Wanderings…

Today there was a post on LM_NET from a librarian who lost most of her book budget due to a budget freeze in her district.

Over the years, I have learned how to protect my budget when finances are tight.  My best tips? 

Order virtually all your books from a book jobber such as Baker & Taylor and Follett.

Encumber those funds right away.

How does this help?

It allows me to create a “do not exceed” order that I can submit at my “leisure” because the money has already been encumbered. This means the business office has already set aside the funds, considering that money as already spent.

Here are the steps I follow:

First, I fill out budget requisition forms for book orders to Baker & Taylor (my favorite book jobber).

I typically prepare 3 of this kind of order.  One says: “replacements and updates for outdated books”. The second requisition says: “Non-fiction books to support the curriculum”,  and the third says: “Literature and fiction to support English/Language Arts and Reading”.

Assuming a book budget of $4500, on each of these requisitions I write the following:

Books Not To Exceed $1500

Note to business office: Please do NOT mail in this requisition. Instead, give me the Purchase Order number and I will submit the order electronically.

The requisitions are then sent to the business office in June, along with any other orders we have for supplies or contractual services.

When I receive the PO information in September, I start building my orders at my own pace, submitting the order via the book jobber’s website when I am ready.  Usually the non-fiction orders are sent in October or Nov.,  and the fiction order goes out in February.

By doing this,  I don’t lose my money if there is a budget freeze.  AND – I don’t have to scramble to order everything at once just in case there might be a freeze.

There are SOME things that must be ordered directly from the publisher rather than a jobber – so I do keep a certain amount set aside for those needs. If there is a budget freeze – that is the ONLY money that is vulnerable.

Libraries are restful.  Libraries are lively.  Libraries are personal.  Libraries are social. Libraries are safe-havens.  Libraries are a force for fun and farce.

This year’s running joke…… We put a bottle of unscented hand sanitizer on the circ desk.  Before we knew it – an unknown student adorned it with a note – “BORING scented.”  As soon as Kathy (my assistant) saw the note, she made a sticker for the bottle that said “Scratch and Sniff”.   Then we sat back and watched.   Amazing the number of students who came up and did exactly that.  Various reactions:

• puzzled looks
• shrugs
• “But …. it doesn’t smell’! (Well, says I, it’s UNSCENTED!)
• Sheepish looks when they realize they’ve fallen for a joke – followed by loud laughter
• “I can’t BELIEVE I actually fell for that.”
• “You guys are crazy.”

The other day I came in and discovered that the joke goes on.  Someone had attached a nicely lettered sign saying :

“Smell it – You know you want to!”

On a different playful note …..

Today’s morning announcement:

Drop off your questions for the advice column in the question box in the library – right next to Mr Potato Head.

I am not entirely sure if they are referring to Darth Tater who sits ON the desk…..

Or me who sits BEHIND the desk!

MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU!

And here is another educator having fun at Darth Tater’s expense.  Darth Tater Puns.

More questions from my favorite mentoree arrived today.  So ….. Prepare for another tsunami of text   Glad to see that there are 2 folks out there finding it useful.  Thanks for your comments Dana & Priscilla.  Here goes….

“So you don’t use any other vendors?  Should I stick with the orders I’ve created with the vendors or abandon it for something more favorable?”

I use a number of vendors for reference orders – Gale, ABC-Clio, Salem Press are probably the main ones.  It is for the general circulating books that I stick with B&T.  If I had a ton of money – I MIGHT order from other vendors.  I just find it more efficient and a better use of my money to send just a few big orders  to B&T.  They sell from almost every publisher you would want.  If you are happy with the orders you have already set up – go for it.  If they don’t provide full processing though – I’d reconsider.  More on that later.

“Do you ever preview books?  I’ve gotten a lot of calls about that and I keep telling them no.  As far as I can tell there’s no reason to preview books because you have to go through all the trouble of sending them back if you don’t want them (even though it’s free to return).  It’s just a hassle I don’t want to deal with.”

I think previewing books is  a waste of time.  It’s a hassle to send them back.  Also – I would rather depend on reviews rather than looking through the books  quickly, since I would not have time to actually read and evaluate them.  Also – from what I hear, these books tend to be ones that did not sell well and so the publishers have sold them to preview vendors at a discount.  Many are out of date.  I always stop the vendor right when they first introduce themselves and ask if the books are for preview.  I let them know that I just do not preview books.  Bottom line though – the most important reason I don’t preview books is because of the temptation to keep them.  My tiny  budget could be gone in no time if I were to do that.  I prefer my card system where I can compare ALL possible books and pick the “best of the best”.  Previewing would mess that up.

“Library Media Connection.  How much is that subscription? “

I am not sure.  You could check with EBSCO or some other periodical jobber.  Is that how your current magazines were ordered – through a jobber (subscription service) where you can order all the titles from one place?  They give decent discounts and it is much more convenient than ordering subscriptions individually.  EBSCO probably has a website.  Make sure it is the subscription service – not the database division.

“Do you think I should spend less money on non-fiction titles?  Our non-fiction section is terrible.  The books are SO old.  I was going to focus on getting non-fiction resources and biographies since we have a biography project for 6th grade and some of the other projects this year have depended on biographies.  I’ve spend about $600 in fiction so far this year because of my Scholastic dollars.  I think I have about $250 left there and I have another book fair coming up in the spring.”

I think you have to look at your collection and decide what’s most in need.  I DO see reference going the way of the dinosaur and going to completely on-line.  I think circulating non-fiction aimed at research will not be far behind.  But some students still prefer usinig books.  It is a hard decision.    But if you see a need right now for non-fiction – then use more for non-fiction.  Once you have a year or 2 under your belt, you will come to know the projects that need the most support.  Also,  you will have a better handle on what your students’ needs are.  And the book fair should definitely help.  Wish scholastic did one for high school.

“Is trade a paperback or hardcover?  I do have a system in place to make my paperbacks last longer.  I tape them with Gaylord tape (we did that at the public library).  The tape is rather pricey but I know for a fact the books last a long long time.  Where do you send the books to be rebound?  I do know how to do some book repair and I’m starting to teach it to the aide so hopefully I can prevent books from totally falling apart.  The biggest commitment there is the time not the money (at least not after the initial investment).”

A trade edition is hardcover.  A library edition is also hardcover – but has a significantly more durable cover and heavier stitching.    Great for the hard use of elementary students.  Not so needed at high school.  Middle school?  Maybe, maybe not….

I can always give you the name of our bindery.  I can’t remember it and I am at home at the moment.  It is in Syracuse.  It’s pretty easy to ship them off and get the job done.  We don’t do any book repair here other than taping here and there.  We’d rather spend the time teaching and working with the kids.  They are what make our job so much fun.

“I know Follett has TitlleWave and has some nice features for suggesting books to buy.  Have you ever used it?  Do you think you could use one against the other?  Follett for ideas B&T for ordering?  Or is it exclusive? (i.e. must order from Follett).”

I am sure you could use TitleWave to get ideas and then go to B&T  for ordering.  Follett would probably not be happy to hear me say that

“What does it mean to have books come fully processed?  How much of the work do they do for you?”

The book jobber or vendor does virtually everything.  You set up specs with them to follow the processing pattern in your library.  When you set up the specs – that is the time to consider changes.  For instance, I recently changed our pattern for fiction from F and the author letters, to FIC and the author letters.  I have no intention of “fixing” all the books already on the shelf with F – but at least the catalog says FIC,  which the kids find easier to understand.  I also changed B for biography to BIO for the same reason.  Anyway – once your call number specs are set up – they always process your books according to your requirements.  So – mine come with the dust covers covered with a plastic cover and taped to the book.  They have a pocket pasted in the back (can be in the front if you set up your specs that way) a barcode on the book and a spine label.  Ours also come with a security strip because we have a security system. I have paperbacks set up to be covered with a very heavy duty plastic cover.

So – when the order arrives, we unpack the books, make sure they have sent the books we ordered, stamp them with our address stamp, download the marc records into the catalog from the B&T page and shelve the books.  That’s it.  No covering, typing spine labels, pasting book pockets etc.  Saves us HOURS.  I order mine with ONE catalog card.   I do that so I can see the assigned  subjects at a glance.  I write in the subjects on the card, and then give  the card to my assistant.  From there,  she can add the subjects into the catalog.   Sometimes I change the dewey number and she makes that change in the catalog as well.  In that case – she has to redo the spine label and tape it.  Still – we can get an order on the shelves in a day or so at the most.

Whew!!  That’s all for now folks!!

I have decided to add a new category – mentoring – to my blog.  I have been mentoring new librarians for the past 4 or 5 years, and I really enjoy it.  Most of  what I file here will be procedural kinds of materials.

In other words – RUN.  A lot of wordy explanation is following.  One of these days I hope to get back to “normal” blogging again!!

Today I received this request from a new librarian I am mentoring:

Jacquie,

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I need to order books and spend my money. I have orders waiting to be placed but I’m rather hesitant as I still don’t know what projects I might need to order for.

So I’m curious about your process. How do you decide what to order? Who do you order from? And what is your general collection development policy?

Many beginning librarians are at sea about book ordering.  Here is the gospel according the Henry.  Take it for what it is worth…..

First off…. I would concentrate on just doing the best you can for your first year given the information you have.  If you are not sure about non-fiction books – you could spend the year concentrating mostly on fiction and leisure reading books to encourage more reading for fun.

With that said…. Here is the process I follow.

1.  I read tons of book reviews.  I subscribe to Booklist; School Library Journal and Library Media Connection.  As I read them, I write what subject area I think they will be useful for on the top of the review.  If there is a title that I am absolutely sure I want to order no matter what, I put a double check mark on it as well.  Everything else gets a single check mark.

2.  I cut up the book reviews and paste them onto 3×5 cards.  That is the part that makes other librarians cringe.  The reviews are in the back of SLJ and LMC, so I can cut them out and still retain the rest of the magazine.  Booklist is nothing but reviews – so I just toss those when the reviews are all clipped out.

3.  I sort the cards into a large shoe box. I have sections for all the subject areas. Fiction goes under English.

4.  I generally order 3 times per year.  I leave several orders in June which are sent out in July for the new fiscal year.  Those orders are for reference sets – encyclopedias and subject reference books/sets.  It also included my 5 subscriptions to Junior Library Guild.  JLG books are mostly fiction books.  I get 5 books per month.  It costs around $800 per year and keeps new fiction coming in on a regular basis.  I use about a third of my book budget for these kinds of materials.  I am cutting back on reference as more things get onto databases.

The next order goes out in the Fall and is for non-fiction additions and also replacements or updates based on the books I weeded in June.  I generally spend another third of my budget on this non-fiction order.

That leaves the last third for fiction. I order fiction the first of Feb after the AASL comes out with their final list of  Best Books for Young Adults.

Note:  Every year, I spend less money on non-fiction.  I will probably cut back by $1000 next year and spend it on databases and/or more  fiction and leisure reading kinds of materials instead.

5.  When I am ready to get an order together, I go through the cards and prioritize them  into first choice and second choice.  I then go to Baker & Taylor’s website and start building an order.   If I have $1500 to spend on non-fiction – I set up an order that says “Do Not Exceed” $1500.  I figure that the average non-fiction book, given the discount that B&T provides, will cost about $25.  B&T recommends ordering about a third more books than you have money for so they can fill the “Do not exceed” order completely.  So – for a non-fiction order of $1500 with an average price of $25 per book, I should aim for 60 books, plus an extra 20 titles just in case some of those books are out of stock etc.  $15 per book seems to work well for fiction orders.

6.  Why Baker & Taylor (or any other book jobber such as Follett and Macklin or Ingraham) rather than individual publishers?  Because they can find virtually any book that I want.  By having one large order instead of multiple orders, I am able to look over all my book reviews and order the best of the best.  If I ordered in little bits and pieces, I just don’t feel that I would be getting the “cream of the crop” so to speak.  I prefer B&T, even though their web ordering page is terrible because of their discount.  They provide a 30-40% discount for trade bindings, and less of a discount for paperbacks and library bindings.  Most librarians use Follett, because of their great web site and service.    However, Follett generally only provides library binidings which cost way more and are discounted less.  Buying trade bindings lets me stretch my budget.  If the book is wildly popular and falls apart after a year, I send it out to be rebound.  Costs basically $6 per book.  In the long run – most trade bindings hold up just fine.  I have always been pleased with Baker & Taylor’s service.  Their website definitely is clunky and takes getting used to.

7.  I always make sure that I order the books fully processed.  Again – another nice feature of book jobbers.  You have your specs on file and they process
the books with covers, spine labels, book pockets, barcodes – whatever you need, including marc records to download.  NEVER order unprocessed books unless there is no other choice.   You and your assistant are just too busy to waste your time with this.  Don’t even look at what it costs.  It is a bargain – pretty much no matter what they charge.