Category Archives: Collection Development

Reinventing the library wheel

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

At my library we are currently giving every one of the 270,000+ items a new RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag. Everyone from every level is expected to put in some time tagging, because we rented the machines to program the … Continue reading →

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So Quiet You Don’t Know They’re There

Posted on February 7, 2013 by

Chances are, there’s a group in your library that keeps such a low profile, you hardly even notice them. When their work is executed perfectly, they become invisible. And that means they don’t get nearly enough love from their colleagues! … Continue reading →

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The wrong cover

Posted on June 25, 2012 by

Fair warning: This contains spoilers for Summer of the Gypsy Moths One of the best things about being a book reviewer a decade ago was that the books came to you with generic covers. The title would be on there, … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's books, Collection Development, Reviewing, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

All awards are not equal

Posted on June 4, 2012 by

I worry sometimes about the proliferation of book awards, particularly the ones that enable a publisher to slap a shiny seal on the front of a book. There are the longstanding, very meaningful awards like the Newbery and the Caldecott. … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's book awards, Children's books, Collection Development, Parents, Public libraries, Reviewing | 5 Comments

Why have libraries? part 2

Posted on September 28, 2010 by

I’ve posted before about how much I love weeding. It’s extremely satisfying to pull outdated books off of the shelf. You can congratulate yourself on getting old, yucky material off of the shelves, and you can go work on finding … Continue reading →

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Why have libraries?

Posted on September 17, 2010 by

Okay, I’ll admit it…I am a little annoyed. My library is in the process of working on strategic planning, so we have a consultant for that, and we also are working with an architect.  These are both good guys, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's books, Collection Development, Management, Public libraries | 4 Comments

Fare thee well, SATA!

Posted on October 14, 2008 by

I love Something About the Author.  I love all those pretty blue volumes sitting on the shelf.  I love learning about the authors, who are some of my very favorite people.  I love having the perfect resource when a student … Continue reading →

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Help! Mom! There are Liberals Under My Bed!

Posted on September 1, 2007 by

Sometimes you just have to hold your nose and purchase something putrid. If you as a librarian live by the oft-quoted phrase “A good library should have something to offend everyone,” then sometimes you have to buy things that you … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's books, Collection Development, Public libraries, Reviewing | 1 Comment

It’s time for weeding!

Posted on August 10, 2007 by

I have hit upon a great metaphor for weeding a collection–the parallels are amazing. Are you ready? It’s….like weeding your garden! Okay, that wasn’t exactly my idea, but it did hit me full force today as I was doing battle … Continue reading →

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