The Art of Selection and Holds Maintenance

Submitted by Meredith Causey

We are fortunate to have the support of our community and County Commissioners. Most of our funding (89%) comes directly from Forsyth County. 

Currently, we spend roughly half of our annual Materials budget to purchase physical library materials and half to purchase electronic library materials. Half of the electronic materials budget pays for our databases and the other half pays for Libby content. A tiny portion of the budget pays for shipping, vendor processing, and our microfilm reels of the Forsyth County News.

Selecting materials for our collections is more like painting in watercolor. There are many decisions and fluid factors to consider. First, we follow our Collection Development Policy. Second, we consider factors such as, but not limited to, availability to purchase a title, price, professional reviews, space at the branches, and other historical data, such as is this a popular, well-known author? Kim, Alexa, and Molly also receive about 150 patron requests via the online Suggest an Item for Purchase form every month to consider.

We run a report at least once a week that tells us each title in the library that has at least one hold, how many copies we own, and how many holds are on the title. We have a report for both physical and digital items. Selectors will determine whether to buy additional copies based on this information. We also get reports if eBooks and eAudiobooks expire and we can view past usage to determine if the item was popular enough to warrant purchasing additional copies.

When it comes to eBooks and eAudio books, budget plays a more prominent role in determining how many copies to purchase. Libraries are charged much more than a person buying a digital title for themselves. Public libraries are also subject to different digital licensing restrictions from publishers that determine how long a library has a specific title in its collection. Some titles remain forever. Some titles expire and are no longer available for checkout based on a specific set of time or after so many checkouts, unless you re-purchase a new loan agreement. Some titles expire because the publisher or author no longer wants to offer the titles for purchase.

While you might personally buy an eBook for $9.99 on your Kindle or an eAudiobook for $14.95 on Audible, public libraries are charged on average $60.00 for an eBook and $80.00 for an eAudio book. And this is for one single copy that only one single person can use at one time! Typically these items will have to be re-purchased for another $60.00/$80.00 (or more, thanks inflation!) after 26 checkouts, or 12 months, or 24 months, for example. So if we have 40 patrons waiting on one “copy” of an eBook, our report will notify us and the selector will determine if the budget allows for ordering any additional “copies” or licenses to reduce the wait time.