[Publib] Friday musings

[Lise Chlebanowski]

It truly is amazing! Up until a few years ago, we were considered rural, farmland. So I was very surprised to discover that we were "not" circulating not one but TWO copies of "The City Parent Handbook" the complete guide to he ups and downs and ins and outs of raising young kids in the city. Sometimes we selectors are the culprits! (the book was purchased prior to my reign, thank goodness!)

Lisë Chlebanowski
Library Manager
Avondale Old Town Library
328 West Western Ave.
Avondale, AZ  85323
623-333-2611 d
623-333-0260 f
e-mail: lchlebanowski at avondale.org
website: www.avondale.org/library
 
Now Reading: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
Now Listening: 19 Minutes by Jody Picoult
 

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of John
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 12:11 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Friday musings

Nothing profound here, but...we have been weeding a LOT, shifting
collections, et al.  I like doing this kind of thing because the results
can be so tangible.  But as I sift through time-worn volumes of this and
that, I've been wondering...what sorts of things have people purchased,
thinking that they had made wise collection development choices--and
then discovered that no one read/viewed those products of your/our/their
wisdom?  For instance:

My library district is large and mostly blue-collar.  Lots of people are
NASCAR kinds of folks--used to have a next-door neighbor in Bartonville
who built cars and raced them.  So I've bought NASCAR kinds of books and
videos/DVDs.  And they don't circulate.

For several years, a gazillion books have been published about knitting,
or teens knitting, or mothers and daughters knitting, or some
combination of the above.  I've bought knitting books.  Apparently no
one here has heard about publishing and/or national trends of some kind.
And our winters are cold enough for people to wear knitted clothing.
Knitting does not sell.  (Quilting, however, is an entirely different
story.)

Similarly, I heard or read that tie-dyeing and/or batik were back "in."
My son had a tee shirt from his school that was tie-dyed.  I bought some
new, not-your-1970s tie-dying and batik books.  And there they sit,
unused.

I like British authors, mysteries, and all that.  At various times, I
have experimented with different standing orders from vendors.  One
quarter, I tried the "Clipper" series from Recorded Books.  That was
when I was in East TX, which is rahhther Southern.  Well.  One might've
thought I'd started the Civil War all over (actually, down there it's
NOT over), and I was a Yankee to begin with, so--we dropped "Clipper"
and returned to red-blooded, all-American authors.  English authors
don't go over especially well here, either.

Right along our boundaries is the city of Peoria, which is a BASKETBALL
city.  Bradley U. plays BASKETBALL.  Rah!  Rah!  People from all around
attend basketball games in Peoria.  But books on basketball collect dust
on our shelves.  Weird.  Even though Bartonville and surrounding
villages make sure one knows that they are NOT Peoria--thank you very
much--still, people from everywhere go to Peoria for b-ball games.  Our
basketball books languish.

So, I wonder what other people have been surprised by, in attempting to
provide EXCELLENT! CUSTOMER!! SERVICE!!! by building The Best Collection
in the World.  (Once again: rah!  rah!)

John D. Richmond, Director
Alpha Park Public Library District
3527 So. Airport Road
Bartonville, IL 61607
Ph: (309) 697-3822, ext. 12
Fax: (309) 697-9681
E-mail: jrichmond at alphapark.org
_________________________________________________
"To do two things at once is to do neither." -- Publilius Syrus, 1st
century B.C.  


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