keep. Of course, if we cant use it,
  we will find a good home for it is what the
  patron wants to hear. If you are able to back it
  up, it will sound more sincere.
• Give, too. Put stuff you cant use up on Libnet.
  Give to smaller libraries in your community.
  (Yes, there is a library smaller than yours!)
  Donate duplicate copies of relevant books, or a
  portion of your FOL sale proceeds, to a nonprofit
  with which the library works a youth services
  group, or womens shelter.
• Charity is a form of civil discourse. Keep
  things in perspective by thinking of donations as
  a way of letting your patrons communicate their
  support for the library, not as a source of Free
  Stuff or a chore. Its those things too, of
  course, but they should not define it.

16
Vendors Pros Cons

• We currently track about thirty individual
  sources, and use 20-25 of them in any fiscal
  year. Heres a quick overview.

17
Ingram Booksellers

• BEST BET FOR
• General purchasing, standing orders
• PROS
• Consistently top-notch discounts
• Outstanding online sales/account interface, with
  ready access to warehouse inventory, order status
  both before and after shipping, lots of other
  info
• Fast shipping 24-48 hours from order to ship,
  4-5 days from order to reciept.
• Recent pricing and shipping charge restructuring
  make media a better deal than in the past
• CONS
• Impersonal customer service, slow conflict
  resolution. Ingram is a big company, and it
  shows.
• Shipping charges can be high when individual
  items ship from secondary warehouses.

18
Book Wholesalers, Inc.

• BEST BET FOR
• general purchasing, standing orders, childrens
  materials
• PROS
• discounts good, consistent
• excellent customer support, sales staff,
  collection development services
• only company offering individual purchases of
  Playaway audios
• CONS
• young company, history of slow/inconsistent
  delivery, but this has improved steadily and
  dramatically over the past two years

19
Where are Brodart/McNaughton and BakerTaylor?

• We took a close look at McNaughton this summer
  and declined to switch from Ingram for two
  reasons first, McNaughtons discounts on
  hardcover are better but Ingram has the better
  trade paperback prices and we buy a lot of trade
  and second, were just not unhappy with Ingram.
• After many conversations with sales reps and
  reviewing many comparative discount sheets, Ive
  come to the conclusion that big primary vendors
  are almost indistinguishable in terms of value.
  Occasionally (every 12 to 18 months) do a cursory
  review of the competition to see if the balance
  changes, but if youre happy with your primary
  vendor, why change?
• We DID switch out bestseller standing order from
  Ingram to BWI two years ago on the strength of
  BWIs customer service. If the dollar bottom
  line is the same, go with the company that treats
  you well.

20
Recorded Books

• BEST BET FOR
• Bestseller/simultaneous release audio audio
  standing orders off-mainstream film
• PROS
• Easy media replacements (free for first year
  after acquisition)
• Consistent, early delivery of standing order
  items
• Good selection of media
• Outstanding sale support
• High-quality, durable, guarranteed packaging
• CONS
• Fixed-selection standing orders
• List prices are generally high discounts are
  okay, but not great.

21
Blackstone Audio

• BEST BET FOR
• Classics, literary fiction in audio
• PROS
• prices good, free bonus items with standing
  orders
• free media replacement
• excellent core inventory of both adult and
  juvenile classics
• flexible standing order plans
• excellent packaging
• MP3CDs
• CONS
• inconsistent inventory - some bestsellers, more
  important but slightly obscure literature and
  nonfiction

22
Junior Library Guild

• BEST BET FOR
• Childrens materials from beginning reader
  through advanced/mature YA.
• PROS
• Outstanding selection
• Structure of standing order is very flexible,
  customizable for individual library needs
• Outstanding customer service, returns/exchanges
• CONS
• Fixed-selection standing order
• Books arrive quarterly, and not always on release
  date some arrive early, but a few hot titles
  this year have arrived one or two months after
  release.
• Individual title selection process means that
  customers may receive some but not all of a
  particular author, making it difficult to
  dovetail JLG with other SOPs.

23
Thorndike Press Large Print

• BEST BET FOR
• Simultaneous release bestsellers in large print
• PROS
• Simultaneous release means exactly that. Many
  titles arrive before release date some arrive
  before BWI EliteStreet standard print hardbacks.
• Lightweight paper in library binding under
  original-release coversattractive to patrons.
• Occasional great sales.
• CONS
• Discounts in the 25 range.
• Fixed-selection standing order
• Recent changes in format mean that backlist
  titles may be very cheap, but not as attractive
  as new releases.

24
Amazon.com

• BEST BET FOR
• magazines, single DVDs, recently out of print
  items
• PROS
• free shipping for purchases over 25
• best prices for individual DVD purchases
• excellent deals on magazines and backlist titles
  occasionally available
• Prices on recently out-of-print items usually
  better than aLibris
• CONS
• magazine pricing inconsistent
• shipping on third-party purchases can be high
• prices on new items inconsistent and usually not
  as good as wholesale
• Prices on older or rare items usually not as good
  as aLibris

25
aLibris

• BEST BET FOR
• Out of print, especially older/rare/regional/cla
  ssic texts
• PROS
• Sometimes significant savings on both new and
  used items
• Consistent source for out-of-print items
• Free shipping if ordering ten or more items at
  the same time
• Donate-a-Book program
• CONS
• Shipping charges can be very high for single
  items
• Prices on OOP, especially recently out of
  print, not usually as good as Amazon.

26
Bookmooch.com

• BEST BET FOR
• replacement copies, series fill, slightly obscure
  books, dispersal of unwanted items
• PROS
• receiving items directly from previous owners
  consider Bookmooch to be
• a wider pool of donors
• excellent wishlist feature
• very cost-effective
• CONS
• quality/condition of materials inconsistent
• poor selection/access of hot bestsellers and very
  obscure items
• cost does not directly translate to items
  received
• must use service as a point of dispersal in order
  to earn credit for new items

27
eBay.com

• BEST BET FOR
• high-ticket items, especially media some rare
  books
• PROS
• exceptional deals sometimes on very expensive
  items i.e. multi-DVD sets, rare books
• lot auctions can be a fast, cheap way to build
  new collections, especially DVD, music
• CONS
• shipping charges can be high
• requires a lot of staff time to track and secure
  auctions
• be alert to problem sellers

28
Direct purchase from author/publisher

• BEST BET FOR
• local self-published titles, magazines
• PROS
• only way to acquire some local/specialty titles
• often better deals on magazines directly through
  publishers than through clearinghouses
• great deals often to be found at book
  fairs/conferences
• opportunity to match new items with
  programming/events
• CONS
• discounts often poor
• high rate of billing/shipping errors, especially
  when buying from vanity presses
• researching/purchasing titles one at a time is
  time consuming and costly
• duplication of shipping charges shipping almost
  never free

29
Preview-based distributors (Mid-America Books,
Lookout Books, Greyhouse Publishing, etc.)

• BEST BET FOR
• core collection series childrens books, rapid
  collection-building
• PROS
• convenience, consistency of subject and format
  across series
• often very up-to-date content
• virtually always library bound
• CONS
• discounts usually poor but often increase
  proportionally
• if not intending to purchase whole collections,
  sorting for selections can be time-consuming

30
Known individual donors

• BEST BET FOR
• extra copies of bestsellers, mass market
  paperbacks, general collection growth,
  interesting and unusual titles
• PROS
• cultivation of social currency, local support
• Free!
• Surplus donations can supplement FOL sales for
  further fundraising/support
• If patrons identify themselves when donating, we
  can provide them with tax deduction receipts
• Visibilitygenerally donations of better
  condition
• Patrons may be willing to discuss needs with
  staff, donate items to
• match specific wishlists
• CONS
• Surplus donations, especially from active, loyal
  patrons, must be dispersed with tact and
  discretion
• Significant expenditure of staff time for sorting

31
Anonymous individual donors

• BEST BET FOR
• backlist, general collection growth, interesting
  and unusual titles
• PROS
• Free!
• Surplus donations can supplement FOL sales for
  further fundraising/support
• CONS
• No way to thank donors or offer them the benefit
  of a tax deduction
• Poor/inconsistent condition of materials
• Low signal to noise ratio, expect to invest lots
  of staff time in sorting out unwanted items for
  discard/dispersal

32
Institutional giveaways

• BEST BET FOR
• reference material regional/specialty material
• PROS
• Usually free, may pay shipping
• Can be the only way for a low-budget library to
  maintain high-ticket items (PDR, encyclopedias,
  etc)
• CONS
• Material often slightly dated
• Requires attentive staff following Libnet, etc.
  to secure best items

33
Federal, state, and local government

• BEST BET FOR
• reference materials, consumer/citizen information
• PROS
• Often cheap to free
• Important consumer and citizen awareness info not
  available from commercial sources
• CONS
• Materials are often bulky, rapidly outdated, and
  duplicate information available online
• Ordering can be cumbersome and time-consuming

34
Local brick-and-mortar vendors

• BEST BET FOR
• Backlist items, local interest titles
• PROS
• Supporting local business directly benefits the
  tax base upon which the librarys budget is
  dependent.
• By cultivating a relationship with local stores,
  you increase the likelihood that they will think
  to donate unneeded stock to the library, also
  encouraging an atmosphere of cooperation
  beneficial to programming
• Used items can be very cheap, and a used
  bookstore can be the fastest, cheapest way to
  fill a single-title gap in a series
• May be best/only outlets for local authors
• CONS
• Discounts vary from store to store and can be
  poor, especially on new items
• Limited and inconsistent inventories again,
  varies from store to store

35
What now?

• Youve cultivated a healthy, vibrant donor base.
  There will be items you cant use in your
  collection. Maybe LOTS of items.
• But they can still work for you.

36
Dispersal

• Points of dispersal should not just be points of
  disposal. Turn surplus materials into needed
  materials, or turn them into cash!
• Use social networking!
• Be creative!
• Just like vendors, points of dispersal can be one
  all-encompassing service or many services
  tailored to their individual strengths. If you
  dont have the space, volunteer base, or local
  support for a full-service FOL bookstore,
  consider some of these partners

37
Better World Books

• ACCEPTS
• Hardcovers and disc media in good condition
  newer paperbacks, textbooks, travel books in like
  new condition.
• DOES NOT ACCEPT
• Many paperbacks, encyclopedias periodicals,
  cassette audiobooks book club editions.
• Acceptance guidelines have recently changed the
  range of accepted items is wider, but also
  complicated.
• BWB provides boxes and pays all shipping costs
  and pays 15 commission on all sales of items not
  previously picked through for offering to other
  outlets.

38
Bookmooch

• ACCEPTS
• No limitations on print/audio. Listing entity is
  responsible for disclosure of condition and other
  issues
• DOES NOT ACCEPT
• Videos, music.
• Bookmooch is based on an inflationary barter
  currency each time you complete a transaction
  cycle (list an item, send it to someone, use that
  credit to request something from someone else,
  leave feedback on the item you received) you come
  out 20 ahead.

39
Book Prospector

• ACCEPTS
• Items on a case-by-case basis.
• DOES NOT ACCEPT
• Generally, items with high availability through
  other vendors (i.e. recent bestsellers).
• You enter an item, the system accepts or rejects
  it on the basis of anticipated sale price. Book
  Prospector pays for shipping, but does not
  provide boxes. A good outlet for textbooks and
  for rare/unusual books, especially nonfiction.

40
Direct Sales/Giveaways

• Donate to other libraries or agencies through
  Libnet, regional library listservs, county
  listservs, and personal contacts
• Maintain specialty giveaway baskets for
  high-interest groups (homeschoolers, discussion
  groups, etc.)
• Take-one-leave-one honor shelves for paperbacks,
  magazines, VHS movies, or other high-volume
  donation items
• Set aside interesting items (extra copies of
  local-interest books or nicely bound classics,
  childrens books, etc) for prizes and gifts
• Friends sale shelves, bookstores, and sales
  labor-intensive and may not offer a high return,
  but generate a lot of goodwill and volunteer
  interest

41
Further information

• Information is the most important tool at your
  disposal. Find the information sources that work
  for you, and work them.
• You will have a huge amount of information at
  your disposal. Good management procedures are
  essential. Identify and use a personal
  productivity system that works for you.
• Learn to use RSS feeds. Never leave an e-mail
  unread (and when youre done with it, get rid of
  it! File and delete ruthlessly).
• All of the sources in this presentation, and a
  list of information sources and
  information-management tools, are included in
  your handout. Its a good start. Toss the ones
  that dont work for you, and find your own.