Hello All,
I was asked to lead a roundtable discussion on patron/data driven acquisitions. in order to prepare, i thought it would be helpful to gather questions and opinions. anyone want to share?
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Very interesting topic and lots of ideas to discuss!There are formulas for collection development. I'm sure someone on this network can tell you about them and the evidence base for them.
I feel the collection should reflect the mission statement of the library, which should reflect the mission statement of the church, which should reflect the needs of the membership and the community in which you serve. So, what data do you have about the needs of your community? Where can you get it? How can you collect it yourself? What data do you have about your current patrons? Who is checking out and what? (Should be easy to figure out.) Would they check out something different if you made it available? (Simple circulation desk survey to find out.) What do you know about nonpatrons? Would they visit the library if you had offered something different? (For example, would the Spanish-speaking congregation visit if you offered materials in Spanish?) How can you find out?
Share simple tools or tips for how to develop and implement data collection tools.
If you're thinking about systematically inviting patrons to request new acquisitions, how do you want them to communicate requests? Do they know/understand your library's mission and what that means in terms of acquisitions? If not, how can you clearly communicate that?
Look forward to reading what others say on this topic.