One System – One Collection

Floating our Collection

1 February 2012

What is a floating collection?Essentially, items are shelved at the location where they are

checked in. TLC automatically changes the “owning” branch designation to the branch where items are returned.

The philosophy of this method is “One system, one collection.” (We all own and share the collection.)

Benefits:Materials movement is generated by our library customers

through their hold requests.Items remain at the location where they are returned.Items move freely among all locations.

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Libraries all over the world are using this method. But why should we do it?To get materials into the hands of our customers more

quickly while reducing the handling and transportation of materials by library staff and courier.

To help make the entire collection more readily available to our customers, reduce staff time and save money.

Branch shelves will not look the same all the time encouraging more customer browsing and increasing circulation.

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The Fear Factor You want to do what?

You think this is going to work?

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The Real Fear Factor What if our branch ends up

with too many books? Or not enough books? What if stacks of books pile

up everywhere, topple over, and injure our customers! Yikes!

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Back to the original question:Why float?

Becauseit

works!6

Benefits of FloatingFor the Library SystemBrings us together as a systemIncreases materials availability and provides

continuously refreshed collectionsReduces the risk of smaller branches being “read out”

Have you ever wondered how many customers don’t come back to visit because the shelves are stocked

with the same books all the time?7

Benefits of Floating (cont’d)For our CustomersAllows customers to control the movement of

items across branchesItems are available at the point of check-in

instead of being “In Transit”Reduces amount of time items are “In Transit”Offers opportunity to better utilize our catalog

features - searching and placing holds8

Benefits of Floating (cont’d)For our WorkloadReduces amount of materials-handling by the

courier and library staff who load and unload the crates

Less in-house processing of items such as DVDs – all items will be uniformly processed and should come “shelf ready” from the vendor

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Benefits of FloatingSome Cost SavingsReduces physical wear and tear on items

as they are moved less - extending lifeReduces need to duplicate titlesReduces staff ergonomic injuriesPromotes sharing and good stewardship

of resources10

Issues to AddressHow do we deal with overflow – too many books on

a topic or shelf at a small branch? You can: Do limited shifting to accommodate items Make creative displays to increase circulation Weed tired, worn and tattered materials Create redistribution guidelines Relocation should be used as a last resort

THRESHOLD: Your branch manager will receive an email when too many items are on the shelves at your branch. We will designate a threshold number for your branch that generates this email automatically.

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Issues to Address (cont’d)Things to Think About We will need to standardize our processing practices across the

system. Example: recent changes in cataloging & spine labels for DVDs.

Will there be new workflow issues for circulation staff? Will this change your work routines?

Customer training (placing holds, system-wide view) Collection knowledge – your shelves may be refreshed with new

materials much more frequently and may attract your customers to come in more often and discover new materials! This equals a possible increase in circulation!12

Issues to Address (cont’d)Collection DevelopmentWe now need to standardize processing of materials.

Important point: All items should look alike – labels, stickers, etc. – because these items now belong to the system and not to any one branch.

Example: Many branches place a label inside the DVD case that says “Property of xxxxx branch.”

You should no longer do this. Are there other labels you use?

Please discontinue these practices. If you are unsure, call Diane.13

Final ThoughtsWe will begin floating DVDs and music CDs on March 1st.Please think about how will this affect you.How can we help staff and customers prepare for the

change?Help your customers to get a PIN, learn to use the online

PAC, and place holds when they see items they are interested in.

For customers who cannot use the computer, place their holds for them.

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Please talk to your manager or a collection development team member if you have any questions or suggestions.

We need you to help this project be successful.

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Many thanks to:

Natasha Casteel from the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library in Albuquerque, New Mexico for this PowerPoint presentation.

While I have customized it for our library system, she developed the original presentation and posted it on Slideshare for the use of other libraries.

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