Welcome to the second part of my Library 101 series. In part one, I talked about weeding and why it’s vital for a flourishing library. (See that post to learn more about my background and experience.) Today, I’m talking about collection development. Weeding is half of collection development, but adding items to the library is the other half. I want to talk about what types of libraries exist, how library staff know what books to buy, the challenges of ebooks, and whether libraries are neutral spaces. I love this topic, so join me in diving deeper.
What is collection development?
Like I said above, I think of collection development as two halves of a whole: weeding (or discarding materials) and acquisition. Both are equally important. A library might have a huge budget and plenty of shelves to fill, but if the staff never takes the time to curate the collection by removing obsolete, worn, or outdated items, all the new stuff will end up getting lost in a sea of clutter. The key word in collection development is the latter because to develop is to change. A library’s collection should always be changing to meet patron demand, and that involves both subtraction and addition.
Different Types of Libraries
Before I talk more about collection development, let’s think about different kinds of libraries. The most common is the public library, which is usually a popular collection library that seeks to meet the demands and interests of the community. There are academic libraries, including ones in elementary schools, colleges, and law schools. The American Library Association mentions special libraries, including ones focused on medicine, music, and theology.
Each library has its own collection development policy specific to its type. A law library isn’t going to have shelves of Colleen Hoover romances, and an elementary library isn’t going to have fragile newspapers from the 1800s. Different libraries have different needs, and you can’t fully understand collection development until you understand what those needs are.
Adding Items to the Library’s Collection
One of the best parts of my school library job is helping to buy books. Submitting a book order for several hundred dollars using money that’s not mine will never get old. I never tire of shopping for books, but it’s important to understand what items to add and why.
Choosing what to add to a collection is time-consuming. Most libraries will have strict collection development policies with clear guidelines saying what should and shouldn’t be purchased. Though libraries acquire much more than books, books are what I’m focusing on in this section because they’re what I have experience buying.
When shopping for books, it’s important for me to focus on the collection development policy and not my personal wish list. My home library reflects my interests and tastes, but my school libraries need to reflect the interests and tastes of the students and support the curriculum. When I’m looking for books to get for school, I’m not thinking about what sounds interesting to me, but what will fill a need in the collection as a whole.
So, how do you know what to get? There are many ways to approach purchasing, and one common guide is award lists. A couple of weeks ago, the Booker Prize longlist was announced, and the next time I checked Libby, my public library had added all the longlisted books to the collection. Award-winners and nominees get more attention, which means patrons are likely to hear about them and want to read them. There are prizes and awards for every age group, genre, and interest, and those can be a good place to start when thinking about what books to purchase.
Paying attention to the news and pop culture can also give you clues about what to purchase. If immigration is all over the news, patrons will want books about it. If a movie comes out that was based on a novel, patrons will want to read that novel.
Another thing that guides purchasing is specific patron requests. My school libraries have an online form students can fill out to request books for us to buy. I can do the same thing through my public library. Listening to patron voice when selecting materials ensures those items will actually get checked out and used. It also means that the shelves will reflect the community and the culture.
Something I do at my school libraries a couple of times a year is what I call looking for holes. I look closely at the catalog, run some reports, and ask these questions:
What topics are not represented on our shelves?
What topics need updated and more relevant books?
What genres need a larger selection based on student checkouts?
What materials do teachers need for their classes?
When I did this last year, I realized one school needed more sports and sci-fi books, while another needed more memoirs and graphic novels. Using data to help with acquisition is always a good idea because choosing books is subjective, but the data gives staffers a road map to help them make smart choices about items that will enhance the collection and get checked out.
Once you see some holes, a helpful tool for finding and learning about books is NoveList. I have access to this site with my library card, and you might, too. In case you’re unfamiliar, NoveList is a massive database with detailed information about books, including reviews from professional journals. l like using NoveList to search by date, so I can see all the new books coming out. When I see popular YA authors like Adam Silvera or Nic Stone releasing a new book, that’s an easy “add to cart” decision.
Here’s another way I use NoveList. A few years ago, my schools added new Native American and African American literature classes, so we had to add more of those books to the library to meet demand for independent reading. I can use NoveList to search for books by African American and Indigenous authors or see what titles are best for a specific age range. I’m a NoveList evangelist because it’s such a helpful tool for me, both professionally and personally. Check your library’s website to see if it offers access.
A Library of Things
Books are what I think of first when I think about libraries, but modern libraries have much more in their collections. My public library has a Library of Things, including items such as DVD players, toy blocks, guitars, telescopes, and Instant Pots. All of these things can be borrowed just like a book. It’s been a delight to see how libraries are evolving and helping their patrons explore their hobbies. A few months ago, I listed 45 things public libraries can offer you. Check out that list for more insight into what libraries offer these days.
Digital Collections
In addition to books, periodicals, and various “things,” a library’s collection also includes digital items, like ebooks, magazines, movies, and audiobooks. You’re probably familiar with apps like Libby or Hoopla that libraries often use to grant patrons access to downloadable materials. Choosing what titles to add to a digital collection comes with all the considerations I mentioned above, but also includes one big extra problem: cost.
It costs much more for a library to buy an ebook than it would for me to buy a personal copy. According to an AP news article from last year, a library could pay $18 for a hardback book, but the ebook would cost them $55, and would only be in the collection for a certain number of checkouts. The article goes on to say:
[T]he e-book expires after a limited time, usually after one or two years, or after 26 checkouts, whichever comes first. While e-books purchased by consumers can last into perpetuity, libraries need to renew their leased e-material.
The modestly funded West Haven Library has spent more than $12,000 over the last three years to lease just 276 additional digital titles beyond what patrons can access through a consortium of public libraries. Eighty-four of those books are no longer available. If that same amount had been spent on paper books, it would have covered about 800 titles.
These costs have led some libraries to fight back against publishers and push for legislation that would make ebook prices more affordable. The AP article I linked above quotes Shelley Husband, senior vice president of government affairs at the Association of American Publishers, who says, “They do have a funding problem, but the answer is not to take it out of the pockets of authors and destroy the rights of creators and pass unconstitutional legislation.”
This is a complicated issue with no resolution in sight. Next time you wonder why your library’s wait lists are so long on Libby, it might be because they can’t afford more copies of popular books.
Are Libraries Neutral?
As I wrap up this post, I want to talk about libraries and neutrality. It’s commonly said that libraries are neutral, and I used to believe that. A good library will have all kinds of materials that contradict and disagree with each other, sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s neutral.
Giving patrons equal access to information, resources, entertainment, and literature isn’t a neutral position; it’s one that stands for intellectual freedom. A place that welcomes all community members regardless of wealth or status isn’t neutral; it’s one that stands for equity.
I understand what people mean when they say libraries are or should be neutral, but I’d push back on that view by saying that by their very nature, libraries are choosing a side. Their collections should reflect that choice.
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What questions do you have about collection development? What are your thoughts about ebook pricing for libraries? I’d love to hear what you love about your local library and what keeps you coming back. Also, let me know what topic you’d like me to cover next in this series.
Love your words about neutrality. ❤️