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.