The document summarizes a discussion on collection management for public libraries held by the Virginia Library Association in October 2015. It includes an agenda with topics like survey results, collection management jeopardy, and discussions. Highlights from the survey of public library collection managers show top concerns are long-range planning, electronic materials, and promoting collections. Popular discussion topics included trends in print vs. electronic budgets, collection analysis tools, and statewide purchasing plans. The document provides insight into the issues facing Virginia public library collection managers.

1. VLA: PUBLIC LIBRARY
COLLECTION MANAGEMENT
DISCUSSION
October 2015
None of us is as smart as all of
us - Japanese Proverb

2. Ann & Shari

3. PRIZES!
 Fundamentals of Collection Development &
Management by Peggy Johnson
 Assorted Books & Advance Reading Copies
 Pair of Banned Book Socks

4. Agenda
Welcome & Introductions
CM Buzzword Bingo
Survey Results
CM Jeopardy
Discussions
What Next?
Evaluations

5. VLA CM PUBLIC LIBRARY SURVEY
Results: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-LWDDS3G2/

6. SURVEY
HIGHLIGHTS

7. Survey Highlights
Collection Management
 What are your most pressing concerns about
Collection Management work?
 Please rank these options for sharing
information with other Collection
Management librarians
 What kind of support for public
library collection management would you
like from the Library of Virginia?
VLA Program
• What trends and emerging issues keep
you awake at night?
• What trends and emerging issues are
you excited about?
• What topics would you most like to
learn about or discuss at the VLA
program?
• Are there any specific questions you
would like to be addressed at VLA
Public Library Collection Management
Discussion?
• Are there successful practices,
workflows, presentations, documents,
or ideas that you would like to share
with your colleagues?

8. VLA PROGRAM
Survey Highlights

9. What topics would you most like to learn about or discuss at the VLA
Public Library Collection Management Discussion? Page 1
 Trends in budget allocations for print vs. eBook; how libraries are handling demand
for eBooks in relation to the budget (different holds ratios, for instance?). I can still
get so many more circs from a print book than from a Random House eBook :(
Trends in Reference purchasing (resources to support reference work) -
databases/linking to online resources vs. purchasing print Reference materials and
nonfiction
 Collection analysis tools; increasing collection use
 How librarians are applying their respective collection analysis tools, whether an ILS
or outside product like Collection HQ. What selection model works best.
 Measuring public demand--how not to let what circs become a self-fulfilling
prophesy; ie., not just buying more of what circs know it will but perhaps limiting
service to just that demographic.

10. What topics would you most like to learn about or discuss at the VLA
Public Library Collection Management Discussion? Page 2
 Creating a balanced collection when only certain types of items are checked out
(e.g. the community has a large African American population, but the children's
books with African American characters never get checked out; weed them or not?)
 Collection analysis; division of resources among areas
 Balance
 Contracts and ebook licenses
 Budgeting
 The future of collection management. Best practices. Networking

11. What topics would you most like to learn about or discuss at the
VLA Public Library Collection Management Discussion? Page 3
 Plans for statewide purchases for public libraries
 Share war stories, in a way
 Purchasing/contracts
 New trends in collection development, new selection resources
 Shared collections, collections of last resort

12. What changes are you anticipating for the next fiscal year?
 Increase in electronic items; decrease in print
 None
 No major changes, perhaps some additional spending on digital magazines and ebooks
 Cutting databases
 With a flat budget, we are looking at dialing back on databases, print reference, and print periodicals, as well as being
careful across the board in other areas.
 Cuts across the board
 Asking for more money, esp for print and eBooks.
 Slightly less in print, slightly more in digital/DVD
 Not sure at this time.
 I am struggling to keep up with demand for eBooks. So far, all eMaterials have been funded by allocations from our
library's Foundation, not by our regular materials budget. But demand is steadily increasing. I'm reluctant to redirect
money from the materials budget to increase $$ available for eBooks because I have 9 branches with circulating
collections and so far the eBook demand is mostly coming from the few that are also high-circulating for print materials.
I hate to take money away from the lower-circulating branches since they are already on shoestring budgets and am not
sure what to do...

13. Specific Questions & Successful Practices
Are there any specific questions you would like
to be addressed at VLA Public Library Collection
Management Discussion?
 Curious to know what
benchmarks/targets others use to
measure collection use (turnover rate,
cost per circ for different areas of the
collection, for instance)
Rising cost management
Are there successful practices, workflows,
presentations, documents, or ideas that you
would like to share with your colleagues?
 Ideas about promoting databases to
public/staff and getting buy-in from staff
for new processes, ie floating -Shari
Henry, Arlington Public Library
 The acquisitions team has a wiki on
which we keep our budgetary
spreadsheets as well as
recommendations for each other, etc..
We don't get to see each other face to
face much so this helps keep us in
touch. -Nan B Carmack, Campbell
County

14. MISSION
(IM)POSSIBLE
Trends, Concerns & Emerging Issues

15. What trends and emerging issues are you excited about:
 Ebooks
 Digital collections
 eMaterials
 Weeding
 Minimum copies
 Shared storage
 Self publishing and creation platforms
 PDA
 The shift towards digital materials is both exciting and stressful!
 User based selection
 Collection analysis and purchasing based on circulation
 Competition for OverDrive; expanding electronic resources and balancing with print

16. What trends and emerging issues keep you awake at night?
 Lack of well-written, non-preachy, literary and popular fiction for those who prefer "clean" stories, especially for teens
and adults
 Ebooks
 Digital collections
 “Crappy” service provided by some vendors (how difficult OverDrive is to use with Kindle, multiple screens you have to
go through on Zinio)
 Cost of eMaterials
 Expenses
 Major publishers' eBook pricing models, particularly for hot bestsellers where we aren't currently meeting demand
 Articles about the death of the library
 Marketing/Merchandising
 All of the above
 Money

17. What are your most pressing concerns about Collection
Management work? Top Three
1. Long range planning
2. eMaterials: formats, platforms,
vendors, access, etc.
2. Promoting collections
& Readers Services
3. Collection analysis - tracking
the performance of collections

18. What kind of support for public library collection
management would you like from the Library of Virginia?
 Coordination of regional networking/sharing groups would be great!
 Continued support for state-wide digital collections.
 would love to see more databases purchased for all, like NewsBank, Mango, etc...
We can't afford on our own but would love to be able to offer it.
 I am at the Library of Virginia and I'd like to know, too
 A list of resources for finding titles, especially in those genres that are more difficult
to find quality materials (e.g. a list of websites that review "clean" fiction or a list of
sites that have mystery series lists)
 Training on selection, weeding, analysis for staff

19. What kind of support for public library collection
management would you like from the Library of Virginia?
 Not sure
 I don't really hear directly about any Library of Virginia support. I certainly
appreciate the Zinio platform and subscription coverage
 more input into LVA purchases for resources
 Support for and information about Virginia authors
 Programming/webinars.
 More money; less time needed for staff at libraries to fill out antiquated forms such
as Bibliostat

20. COLLECTION
MANAGEMENT
Nyx the eyeless semi-retired library cat (& Sookie)
ACT’s blatant blind cat and book promotion ;-)

21. What are your most pressing concerns about Collection Management
work?
2.67
3.11
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2.56
2.94
3.22
2.89
2.72
2.94
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Allocating & tracking materials budgets
Collection analysis - tracking the performance of collections
eMaterials: formats, platforms, vendors, access, etc.
Weeding
Long range planning
Selection processes
Keeping current with trends and increasing professional awareness
Promoting collections & Readers Services
Communication with Adminstration
Communciation with Public Services
Communciation with Customers/Patrons
VLA CM PRESSING CONCERNS

22. CM Areas Expertise
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ACQUISTIONS (ORDERING, RECEIVING, PAYING)
BUDGETING (ALLOCATION, TRACKING FUND EXPENDITURES)
PURCHASING (RFP'S, BIDS, CONTRACTS, ETC.)
COLLECTION ANALYSIS (STATISTICS,COLLECTION REPORTS, DATA)
TECHNICAL SERVICES (CATALOGING, PROCESSING)
VENDOR RELATIONS
OPENING DAY COLLECTIONS
SELECTION
WEEDING
PRINT AND AV MATERIALS
EMATERIALS: EBOOKS, EAUDIOBOOKS, EZINES, EVIDEO, EMUSIC
ok good very good N/A

23. BUDGETS

24. HCPL Adult ITypes FY15 (% of circulation)
Audio
7%
DVD
13%
Book
38%
Lease
12%
Paperback
6%
eBook
20%
eAudio
4%

25. HCPL Library Circ 2014 (calendar year)
BOOKMOBILE
1%
DUMBARTON
9%
FAIRFIELD
6%
GAYTON
8%
GLEN-ALLEN
9%
MUNICIPAL
0%
NORTH-PARK
5%
SANDSTON
3%
TUCKAHOE
24%
TWNHICKORY
20%
VARINA
2%
OverDrive
13%
BOOKMOBILE DUMBARTON FAIRFIELD GAYTON GLEN-ALLEN MUNICIPAL NORTH-PARK SANDSTON TUCKAHOE TWNHICKORY VARINA OverDrive

26. Print note to self add library names and remove dups
58.00%
48.00%
40.00%
52.00%
60.00%
12.00%
60.00%
67.00%
30.00%
45.00%
31.00%
52.00%
49.00%
45.00%
57.00%
60.00%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Print Funds

27. Periodicals

28. eMaterials

29. AV

30. Databases

31. RESOURCES
VLA Regions: http://vpl.virginia.gov/directories-listservs/vla-regions/

33. VENDORS
More vendor survey information available (VLA CM program longer version.pptx)

34. Hoopla

35. Drop Box Contents
Folders
Survey: Questions, Individual Responses
Resources: CM Competency Index,
articles
Reports: LOV Turnover, HCPL reports
Assessments: Edge Assessment

36. Drop Box Contents
Dropbox URL:
 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wh2n53mo1lfk0nv/AACwNQZK7cC27tOzT4jb37jHa?dl=0
 Google Site URL:
 https://sites.google.com/a/overbooked.com/libraryland/
 Survey Results: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-LWDDS3G2/
PowerPoint Presentations
 Program Presentation
 Program Presentation (longer) more
complete survey information
 Pre-Program
 HCPL
Directory
Other:
 Buzzword Bingo
 CM Buzzword Bingo

37. WHAT NEXT?

38. Options for sharing information with other Collection Management
librarians
3.29
2.29
2.41
3
3.53
3.65
3.18
2.38
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
VLA conference
session
Shared google work
site (online
discussions, file
sharing, etc.)
Blog Email Regional meetings VLA listserv Email newsletter Other (please
specify)
Rating Average

39. Contact
 Ann Chambers Theis, Henrico County
Public Library:
actheis@henricolibrary.org
 Shari Henry, Arlington County Public
Library: shenry@arlingtonva.us

40. EVALUATIONS
Please fill out the VLA program evaluation form
Also, a link will be sent to a follow up (brief ;-) survey
Additional CM surveys?

41. Thanks to those who filled out the survey and thanks to those
who attended the VLA program!

42. Picture with Caption Layout
Caption