COLLECTION MANAGEMENT USING III REPORTS: INVENTORY AND RELOCATION OF MATERIALS

Teresa LePors & Shannon Tennant, Elon University

Elon University Belk Library

Elon founded in 1889 Belk Library opened

January 2000 75,000 square feet Currently 350,000

volumes Dewey decimal

system Went online in 1991

with DRA; migrated to Sirsi in 2004; migrated to III in 2006

“Club Belk” – Standing Room Only!

Inventory Using Create Lists

Historical Background

Nearly every year since 1982 Typically inventory half of the

collection Historically performed during

two weeks library closed between graduation and summer school

By the late 1990s, process took approx. two months

How it Worked

Used shelflist drawers

Worked in pairs – one person to call numbers, one person to look

Used flags to mark missing or lost

Clean-up performed by cataloger

2005 Statistics

000-599 112,978 volumes contained in 137

shelflist drawers Took two months, June-August 535 missing volumes (0.4%) 129 lost volumes (0.1%) – which were

deleted or replaced

And then came Millennium!

Create Lists

Settings for Inventory Shelflist

Finished List

Export to Excel

Adjust Import Settings

Final Step and Raw Data

Issues with Excel Spreadsheet

Issues with Excel Spreadsheet

Pros and Cons of Paper Shelflist

Less bulky to transport than the drawers

No partner needed Catch errors in the

catalog, not just in the shelflist

Easier to read report than cards

No longer need to order or file shelflist cards

QUICKER!

Some minor sorting issues

Foreign language characters display oddly

Harder to straighten shelves because hands are full

Amount of paper and toner used (paper is re-used by ILL and for scrap)

Advantages Challenges

Clean-up

The most important step! Any book that is a “problem” comes to Tech Services Examples of common problems:

Call number on list doesn’t match spine label on book

Book does not appear on the shelflist Duplicate call numbers Spine label is falling off/unreadable Book needs repair

Use Create Lists to run a list of all Missing books and search again

Any book that is missing twice is “Lost” and then deleted or replaced Use Create Lists to run a list of all Lost books,

including number of times circulated and publication year

Student Inventory

Began summer of 2009

Lists and initial clean-up done by Circulation Librarian

“More interesting than shelf-reading!”

Program suspended due to cuts in student worker budget

Relocation of Materials Using Create Lists

Why Did We Outgrow Our Space? New University President in January

1999. Phi Beta Kappa initiative. Increased materials budget especially for

print. Result:

Some Areas Became Extremely Crowded

Defying Gravity

Criteria for Moving Books Off-Site

Books that have circulated two or fewer times since we began online circulation in 1993.

Older editions of books for which we own newer editions.

2nd copies of books that have not circulated regularly.

Older reference books that aren’t regularly used.

Print indexes that are duplicated online.

Satellite Shelving Facility

Use Create Lists to Identify Books With Low or No Circulation

Saved Query for Relocation Project

Exporting Fields

Raw Data Exported into Excel

Excel Data in “Finalized” Form

Working in the Stacks

Search Holds by Call Number

Summary Record of Item

Detailed Item Information

Detailed Circulation Information

Off-Site Shelving Trucks Ready for Processing

Item Use Three

Create List to Locate Item Use 3 Books

Retrieve Saved Query for Item Use 3

Rapid Update

Selecting fields

Select the Correct Location

Command table

Circulation Message

Satellite Shelving Statistics

Number of Items Moved Off-Site Since Jan. 2006 47,424

Circulation Statistics June 2006 – May 2007 49 items circulated June 2007 – May 2008 97 items circulated June 2008 – May 2009 165 items circulated June 2009 – May 2010 188 items circulated June 2010 – Present 94 items circulated

Stacks Management Project

After Shifting – Order Restored!

Benefits

Benefits of Inventory

Clean catalog – if it says we have it, we have it!

Neater shelves – books where they are supposed to be benefits patrons and staff (especially ILL)

Staff cooperation Chance to physically examine the

collection Opportunity for collection development

QUESTIONS?

Teresa LePors lepors@elon.edu

Shannon Tennant stennant@elon.edu