Give Them What They Want: Reader Focused Collection Development

Almost exactly a year ago I moderated a live event for Booklist and NoveList at the Chicago Public Library [click here for those details and slides or go here to see the recording]. Before we went live, Karen Toonen [from Naperville Public Library, also on ARRT SC and a panelist that day] and Stephen Sposato [see below] and I were chatting about ideas for the 2018 slate of ARRT programs. I threw out the idea of building a program off of CPL’s success with Patron Driven Acquisitions and between the three of us we brainstormed an awesome idea for a program.

Flash forward to today and I can finally announce that program. Karen and I are organizing it [along with ARRT SC members Mike and Nicole; click here to see the full list of all SC members] and we have recruited Stephen to be on the panel. We are also very thankful for the Chicago Public Library and specifically the Archer Heights branch for allowing us to use their space for free.

All of this volunteer effort means we can offer you an amazing program [with snacks!] for only $25 or $15 if you are already an ARRT member.

You can find all of the details below including the link to register [you can prepay with credit card, send a check, or pay at the door, whatever is easiest for your library or you if you have to pay for yourself]. As one of the organizers, I have also added a bit more detail on the content of each panelist’s talk in order to give you even more reason to attend.

Click here to register right now!

Readers are flocking to library’s leisure collections. To make smart collection choices, we must look further than circulation statistics and learn what our entire community desires. Our presenters are using methods suitable at libraries of any size to incorporate patron wishes into collection development, making readers integral to the whole process. From complex patron-driven acquisitions plans at large library systems, to bite-size surveys at the smallest libraries, to prioritizing patron requests, to canny materials displays, all of these librarians are finding innovative ways to put what readers want front and center, and to ferret out even the hardest-to-discover reading desires.

Join us Tuesday, September 25, 2:00- 4:00 PM, at the Archer Heights branch of the Chicago Public Library, for “Give Them What They Want: Reader-Focused Collection Development.”
Presenters: 

• Robin Bradford, Collection Development Librarian, Timberland Regional Library (WA)

• Stephen Sposato, Content Curation Manager, Chicago Public Library

• Nicole Steeves, Director, Fox River Grove Memorial Library

• Rebecca Bartlett, Collection Services Manager, La Grange Public Library

$15 for ARRT members, $20 for non-members 

Register here 

Since I am one of the organizers of this event, I can give you a little more detail on exactly what each speaker will be focusing on.

Robin, will be appearing virtually and she will set the stage by explaining the philosophy behind reader driven collection development and give concrete examples of how she puts this phliophy into action across a region.

Stephen and Nicole are going to present together about the very specific process of instituting Patron Driven Acquisitions [PDA] through your catalog, but the interesting thing here is that Stephen implemented PDA at Chicago Public while Nicole does it at a small more rural library. They are going to show us all how size doesn’t matter when you put the patron first.

And then Rebecca will round out the program with information about the La Grange Public Library’s Lucky Day program. While many libraries have a program similar to theirs, very few crunch the data and cross reference it with strategic plan goals as closely. Also, the Lucky Day program at LGPL puts all formats and age levels of lucky day materials together, right as you enter the library. Also a unique decision. Rebecca will give both the nitty gritty details of how to craft a “Luck Day” collection and why how you display that collection matters. [Hint LGPL uses it to make the library more welcoming to all. Seriously how many libraries have you been to where James Patterson's and Jason Reynolds’ latest books are the first thing you see...on the same shelf...next to each other!]

If you cannot join us, all of the slides and handouts will be available on the ARRT Programs page [go there to see past programs’ slides and handouts] and many of us will be Live Tweeting the event.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer this event virtually. There are many reasons but the biggest one is that ARRT is powered 100% by volunteers. We have no paid Executive Director. Our individual employers are already very gracious about giving us each time to fulfill our ARRT duties including time off to help plan and  stage events. We put on 3-4 programs a year [this year the 4th is at the ILA Annual Conference], an every other year, all day RA conference, 4 Book Club Study meetings, and 6 Genre Study meetings each year. In 2018 will also have a presence at 2 local library conferences. We really want to offer our programs virtually, but we have decided that we are not willing to sacrifice the high level of our in person programming to provide virtual too.

But, I am already exploring how I can get this program or something similar presented in other locations in the coming year. That’s the ideal situation; helping other regional RA groups to offer programming to their area with advice from their local practitioners. It is not only cheaper, but it is also going to be able to be offered more often and the information will be tied to the needs of that area. But that is something I am taking on, not ARRT.

As always, if you stay tuned to the blog you will know about it as soon as there is something to announce.