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Behind the Scenes at Poudre Libraries – Selecting Materials

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Florence Field in Library Blog, News

Have you ever wondered how the Poudre River Public Library selects books and other materials for purchase?  How do the librarians know what the public wants or needs?  How do they keep the collection up-to-date and relevant to current interests of the community?  Clearly, the collection, which includes not only books but periodicals, reference materials, electronic databases, DVDs and audio books, among many other items, is the foundation of any public library.  What role do the librarians play in all this?

We see librarians out front answering questions and being helpful in finding materials we need, but much of the work of maintaining a good collection goes on behind the scenes.

Carts galore in the new office

Librarians are faced with making choices for their library collection out of an almost unlimited number of items.  How do they do it?  Tova Aragon, Collections Manager for Poudre River Public Library District, says, “Our job is to anticipate demand, add depth to the collection by reading reviews in professional journals and responding to suggestions from patrons.”

Aragon has two full-time staff to help with the selection process:  Marian Sawyer, who is in charge of Children’s Collection Development, and Becky Sheller, who is responsible for Adult Collection Development.  In addition, other librarians on the staff, with specialized interests, select books in their area of expertise on a part-time basis. These areas include: Spanish, Juvenile and Adult books and movies, Teen materials, Business/job materials, Romance paperbacks and Music CDs.

Selection of Library Materials

Basically, librarians follow three basic steps in choosing materials for the library collection:

  • Anticipate demand:  if we take books as an example, the goal is to have a particular book on order by the time it is reviewed in the New York Times or an author is interviewed on TV.  The librarian gets pre-publication alerts from professional journals like Publishers Weekly or the Library Journal and from the library’s vendors.
  • Read professional reviews:  All librarians involved in the selection process rely on reviews from professional journals.  Forty percent of Adult fiction is selected based on reviews; 65-70% of Children’s books is review-based.  Teen and Business selection is also driven by reviews. The librarians believe this adds depth and flavor to the collection.
  • Suggestions from patrons:  The Library receives about 70 to 80 suggestions from patrons each week.  Each suggestion is reviewed and forwarded to the appropriate librarian selector, who then decides whether or not to purchase, based on the collection development policy and collection needs. On average, 60% of suggestions from patrons are selected.

Aragon emphasized that librarians do not rigidly follow these steps in selecting library items.  The selection process relies not only on professional reviews and knowledge about a variety of other resources but also on the librarian’s own judgment, based on her/his professional training, breadth of personal familiarity with books and other materials and an awareness of the diverse needs and interests of the community.

Next post will be about how the collection is managed and maintained…

Happy Reading!

behind the scenes, literacy, material collection Read More

Summer Rain Goes Bad…

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charlotte Lakamp in History, Library Blog, Local Happenings

While many of us may have forgotten what rain looks like this summer, historically Fort Collins and the surrounding areas have had several major floods that devastated the landscape.

Most of us can still recall the flood in July of 1997. After several days of rain beginning on July 27, Spring Creek exceeded its banks in the evening of July 28 causing a train to derail. CSU had almost 500,000 books damaged. Five women lost their lives in the flood. It is still amazing to look at the high water signs on the Spring Creek bike path!

http://www.assessment.ucar.edu/flood/flood_summaries/07_28_1997.html

http://www.assessment.ucar.edu/flood/flood_summaries/07_28_1997.html

A little further back, on July 31, 1976 a massive thunderstorm created a devastating flash flood now known as the Big Thompson Flood. The picture below, found in the libraries History Connection archives, depicts the aftermath of the 1976 flood. 144 people died. The Big Thompson River has had several other flash floods, though less damaging than in 1976. In both 1965 and 1999 individuals were evacuated when the Big Thompson River began to overflow its banks.

http://history.fcgov.com/u?/ph,35328

http://history.fcgov.com/u?/ph,35328

There was also a destructive and shocking flood in 1904. A flash flood that was described as being 14 feet high came through Poudre Canyon. 150 houses and 15 bridges were destroyed. The Chambers Lake Dam was also damaged in flood, adding to the overwhelming destruction.

The City of Fort Collins has done improvements both with infrastructure and a flood warning system. But, it is considered just a matter of time before another large storm creates the possible conditions for another flood to threaten our area. Time to buy a raft?

 

*To learn more about the 1976 Big Thomson flood view the Fort Collins Coloradoan’s presentation.

References

http://www.coloradoan.com/news/thompson/

http://www.assessment.ucar.edu/flood/flood_summaries/07_28_1997.html

http://lh-www.fcgov.com/u?/lc,500

http://www.coloradoan.com/news/coloradoanpublishing/springcreekflood/cant_it_7-23-07.htm

 

 

Read More

Love Music? Here’s How to Make the Most of Your Library

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Molly McCowan in Library Blog, News

Is it hard for you to go anywhere without headphones? Are you always on the lookout for the next great band? Do you save money to go to concerts, and keep close tabs on upcoming shows? The library can be a wonderful resource for music—and it’s not just on CDs anymore.

The Poudre River Public Library District offers three main portals for finding new music. Some of the services are streaming-only (meaning that users are not able to download the songs to their computer), while others allow users to download actual songs that they can keep.

All of these services require your name and library card number, and will not accept temporary library cards. Have your card handy to sign in, and start finding new music that you’ll love!

Freegal Music

Freegal has one of the largest downloadable music collections available, with access to more than 100 genres of music in the Sony catalog, including pop, rock, funk, jazz, R&B, soul, and more. With Freegal, users can download up to five songs per week and keep them. The downloads are in MP3 format, and will work on both PCs and Macs and well as mobile devices using the app. Users can browse through the entire catalog by artist or genre, or click the “Top 10” list to see what’s trending now.

Click here to browse the Freegal catalog.

 

Music Online

Alexander Street Press offers hundreds of thousands of songs available for streaming. Genres include classical, jazz, world, American roots, and more. This service is streaming-only, which means that users cannot actually download and keep the songs they hear, but are able to play songs in full and enjoy them in a streaming format on a computer or mobile device.

Music Online is a wonderful resource for music students, teachers, and musicians, as it offers: highly organized databases of over 25,000 distinct classical works; hundreds of studies on music theory, music history, and more; and the ability to search by instrument categories.

Click here to take a look at what Music Online offers.

 

OverDrive

OverDrive is a fantastic resource for all types of downloadable media, including audiobooks, eBooks, videos, and music. You can play the downloaded files on your computer or transfer your files to a portable device.

OverDrive offers music in many genres, including classical, orchestral, blues, and pop & rock.

In order to download music files, you will need to install the OverDrive Media Console (OMC). OMC is available for most popular devices, including eReaders, iPads, PC and Mac computers, and many smartphones.

Click here to browse OverDrive’s downloadable music section.

Interested in learning more about all of the library’s downloadable materials, including eBooks, audiobooks, and music? Visit this page for more information.

apps, music, technology Read More
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Poudre River Public Library District, 301 Olive Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524, (970) 221-6740
Including the collection of Front Range Community College, Larimer Campus