This presentation analyzes a public library's children's collection and collection management policy. It also discusses how to maintain the quality of the collection when faced with a 15% budget cut.

1. Manhattan Public Library:
Analyzing and trimming the children's collection
LI855
Alphild Dick, Ruth Harries, & Melendra Sanders

2. 2010 Census Number Percent
Total Population 52,281
White alone 43,645 83.48%
American Indian & Alaska native alone 261 .5%
Asian alone 2,689 5.14%
Black or African American alone 2886 5.52%
Native Hawaiian & other Pacific native alone 83 .16%
Hispanic or Latino origin 3,053 5.84%
Other race alone 907 1.73%
Two or more races 1,810 3.46%
Community Served: Manhattan, KS

3. • Some MPL statistics for 2011:
o 10,757 children hold library cards to MPL
o 44,248 items currently in the Children's collection
o Children's materials circulated 345,508 times
Children of Manhattan
• According to the 2010 Census, in Manhattan,
there are:
o 2,902 newborn to four-year-olds (5.6% of population)
o 2,193 five to nine-year-olds (4.2% of population)
o 1,792 ten to fourteen-year-olds (3.4% of population)*
* U.S. Census Bureau: American FactFinder: DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics 2010.

4. Others served by the collection
Manhattan:
• Parents and guardians
• Teachers
• KSU education and
literature students
Children & Parents of
surrounding communities:
- Geary and Pottawatomie Counties
- Fort Riley

5. The Collection Policy
• Children's librarian responsible for children's
collection
• Materials selected:
o Reflect community demographics and areas of interest
o Are based on popular demand, timeliness, positive
reviews, artistic merit, etc.
• Collections are intended to:
o Stimulate the imagination
o Provide materials to read, view, and listen for pleasure
o Support early literacy
o Help patrons find, evaluate, and use information

6. Children's Collection at MPL:
Formats
Boardbooks Juvenile fiction Book discussion kits
Novelty books Juvenile non-fiction Professional
collection
Discovery packs Juvenile graphic
novels
Parents & Teacher
Shelf
Easy Readers Juvenile foreign
language
Readers' Advisory
Toddler books Large print
Storybook Boxes Magazines

7. Scope and Levels
Format Target Level
Boardbooks Infant-2 years 1
Easy Readers K-2nd grade 2
Picturebooks Preschool-2 years 2
Novelty Books K-6th grade 1
Storybook Boxes 1 year-1st grade 1
Toddler Books Infant-3 years 1
Discovery Packs K-6th 1
Juvenile Fiction 3rd-6th grade 2
Juvenile Non-fiction K-6th grade 2
Juvenile Graphic Novels K-6th grade 1
Juvenile Reference Adult 2

8. Scope and Levels, par deux
Parent's Shelf Adult 2
Juvenile magazines toddler--6th grade 2
Juvenile Audiobooks Preschool-6th grade 1
Juvenile DVDs Baby-6th grade 1
Juvenile Music CDS Baby-6th grade 1
E-books Preschool-6th grade 1

9. Current State of the Collection
• Books
o For very young readers
 Board Book: 770
 Easy Reader: 2,984
 Picture Books: 10,856
 Toddler Book: 951
o For older readers
 Fiction: 7,940
 Graphic Novel: 1,420
 Non-Fiction: 9,571
 Reader's Advisory: 129
o For teachers and parents
 Parents' Shelf: 698

10. Current State of the Collection,
cont.
• Media
o Audio Book Bag: 342
o Blu-Ray: 157
o Book on CD: 785
o DVD: 2,121
o Music CD: 627
• Miscellaneous
o Book Discussion Kit: 13
o Discovery Pack: 50
o Magazine: 32 titles (not included in children's budget)
o Storybook Box: 46

11. Assessing the collection:
Turning data into action!

12. Current Book Budget Allocations
Easy Readers 4,000
Juvenile Fiction 13,000
Juvenile Graphic Novels 5,500
Storybook Boxes, Discovery Packs 500
Juvenile Spanish or other languages 300
Juvenile Large Print Fiction 200
Juvenile Nonfiction 9,000
Novelty books 200
Special events giveaways 500
Parent & Teacher books 1,000
Juvenile Picture books/Toddler books/ Board books 18,000
Juvenile Reference - Readers' Advisory 300
Professional Collection 500
Totaling
$53,000

13. Current AV Budget Allocations
Audiobooks 3,200
Music CDs 800
DVDs 10,000
Blu-rays 2,000
Totalling $16,000

14. Collection Lifetime Circulation Items Average use/ item Budget
Children's Discovery Pack 3,047 47 65 500
Storybook Boxes 5,432 45 121
Children's Blu-Ray 7,150 192 37 2,000
Children's Audio Book Bag 9,788 360 27 3,200
Books on CD 30,092 810 37
Children's Music CD 26,289 637 41 800
Children's Picture Book 526,410 11,781 45 18,000
Toddler Book 47,527 1,101 43
Board Book 25,089 925 27
Children's Graphic Novel 49,828 1,549 32 5,500
Children's DVD 164,592 2,595 63 10,000
Children's Easy Reader 194,789 3,440 57 4,000
Children's Fiction 238,123 8,951 27 13,000
Large Print Fiction Unable to distinguish in this report 200
Children's Nonfiction 281,568 10,527 27 9,000
World Languages Unable to distinguish 300
Juvenile Reference Non-circulating 141 Non-circulating 300
Novelty books Unable to distinguish in this report 200
Parents & Teacher books 13,436 831 16 1,000
Special events giveaways Do not remain in collection 500
Professional Collection Storytime Resources & Professional Development 500
Collection Areas, Circulation Statistics,
& Budget Information

15. Strategic Thinking
• Low-hanging fruit
o Collections with low circulation or that few people use
o Collections with associated technology issues
o Collections that do not "belong" in the children's area

16. Initial Cuts to the Budget
• 15% budget cut = $10,350
• Easy Decisions:
o Novelty Books = $200
o Parent & Teacher Books = $1,000
o Readers' Advisory Books = $300
o Professional Collection = $500
• Total = $2,000
Left to cut = $8,350

17. Collection Lifetime Circulation Items Average use/ item Budget
Children's Discovery Pack 3,047 47 65 0
Storybook Boxes 5,432 45 121
Children's Blu-Ray 7,150 192 37 -2,000
Children's Audio Book Bag 9,788 360 27 -1,000
Books on CD 30,092 810 37
Children's Music CD 26,289 637 41 0
Children's Picture Book 526,410 11,781 45 1,425
Toddler Book 47,527 1,101 43
Board Book 25,089 925 27
Children's Graphic Novel 49,828 1,549 32 0
Children's DVD 164,592 2,595 63 -2,000
Children's Easy Reader 194,789 3,440 57 0
Children's Fiction 238,123 8,951 27 -1,425
Large Print Fiction Unable to distinguish in this report 0
Children's Nonfiction 281,568 10,527 27 -500
World Languages Unable to distinguish in this report
0
The rest of the cuts:
$8,350 + previous $2,000 = $10,350!

18. Future Strategies
• Develop a collection development policy
specific to children's materials
o Use criteria such as supplying classics, collecting popular
materials, and books with awards
• Assess data regularly to determine whether or
not to continue collecting in certain areas
• Regularly evaluate standing order circulations
o Determine which series to eliminate, increase, or find read-
alikes for
• Plan for the future inclusion of electronic
resources in the children's collection

19. Future Assessment of Budget Cuts
• In 5 years, assess whether and how
proposed eliminations have affected:
o Library patrons
o Library programming
o Library services, such as Readers' Advisory
o Children's material circulation statistics