Tales from Circulation: Library Book Gems and Damageam Have you ever sat down and really thought about what a single library book goes through in its lifetime? As I'm taking Collection Management with Dr. Bird, I have begun to consider the life cycle of a book. A collection as a whole goes through its life like an living organism does which I find very interesting to consider. A collection is much more than a bunch of books on a shelf -- it has a birth, an aging process, high points and low points of success and failure, and eventually, to some extent, a death (not a final death where the collection is dead and buried, but it has to do a phoenix where the old dies and a new forms from the ashes). When I worked at ACCCL, we used to find some very interesting things in library books and I talking beyond the occasional bookmark or photograph. Personally I always enjoyed when people leave money inside of library books (we always put it as a donation towards the library) but I've also found letters and photographs. It is a tiny peek into our patron's lives and generally if we can return the items, we did. It always amazes me how people treat library material. Occasionally we get library books back that have been badly beaten, thoroughly soaked, or a dog has decided that particular book looked like a yummy snack. Some people are very apologetic while others don't seem to notice. Cheaper by the Millions: Family Ties with Collection ManagementThroughout the course, I have been thinking of a collection and its items like a family. The collection as a whole is like a mother, with librarians as nannies. It is a strange beginning, but stay with me. A mother gives birth to her children and decides how she wants them to be raised and educated -- think of this as collection development policies and the overall mission of a collection. Through acquisitions, new children arrive whether it be by the mother (I attribute actual purchases with library funds as biological children) with the occasional adopted children through donation, the family begins to grow and take new shapes. It could be like the Brady Bunch or Cheaper by Dozen, a little crazy but the core family is there. Then the children go forth into the world through circulation and have adventures of their own, sometimes returning with bumps and bruises but it is a tough world out there, accidents happen and sometimes the outside world is not always the friendliest of places but for the most part, the kids always come home. From time to time, a child goes missing and the mother and nannies put out missing posters and offer rewards (that would be a good consideration for library lingo -- rather than calling them fines, call them rewards for returning items). It would be a good note that the "mother" of this collection is immortal and omnipotent. Continuing on, the children start aging and new kids start filling the shelves. The nannies make the difficult choices that some of the kids have to move out, whether it be to new homes or to be reincarnated to another life. The mother continues to care for her children, making their time in the nest comfortable and encourages them to go see the world. The nannies see to collection's health and safety, processing them with affection and repairing them when need be. And life goes on, the collection grows and changes appearance as physical books are replaced with new formats. The Balancing Act: Needs & WantsCollection management mirrors an organism's life cycle in many ways. It isn't quite as complicated as a traditional life cycle but it does have its moments that can determine its future or its death. A collection can be complex in its many parts, all working towards a whole with several different material types and the various needs for its users. In the end, a collection serves its users more than anything else, it is not about survival, it is about what the users ultimately need for their own survival. It would be nice if librarians could pick whatever they wanted according to their own values and likes but as librarians we serve a much greater purpose and our users. The collection and librarians alike serve our users above all else and we will fight tooth and nail to see the success of our users through assistance from our collections. It is a noble deed that may be quite underappreciated as users think that the collection should have more James Patterson than Janet Evanovich or Stephen King or that collections should have material on scientific matters than on soft science research. Collection management, like all things in life, is simple and complex at the same time and we endeavor to create a collection that meets our user's needs and desires.
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AuthorA public and academic librarian shares her views, thoughts, and tales of being a budding librarian in the 21st century Archives
November 2017
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