Another topic discussed on October 19 in Franklin, TN was requested by some in our group who do not have automated collections. How to keep track of circulation? If you do not have an automated collection, how do you track circulation?
You need to be a member of Church Librarians Network to add comments!
Replies
We did it the old-fashioned way, with a circulation tray and guides for each of the 31 days in a month. So, if the preschool checked out ten books that were due in two weeks, we put all the cards behind that date. We rotated the guides and had the current date in front. That way we knew when books were due and could renew them. (If the books were returned and the due date had been changed due to renewing the items, we could usually easy figure out where the books might be, either with a calendar or by looking through the tray.) We recorded each day's circulation on a guide that was from the church librarian's handbook and kept them in a notebook. Eventually I converted that into a spreadsheet. It was time-consuming even using the computer and I felt that I could have using the time to do more important tasks, so I was very glad when the library had software to accomplish this. It was almost like adding another member to our staff. If someone asked do I have any books checked out, I had to search through each date guide looking for their name on a card. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Though we have an automated program for cataloging, we are still old school for circulation, using date due slips, cards, and card pockets. For many of our patrons, they keep track of which books they have read by reading their names on the pocket cards, and it is a relatively fail-safe method for our volunteers as well.
Weekly circulation data is recorded in a simple monthly table. The dates are recorded in spaces along the vertical axis. The horizontal axis consists of columns we track and record such as AF, ANF, JF, E, etc. with weekly SubTotals on the far right of the table. Columns of each category are totalled at the bottom of the page which should equal the total of the weekly subtotals.
On an annual basis I create a report for the Education Committee, which has oversight for the Library. For this I create a spreadsheet in Excel using monthly totals only showing circulation numbers by the month. If there is anything of particular interest for the committee, such as an increase in circulation of Easy books along with possible rationale, that information will go into the written report.
Personaly, I enjoy data, especially visual data such as tables and spreadsheets. Then I can search for reasons for changes. Those kinds of things go into the permanent record. My verbal report to the Education Committee is usually tailored to the members present and their interest (or lack thereof) in the report presented.
We use 3 hole binders and forms we designed and print that have the info we want: Today's date, Title (w copy or volume #), Author's last name, Subject (that's how we shelve - not Dewey), Date Returned, Renewal Dates, Notes. We have one binder for Adult Books, for Child/Youth/Teen books, and one for DVDs & CDs. We still use Check Out cards that ask for borrower's name and phone #. Borrowers fill out the checkout card and drop it in a little box. We record the info on the cards in the 3 hole binders, which we call log books, and file the cards (by title) in a narrow box designed for them.
This system has some advantages. We use Post-it flags on the edge of the pages to flag overdues and then call borrowers to see if they want to renew etc. Those phone calls aren't to nag - God has the books where they belong - but they've helped us get to know our borrowers and their needs as well as identify what's been lost or is missing. Because we shelve by subject, we can easily tally up circulation by subject. This lets us see which subjects most popular so we can acquire more. And, we can easily see which subjects are unpopular and weed those.