Making a Collection Count: A Holistic Approach to Library Collection Management

Library collection management is a vital part of any library’s operations. Making a Collection Count takes a holistic look at library collection management, connecting collection management activities and departments, and instructs on how to gather and analyse data from each point in a collection’s lifecycle. Relationships between collections and other library services are also explored. The result is a quality collection that is clean, current, and useful. The second edition includes expanded information on collection metrics, digital collections, and practical advice for managing collections effi ciently when time and resources are tight. It also includesmore real-life examples from practicing librarians in areas such as workflow analysis, collection budgets, and collection management techniques. Chapters cover the life cycle of a collection, understanding workfl ow and collecting metrics. Physical inventory, collection objectives and bookmarks, as well as collection organization, collection budgets and marketing collections are also discussed.

Focusses on collection qualityOffers practical applications for collection librarians and managersRelevant for different library types: public, academic, school, and special

1. Life cycle of a collection 2. Understanding your workflow 3. Collection metrics 4. Physical inventory 5. Statistics 6. Creating collection objectives and benchmarks 7. Collection organization 8. Collection budgets 9. Everything is connected

Appendix A. Public library collection management policy B. Strategic content negotiation for the small library