To make our library collection relevant to our public, we need to have many of the book titles that people see when they are out and about our area. In the western suburbs of Chicago, one of the places people go is the Morton Arboretum, which has an attractive collection of books on nature, wildlife, gardening, and landscaping in its gift shop. While I am there, I snap photos of the book displays with my camera (which I always take to the arboretum). With digital photography, I am able to record quickly what is being promoted and then check our collection when I return to the library. It costs nearly nothing other than my time, which is minimal. You could do this with your cellphone, too.
Back at the library I found that we had all of these books in our collection, except
The Mountain Bike Trail Guide. Because this third edition is already nearly five years old, I will wait to buy a probable fourth edition in the future. (Click this photo for a closer look.)
Hardly anyone in our area owns this book. Because it looks good, I ordered it.
How did I miss this one? Only a few libraries have it so far. I ordered it this morning.
I also took photos in the gift shop at the Chicago Botanic Garden this weekend. I ordered three books from those photos.
Look for more ricklibrarian's helpful hints in the future.
1 comment:
Rick, I love it when you post things about adding to or weeding your collection. I'm definitely going to use this tip, and I look forward to seeing more of them! One online course on collection management does not really teach you everything you need to know (it may not be possible to learn everything you need to know, but you can learn more). Thanks!
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