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Every organization must keep track of income and expenses. If you have a tiny library, your income may be very small — perhaps just a few dollars to replace lost books or maybe some small fund raisers, like your annual discarded book sale. However, you should always have a formal system of keeping track of your income and expenses. While a pen and notebook will work, you're wise to learn how to archive your data electronically using a spreadsheet or special accounting software.

Video #1 — Let's start with the basics of using an Excel Spreadsheet.

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Even if your library doesn't have Microsoft Excel, you can use the open source spreadsheet software from OpenOffice.org — http://www.openoffice.org/

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Video #2 — Some specifics on using Excel

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Large libraries and bookstores often use an electronic data exchange to order materials over the Internet. There are various services available, but this video explains how an electronic data exchange works.


Video #3 Industry Data Exchange

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If you require more information on using spreadsheets view some of the related videos on YouTube. You can also find many tutorials for spreadsheets at Expert Village. See http://www.expertvillage.com/search.htm?s=spreadsheet

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Specialty software is also available to create your purchase orders. This link includes screen shots that will show you how they're set up and their capabilities:


http://www.uwsa.edu/fadmin/sfs/pocreate.htm

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Adding materials to your library collection can be a very time-consuming job!

Library patrons can help you with developing your collection by filling in library request forms. Here are a variety of examples from different types of libraries.

• Teacher Materials request form from http://www.lexpublib.org/teacherrequest/
  
• University request form from http://libweb.uoregon.edu/colldev/orderform.htm
• Purchase request form from http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/purchaserequest/
• Public Library request form from http://www.skokielibrary.info/catalog/purchreq.asp

Library patrons, of course, just provide the basic information. In order to purchase, you'll need to know more about the book!

Deciding where to purchase a book is also important. You may check publisher Web sites, large book sellers, and book packagers to decide which will be the best option. Remember, the more materials you have shipped at one time, the less shipping costs you'll pay. Postage costs are structured so that there's almost no difference cost between shipping one or a dozen books with larger books.

Many online bookstores will provide you with purchasing information as well as price. In Saskatchewan you might consider:

• Regina - Book & Brier Patch - http://www.bookbrier.ca/
• Saskatoon - McNally Robinson - http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home
• Online/Saskatoon & Regina - Chapters - http://www.chapters.indigo.ca
• Online - Amazon Canada - http://www.amazon.ca/

Practice Excercise
Assume you've received this request form this morning, listing only the title and author of a book:
________________________________________________________________
Requester: Linda Aksomitis, Your Library Patron #1000 (contact info in your patron files)
Title: Generating Wind Power
Author: Niki Walker
________________________________________________________________

In order to complete this request form you need to check verification sources. Bibliographic verification should answer three questions:

1. Does the item exist?
2. How much does it cost?
3. Is it still in print?
   

Once you've confirmed the item exists, you'll need to check your OPAC to ensure the title isn't already available, or if it is, to make a decision on whether the demand is so high that you should have two copies. For this exercise, assume you're at the Alice Turner Branch of the Saskatoon Public Library system. Check the OPAC at: http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/

Do you have the title? If not, should you proceed? Does this title that fit your selection policy? You'll either need to locate reviews to make a purchasing decision or find it listed in a required bibliography if you have a school library. Locate one or the other and make note of where you found the information (for example, CM Magazine, or grade ? science bibliography).

Once you've decided to proceed, this is the information you'll need to gather:

1. Full title
2. Statements of responsibility
3. Place, name of publisher and date published
4. Edition required
5. Series titles and specific number within series
6. ISBN
7. Price of item (use List price here, so do price comparisons later)
8. Number of copies required
9. Name of requester and contact information
10. Date of request
11. Call number of item if already in the collection or of previous editions in the collection
12. Verification of sources checked
13. Fund to be charged for item

If you decide to order this book, compare the price with a minimum of two booksellers (you can use the ones listed above) and/or the publisher.

Will you buy the book? If so, from whom?

__________________________________________________________________

Once you've made a decision on the patron request form, you'll need to inform the patron. If you already have the item, you'll advise the patron where it may be found (or requested on inter-library loan). If you decide against purchasing, you'll indicate why. If you've ordered the item, you'll provide an expected date of availability.
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Library collection development is one of the most important activities of a library — a good collection means the library can meet the needs of its users, while a poor collection means the library will become less and less useful to its community and ultimately lose hours until it's no longer a viable service.


Video #1
This short videoclip from a public library will outline how circulation and library use impacts on library programming. When things change in the library community, the library needs to respond.

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Libraries need to do a community analysis or profile to understand their patrons' needs.

In the changing world a needs assessment is very important. This video demonstrates the elements of a needs assessment.

Video #2



The key is to understand the difference between wants, needs, demands and expectations.

Libraries may create a library profile to understand the logistics of circulation in their libraries. Here's an example of a profile: http://jpl.coj.net/lib/factsheet.html

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Here's a bibliography of collection development related web sites, including links to various collection development policies: http://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/coldev2.html

This York University Web page explains in detail the six levels of collection intensity used in the Conspectus approach to subject collection analysis: http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/Home/About/CollPolicies/CollectingLevels.htm

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