Making a Collection Count: Why a Physical Inventory is Essential to a Dynamic Library

Program Outline Steps to performing a physical inventory What you’ll discover Why you should care Creating collection objectives from inventory data Creating benchmarks from inventory data This presentation is available online:

Physical Inventory – What is it? On-going process of comparing the “shelf list” (holdings) to actual items.

Inventory Strategy: Step 1 Choose a manageable piece of collection SSLDL Started with audio book collection – High per unit cost – Newer collection – Holdings at beginning of project (2006) ~1000 items according to first shelf list. – Estimated value at that time: about $65,000

Inventory Strategy: Step 2 Do a quick, general weed Be aggressive! Makes shelf list more manageable in step 3

Inventory Strategy: Step 3 Get a shelf list Usually includes title, author, pub date, last circ date, total circs, price, item barcode #

Inventory Strategy: Step 4 Identify obvious errors on shelf list. – Call numbers that don’t line up – Items without prices or other empty fields on list Find the items and fix their records and inventory them

Inventory Strategy: Step 5 Inventory remaining items – Cart up a shelf at a time – Scan into your ILS’s inventory feature – Mark off items on the shelf list as you go along – Volunteers are a great resource for this part!

Inventory Strategy: Step 6 Track down items on the shelf list that were not confirmed in your first pass. – Place holds for items that were checked out when made your first sweep – Follow up: mark missing? Damaged?

Inventory Strategy: Step 7 Make a policy for how long to keep records for items that are not confirmed – Missing, damaged, assumed lost, etc. Set a maintenance schedule for your next inventory in that collection – Items with no activity in a certain amount of time

Collection Life Cycle Selection Purchase Processing Shelving Checkout Re-Shelving Repair/Maintenance Weed or Replace Each stop in the circle gives us a chance to check quality and perform inventory checks.

What You’ll Discover Items still attached to patron records Items shelved in the wrong place Items that are broken, dirty, and disgusting! Items attached to the wrong record Holdings for items discarded ages ago Adult items marked juvenile/vice versa

More Discoveries Mislabeled items Inaccurate call numbers Items marked missing Items that are just plain stupid!

Why should we spend time doing this? So that catalog accurately reflects library holdings – Limit customer and staff frustration To create a starting point for evaluation – Library & Librarian performance So that staff gain deeper understanding of ILS and library work flow

Physical Inventory Helps Maintain a Quality Collection Does it circulate or is it used enough? Is it current? Is it relevant? Does it look nice? Does the catalog correctly reflect the status of the item? (checked out, lost/missing, etc) Are collections organized logically?

Physical Inventory Defines Your Collections Geographical – Shelf Location, Department Item type – DVDs, Book on CD, Large Print Home Location (regardless of item type) – Non-Fiction, Fiction, Audio book, Music

Monetary Reasons to Perform a Physical Inventory Provides information for budget decisions – Need to update/overhaul a collection? – Waning format = limit/eliminate funds to a collection Regular inventory controls waste (Read: $$$) – Replacement costs – ILL costs

Intangible Reasons Solid collection information and data shows vigilance with public assets Staff familiarity with collections You look smart, professional, and RELEVANT!

Using Inventory Data SSLDL’s Audio Book Collection Results (1 Day’s Work) – 5 missing items found – 1 item still checked out – 14 items cataloged as wrong format – 2 items not found (Stolen? Lost? Discarded?) – ~50 confirmed status/location Error Rate: 4.4% Reclaimed items: 20 ( ~$65 each = about $1300 value) Lost/stolen/missing:2 (about $130 value) Items confirmed: ~50 (about $3,250)

Using Inventory Data: Creating Collection Objectives Collection Data is Dynamic! Is your collection doing the job it’s supposed to? A general statement of what materials will or will not be included in the collection. They are different for every library and community Can be different for each collection

SSLDL’s Audio Book Collection Objective Popular materials of current interest Since cost is a factor with audio books, titles that have a limited shelf life will be given low priority – Examples: some series fiction, political material addressing current events, travel info, certain types of science or health material that could be outdated quickly

SSLDL’s Audio Book Collection Objective (Continued) Consideration and comparison to statistics in downloadable audios will also be investigated. Other considerations for the collection: – Classic fiction and nonfiction titles that coincide with local school and university curriculum objectives, foreign language instruction for both students and travelers

Using Inventory Data to Create Benchmarks Benchmark: – A standard by which something can be measured or judged Most expensive collections get most attention Non-financial reasons are important and considered! Circulation Goals – Estimation of how many times you estimate this item will be checked out within 2 years of purchase

SSLDL’s Circulation Benchmarks for Audio Book Collection Fiction Titles – checkouts within 1 year of purchase Popular Non-Fiction – Bestsellers, self help, biography, etc. – 8-10 checkouts within a year of purchase Informational Non-Fiction – Language instruction, Shakespeare/Poetry, etc. – 3 checkouts within 1 year of purchase

Other Benchmarks to Set Using Inventory Data Average unit cost of each item in a collection Total cost (worth) of a collection Number of units in a collection Weeding/maintenance schedule

Presented by : Mary Kelly Holly Hibner Presentation available online at