Collection Management

Collection Management was a particular project that I worked on during the month of November. I was asked to peruse the shelves and pick which titles in the collection should be updated. I focused my attention on the literature section. I noticed many of the titles had worn covers or else had those plastic covers that made all the books look just alike.

These were a particular concern to me because I felt they made the books look very unattractive and I figured this was making them less appealing to the student reader. I felt that If some of these titles had the newer covers on them they might be selected by the shelf browsing student.

With this thought in mind I began with some of the classics: Austen, Dickens, etc. I chose most of their more popular titles and pulled selections of the shelves. I then went to the computer and looked up how many we had in the collection and when they copies we had were published. Most of these were decades old. I documented the number and publishing dates and made a note to suggest a new copy be purchased.

While reading my shelves I came across a few authors who I felt should be better represented as well, I had just read Slaughterhouse V and felt that Vonnegut should have a newer selection on the shelves. I also knew that the library hosted a meeting place for several of the clubs on campus and thought about which titles they might just be interested in. Tolkien came to mind as a staple of the fantasy portion of the collection and went to examine those titles we might have. I was surprised to find that he was hugely misrepresented in the collection and decided to write down many of his titles to be acquired.

From there I created my list and submitted it and soon the new titles should be in circulation.