ORCID
0000-0003-0454-3080
Abstract
In the summer of 2019, Temple University’s main library relocated to a new building, in which most of the 1.3 million-item main stacks collection resides in an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), and a small portion in open stacks. The open stacks, or browsing collection, includes highly circulating items, new books, and materials with a particular need for browsing. Highly-circulating items were identified by dividing the total number of loans by the number of years the library had owned the book. Materials with a particular need for browsing, generally those with significant visual components such as art and music scores, were also selected by formula, though a lower number of loans was required in order for the book to be added to the browsing title list. The Collections Analysis Librarian merged the lists of highly circulating items and highly visual items and presented the preliminary title list to Subject Specialists. These librarians then suggested categories of books that they felt should be browseable, such as maps and language dictionaries. Identifying new books was more complicated than expected, as the list needed to exclude certain categories of purchases, such as replacements or continuations, that did not belong in the open stacks. All items destined for browsing were marked with bright green stickers near the call number, which served as an effective way for the staff who packed the books to separate them from those going to the ASRS.
Tip of the Iceberg, Part 1: Choosing What Shows
In the summer of 2019, Temple University’s main library relocated to a new building, in which most of the 1.3 million-item main stacks collection resides in an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), and a small portion in open stacks. The open stacks, or browsing collection, includes highly circulating items, new books, and materials with a particular need for browsing. Highly-circulating items were identified by dividing the total number of loans by the number of years the library had owned the book. Materials with a particular need for browsing, generally those with significant visual components such as art and music scores, were also selected by formula, though a lower number of loans was required in order for the book to be added to the browsing title list. The Collections Analysis Librarian merged the lists of highly circulating items and highly visual items and presented the preliminary title list to Subject Specialists. These librarians then suggested categories of books that they felt should be browseable, such as maps and language dictionaries. Identifying new books was more complicated than expected, as the list needed to exclude certain categories of purchases, such as replacements or continuations, that did not belong in the open stacks. All items destined for browsing were marked with bright green stickers near the call number, which served as an effective way for the staff who packed the books to separate them from those going to the ASRS.