Extended Shadowing Programme: Session Ten - Ordering

This morning I spent some time with the Subject Librarian (Science & Technology) talking about the various factors involved when ordering stock items for the library. I asked for this session to be included in my shadowing programme as I had often wondered how the librarians decide which titles to purchase, how many copies to buy and which format to buy them in (e.g. physical book or e-book).

Budgets
The SL (S&T) started the session by explaining how the budget for each subject area is determined. The overall budget for library stock is divided between the Faculty Liaison Librarians (previously Academic Liaison Librarians) based partly on student numbers and partly on subject knowledge and previous experience. The FLL then deducts an amount for set expenditure such as journal subscriptions, electronic resources and standing orders. The remainder is then split between the various subject areas, again based on both student numbers and previous experience.

To ensure that the whole budget is spent by the end of the financial year, monthly spending targets are set by the Acquisitions Team. Although these provide a useful guide, it is not always practical to order books evenly throughout the year. For instance, the Subject Librarians have to ensure enough money is left towards the end of the academic year when bulk requests are placed for key texts in readiness for the start of the following year.

Sources of orders
The library's Collection Management Policy states that the library's main aim is "to provide a wide range of resources, but with current needs and access to core materials and texts taking priority". The majority of orders are therefore placed for copies of key and essential texts as listed in the individual Module Definition Forms/Module Guides. Gaining access to these reading lists is not, however, always straightforward. In the past these have been requested from the appropriate academic staff but other pressures on their time mean that this is not always their top priority. The SL (S&T) has therefore found that it is often more effective to request reading lists from the relevant administrative staff in each department instead.

Once the reading lists are received they have to be checked as sometimes they include out of print titles or older editions. Sometimes they also include weekly reading lists which do not specify which texts are key, essential or for background reading. This not only makes it difficult for the librarians to know how many copies to order, but it also makes it difficult for the students to determine which are the most important materials to read. In these situations, the librarians have to liaise with the departments to try and source alternatives. This obviously calls for some diplomacy and underlines the importance of building effective working relationships with the appropriate academic and administrative staff.

Although the Collection Development Policy gives clear guidance on the number of key, essential and background reading texts that should be purchased, additional copies can be ordered where demand is especially high. A report is regularly generated by our library management system, Aleph, to highlight such items, i.e. where reservations have been placed but not fulfilled. Orders are also generated by a lost item report which lists items that have been overdue or missing for a specific length of time. These are not, however, necessarily replaced like for like. For instance, where an item is out of print the preference is to replace it with a more recent title which covers similar material. Out of print items are however purchased where important information is not included in alternative titles. Similarly, new editions are ordered to replace the old unless they contain valuable material which is omitted from the latest edition.

Requests and suggestions for new items are welcomed from students and staff. These can be written in the suggestions book held at the Enquiry Desk or submitted using the online recommendations form available via the library website. Academic staff will usually send their requests direct to the appropriate Subject Librarian. These items are normally purchased unless the cost is prohibitive. Student's suggestions are considered on an individual basis within the context of the Collection Development Policy. As the Vice Chancellor has recently placed an emphasis on increasing research activity within our university I was curious to know whether this would attract more requests from academic staff and consequently more funding for the library. The SL (S&T) felt that it was, however, too soon to predict what the impact will be.

Subject Librarians are also given the discretion to order items to fill gaps in the collection that are not highlighted by any of the above means. As each Subject Librarian is responsible for more than one subject area they can not realistically be expected to have an expert knowledge of all the subjects for which they are responsible. I therefore asked the Subject Librarian (S&T) whether she was required to have a degree in a science or technology subject and how she has developed her knowledge of the other areas. She explained that although her background is in a different subject area she has built up her knowledge of the collection and the different subject areas through dealing with student enquiries and communications with academic staff. This has given her a feel for which subject areas are covered well by the collection and where the demand for additional information lies.

Additional considerations
Because the library has a limited budget for purchasing stock items it will always, inevitably, be outstripped by demand. Considering which items to buy and how many copies to purchase is therefore only part of the story. The Subject Librarians also have to deliberate which format to select and how to manage the stock once it arrives to maximise availability. For instance, where resources are available electronically, e.g. e-books, these are likely to be favoured over print versions as they provide wider access, including off-site, to a greater number of readers. However, in some cases digital versions may not be suitable either because they are too expensive, can not be supported by the Digital Library or in the case of some subjects like art, the quality of the 'print' is insufficient.

Where the demand for specific paper items is particularly high instead of buying additional copies the Subject Librarians can employ a range of different loan statuses to increase circulation. For instance, they may decide to have a number of 7-day or 24-hour copies supplemented by a reference copy. Similarly, if items are prone to theft or vandalism or are particularly expensive or difficult to replace (e.g. out of print copies) they can also be safeguarded by making them available via the counter only and again using short loan statuses to increase circulation.

Ordering Items
We did not spend much time actually placing orders as I have previously witnessed parts of the process through shadowing the Acquisitions Team and through the earlier Cataloguing and Classification session. After going through the process of placing one or two orders I did, however, begin to appreciate just how time-consuming and administratively intensive the various checks and procedures are. Despite this, because of the manifold considerations outlined above, ordering is not something that can be easily delegated to non-professional staff. I am, however, hoping that my previous experience of ordering goods and services, processing invoices and monitoring budgets will prove to be useful preparation.

Conclusions
Although I have always suspected that ordering stock is not a straightforward business I had not previously appreciated the true complexity of the underlying decision-making processes involved. It soon became apparent during this session that our Subject Librarians, along with most other librarians in most sectors, face an increasingly difficult balancing act of weighing a limited budget against the demands of readers.

Extended Shadowing Programme: Session Nine - Observing the Enquiry Desk

As mentioned in an earlier post, today I was originally due to attend the cross-site Staff Learning and Development Group (SL&DG) meeting at our other main site. However, due to the recent staffing restructure, the meeting was cancelled to allow those affected time to settle into their new roles. Instead, I spent two hours observing the Assistant Customer Services Librarian (formerly Assistant Reader Services Librarian under the old structure) at the Enquiry Desk. The remainder of the time I was due to be at the SL&DG meeting will be spent observing a one-to-one appointment between a student and the Subject Librarian (A&L) on 15 April (see the amended Shadowing Programme Calendar under the Learning and Development section of this blog).

The first part of the session was spent going through the online enquiries which are detailed in the updated Shadowing Programme Enquiry Log (see the Learning and Development section of this blog). The Assistant Customer Services Librarian also showed me how to process an application from one of our students to use other academic libraries under the Sconul Access scheme. Although I have dealt with applications from students from other institutions wanting to use our library under the scheme, I had not previously been involved in the process from the perspective of one of own students.

Firstly, the librarian looked at the student's library account to check that they are in good standing with us, i.e. they do not have a history of losing items or unpaid fines. The band which applied to the student was then determined: Band A - staff and research students, Band B - part time, distance learning and placement students or Band C full-time taught postgraduates. Our official stamp was applied to the back of a Sconul Access card to verify that the student belongs to our university. The front of the card was completed with the expiary date of the student's registration and the appropriate band. It was then authorised with the librarian's signature and the application form was filed away. After the session the card will be sent to the student who can use it, in conjunction with their student card, to apply to use the library of any UK HE institution participating in the Sconul Access scheme. The student will also be reminded to check the list of participating libraries on the website and to make contact in advance of their visit to check opening times and conditions of use.

The remainder of the session was spent discussing the Assitant Customer Services Librarian's application for Fellowship, the highest level of professional qualification awarded by CILIP. Chartered members of CILIP who have successfully completed two cycles of revalidation are eligible to apply. The application consists of a personal statement, a current CV, a portfolio of evidence and two written statements of support. The librarian showed me the work he had done on his portfolio to date which included details of his particular contribution to local history and local studies in previous professional roles and in his own time. He also showed me the wikki he has developed on the local history of his home town in Scotland.

This discussion reinforced my belief that, even though I am at the very beginning of my library career, it is never too early to start thinking about Chartership and gathering evidence for a portfolio. Talking to each of the librarians I have shadowed about their previous careers and professional interests has also given me a valuable insight into some of the various opportunities that librarianship can offer and has prompted me to consider more seriously which sector of the profession I would like to enter and what shape I would like my career to take.

Extended Shadowing Programme: Session Eight - Cataloguing and Classification

Yesterday morning I was given a brief introduction to cataloguing and classification by the Subject Librarian (Arts & Letters). When I was comparing Masters courses, I was surprised to find that many of them no longer cover this area in any significant depth as these tasks are now largely automated and many library schools believe that specific classification schemes can be picked up on the job.

It is, however, apparent from looking at advertisements for jobs in the information sector that cataloguing and classification skills are still in demand. I was therefore careful to pick a course with at least one dedicated core module to give me a sufficient grounding in the subject. Although I have previously done some reading in this area, I struggled to make sense of the theory without observing it being used in practice. I was therefore keen for this session to be included in my shadowing programme to make sense of my reading to date and to help me in my future studies.

The Subject Librarian (A & L) started the session by showing me the full catalogue record for an existing item in our Library Management System, Aleph, and briefly explaining the use of fields, subfields and MARC tags. Although Library of Congress subject terms are used, in the past our own subject terms were also added which lead to some duplication for older records. Although cataloguing and classification was previously undertaken by individual Subject Librarians, in a move to improve consistency, it is now the responsibility of the Assistant Librarian (Cataloguing & Metadata) based in the centralised Acquisitions Team. There are, however, occasions when catalogue records are still created and amended by the local Subject Librarians, for instance when ordering new items, adding donated items and recataloguing existing items.

Ordering new items
This process was demonstrated using the example of a book about Chinese film. Firstly, the librarian searches the database of our main supplier, Dawson Books, to check that it is in print and available to order. The database can be searched using the author's name, book title or ISBN. Once found the Dewey number given by Dawsons is noted down. The library catalogue is searched to see what other items are held on this subject. The Dewey number from the Dawsons database is amended to ensure that when the book arrives it will be labelled correctly and shelved with similar items in our existing collection. To add a new catalogue record a template is opened in Aleph and the ISBN, author's name, main title and imprint of the book are entered. This is then saved and pushed through to the Acquisitions module of the system. A message requesting the amended Dewey number is added to ensure that the spine label is correct when the book arrives. The remaining details such as the budget code, vendor's name and quantities required are added to complete the order which is then submitted. The item will now appear on the library catalogue with a note to indicate that is on order.

Adding donated items
If the library does not already hold a copy of a donated item, a catalogue record is downloaded from the Library of Congress or the OCLC (Online Computer Library Centre) database via Aleph's Cataloguing module. The record is checked and amended to delete any superfluous fields. The Dewey number is also checked and amended as described above. The record is then saved and a system generated bib number is allocated to the title. A barcode is stuck to the item and it is added to the catalogue record as a new entry. The cutter letters, collection and loan status are also added at this stage. An acquisition grid is stamped to the back of the title page and the bib no., shelf mark and item barcode are written in. The item is then set to 'in processing' and is passed on to be correctly labelled before being set to 'in process' and put into circulation.

Recataloguing
If an item needs to be recatalogued, the librarian will firstly check how often it has been borrowed. If usage has been low and there are multiple copies in the collection then it is likely that it will be withdrawn. However, if it is the only copy and usage is low, the librarian may decide to keep it in the interests of maintaining the depth and breadth of the collection. This is where the librarian's subject knowledge and experience come into play. If the decision is made to keep the item, a catalogue record is downloaded from the Library of Congress or OCLC database, as described above. This is merged with the existing catalogue record which is then edited to add and remove fields as necessary and to amend the Dewey number. If only a record relating to an earlier or later edition can be found, a general note of the original publication date will be added. Once the catalogue record has been saved, the item is added and the cutter letters are entered. Any changes to the collection and loan status are also made at this stage. Once all the changes have been made the acquisition stamp is updated and the item is relabelled before going back into circulation. If an item needs to be added to the catalogue in a hurry, the fast add function can be used to create a very simple catalogue entry. This can then be merged with a full catalogue record for the same title at a later stage.

The nature of the subject is such that I was only able to gain a very basic introduction to cataloguing and classification from this session and so it was not practical for me to have a go at cataloguing any items myself. I am, however, confident that having witnessed the theory being applied in a real-life situation has helped to consolidate my reading and will allow me to better understand the subject when I study it more closely as part of my Masters course.