Ready to play Selector for a day?

Submitted by Molly Moore

Have you ever wondered how books get chosen? Alexa gave a great synopsis in her blog post on how we discover books. Now that you have read her blog post and the Collection Development Policy, let’s take it a step further and get down to the details. Ready to play Selector for a day? 

Start here:

Let’s say you are browsing through a professional journal, you read a standout review and think this title would make a good addition to our library. What do you do next? Decide how many to buy, of course! To determine how many copies we want, we need to ask ourselves several questions and do some digging.

First, let’s look at the author. Is it a real person? What is their credibility or their background? What other titles do we have of this author? Most importantly, what is the circulation data of the author's other works? Is the publisher reputable and fair?

Second, what is the print run? This is the number of copies the vendor is ordering from the publisher which correlates to the perceived demand. High print runs are typically one of the biggest green flags that this may be a title we want to order multiple copies of. 

Next, what kind of awards is this title winning/nominated for? Is it featured in a celebrity book club? What articles and lists contain this title? Is it included in selection lists or catalogs provided by vendors?

What genre/subject is this book? Does it fill a void that we don’t have? Is it an up and coming genre or theme? When placing orders, we want to make sure our collection is well-rounded at each branch. Keeping up with genres and subjects allows us to give the branches what they want and what circulates well per branch while also keeping it diverse and balanced.

Availability: This is a little tricky. Simply put: can this book be readily purchased? How accessible is it? Do multiple vendors carry it? Do they carry it in multiple warehouses? What about format availability (hardcover, paperback, mass market, eBook, eAudiobook, large print?) Are the available formats a limited run? We now are seeing collector’s editions, limited editions, special editions, anniversary editions and deluxe editions of print items. Sometimes the words are used interchangeably by publishers. Which format is the most abundant if replacement copies are needed? Basically, am I going to be able to replace all these books with these gorgeous sprayed edges- they are magical!

Lastly, what kind of publicity is this title receiving? How is it being marketed and who is it being marketed towards? Is the publicity all coming from the publisher in an attempt to sell it or is it drumming up buzz based on its own merit? How are consumers hearing about it and through what channels? If our patrons are hearing about it, they will expect us to have it. 

Now that you’ve evaluated this title, determine how many copies you’re getting and which branches get it. Depending on all of these factors, make your educated decision on an appropriate number of copies. At this step is where you’ll consult your budget. 

We adhere to a strict budget and ordering timeline. Each collection has its own fund, divided by branch (ie- Adult Fiction Cumming, Easy Graphic Novels Post Road.) Once we get our budget for the year, the selectors will take each branch’s fund and divide it up to create a monthly spending goal for every single collection. For instance, my monthly goal is $1,954 per month for Adult Fiction Cumming**. I need to make sure I can afford the books I pick (plus all the books requested by patrons and other staff plus ordering extra when holds get high.)  Simply put, we have to make our dollars stretch. This is why we have to make difficult decisions about the quantity we order. 

 **Did I stick to this goal in July? Absolutely not- July is always a super high spending month . I had so much to catch up on and needed to get fall titles preordered. I’ll have to adjust my spending later in the year to accommodate July’s high spending.

So with that being said, when you have a book you are considering purchasing but you feel confident this may be a lower circulating title, start small. We can buy more later if needed. Is it a patron request from the Suggestion for Purchase form? We cannot afford to buy every title requested, so use the earlier criteria to determine if you should purchase their suggestion or not. If it’s an older or more obscure title, refer that patron to ILL. 

If this title you would like to consider doesn’t have a professional review, there are a few more checkpoints we want to look at. Is it a local author? Does it have local interest? Is it part of a series?  Many times (particularly with graphic novels) only the first in a series will be reviewed. Does the circulation data support buying the next in the series even with no review? Is there a buzz building about it? Sometimes those local interest books get a lot of buzz around town and our patrons will expect them. Lastly, is it self-published? What is the author’s credibility? If there’s no review on a title and we can’t seem to find any supporting evidence that the author is a credible authority, we must tread carefully. See the Selectors’ previous blog post about AI titles. 

With every title (whether a blockbuster or smaller book) we must ask ourselves: Is this something we can justify spending taxpayer money on? We have to be good stewards of the resources we’ve been given and should feel confident with every purchase we make.