I've been meaning to do this post ever
since last week when the
Collection = Connection blog put up
“
Dysfunctional & Codependent” OK, I note that one of
the tags is humor. Is this meant to be straight parody, or 'laugh to
keep from crying'?, because as a humor piece I don't find it that
funny. This is not 'how dare you make such levity about the serious
business of our profession'/boxers in a bunch kind of not-funny,
rather it's the
it's not funny
kind of not-funny. As a commentary on the state of print collection
policies, the piece is hardly more than an unorganized group of rants
about the problems of having a collection of books. Size, shape,
durability are thrown together with frustrating publisher behavior,
donations and books in foreign languages. In an effort to clarify
without trying to be funny, let me address these issue in some
semblance of order.
Firstly, the post
mentions physical problems of a book collection. Yes, books do not
come in one standard size. This has been true since the invention of
the printing press, and up until now, I've never heard a librarian
seriously discuss this fact as though it were a problem. Maybe I
still haven't. In our library we have most of the books in a robotic
storage and retrieval system, where the storage bins are designed to
accommodate the height of the book. The really large ones, which used
to be on specially-spaced shelves in the Oversize collection, get
their own bins where they lay flat. This is actually much better for
the books, as in this position their spines are not stressed by the
book's own weight. In libraries that do not utilize such storage
systems, there are adjustable height shelves to make room for books
of unusually large size.
Wear and tear on
books will happen, as the book gets used. This is only to be
expected. A collection development policy should address the need to
identify and replace worn books. It is possible to look at wear on a
book as a positive sign, as it most often means that the book is
coming off the shelf and being read. That's why we collect them, for
them to be used. This is not a problem, it's the plan.
Secondly, the post
addresses what I'll call librarian attitude problems. The question of
what to do with things that people donate to the library is a common
one, common enough that it has been effectively answered. Any library
that does not have a policy in place to address donations deserves to
be buried under piles of out-of-date textbooks and old Harlequin
romance novels. At my library, I'm the donations evaluator. We'll
agree to take just about anything, but once the donor signs the form
it's ours and we can do anything we choose with the books. This is
made clear to the donor on the form. The policy gives me a lot of
discretion in deciding the fate of donations. Do we have it already?
If we don't need another copy, it goes to the book sale. Out of date
material? Book Sale! In poor condition? Trash can or Book Sale!
Book on a subject that has no relation to our academic programs? You
get the idea.
Yes, I know, librarians are
stereotypically afraid of weeding. In an age of tight budgets and
crowded shelves, however, weeding is a very practical matter. I
happen to like weeding. If it helps, think of it in terms of the
overall health of a collection, as if it were a fruit tree. A healthy
collection is one that meets the needs of its user group, whether
public or student or professional. Weeding prunes the tree, allowing
it to grow in a healthy way. Our browsing shelves are no place for
irrelevant, dated books. We do not
serve our students by giving them what they want, or what we
want, but what they need.
Thirdly,
the post talks about issues with publishers. First, the easy one. So
you have books in your collection that are not in English? Find out
if any of your user group reads that language (French majors,
anyone?) and if they do, then the books make sense. If they don't see
the bit above about weeding. Simple.
Next,
books go out of print. Book publishing is a business, and we just
have to accept the fact that publishers will do what is in their best
interest. I see books at Amazon and Books in Print all the time that
are noted as “out of print” but are still available. I don't
really understand the point of including this issue in the post.
On
the subject of changing editions, may I please suggest that you check
a little more carefully before deciding to buy the new 'edition'. As
I suspect this refers to the publishers of textbooks, you could also
take our approach. We don't buy textbooks. Period. If you're talking
$700 books, likely it is a reference work like a specialized
encyclopedia. With print reference taking such a drubbing from the
e-book editions, I don't see many print works being revised that
often, especially not at full price. Our e-book reference works get
updated, but we only pay for the updates, not the whole work.
In
conclusion, while this post does speak to some real issues of print
collection management, it is done in such a disorganized way and in
such a whiny tone that any serious points are obscured by the
presentation. From the opening paragraph it seems like the post I
going to be about librarians' relationship to the books in their
collections, but the post rapidly wanders off from this. The post
opening is too harsh to be funny, and the post does not support the
assertion well enough to be serious. I hope ALCTS can do better than
this.
