One of the reasons the Johnson County Library is an outstanding library system is the attention to detail in improving systems, procedures, policies, and even state laws to serve patrons at the highest quality levels. Staff work collaboratively behind the scenes to increase efficiencies and develop innovation around the most basic of library values: access to information.
Like many public libraries, the Johnson County Library is a popular collection library. Unlike archives or historical collections, a popular collection tries to meet the information needs that are currently popular within a community. In Johnson County, the Library has moved to a floating collection. This means that books in the 14-branch system do not have one home, but float among all branches as needed and requested by library patrons. Refining the approach to see the Library as one system, increases access to materials and provides efficiencies that benefit the Library Patrons.
Couriers move physical books daily in between the branches, but only moving books that are requested by patrons. When the book is returned, it goes on the shelf at that library branch, if there is not another pending request. This allows the Library system to focus on getting the book to the patron, instead of moving the book a second time, back to its home branch.
Adam Wathan, Associate Director for Branch Services, shared a story of the old system.
“In the past, librarians made decisions on which branch books should be shelved. For example, books on horses where often shelved at the Gardner Library because they are geographically in the country. But when we switched to one floating system, we realized that patrons in other parts of the County were more interested in books about horses. What we learned is to not make assumptions about what people want to read.”
The collection development team responds to selection requests and holds utilizing demand-based purchasing. This system is highly responsive to fluctuations in requests. For example, if a book is popular and holds are coming in at a fast rate, collection development purchases additional book copies to immediately meet the demand knowing that through word-of-mouth and the media, the requests will continue. By responding quickly, the holds list can flatten the curve, and become more manageable with the number of books the Library owns. This is not a process that allows for guessing or preference but instead is based in data and modeling. This system is applied to both physical and digital books.
Additionally, the Johnson County Library weeds physical books more quickly than other library systems. Newer books can be sold by the Friends of the Johnson County Library often getting a better price than they might receive in 6 months or a year later. The money raised is then placed back into the collection development fund to purchase more books.
The result of this innovation is increased access to information by the Library patron. The student can access the newest history book about a president for their paper, or an adult’s wait is shorter for the New York Times best seller. For a popular library collection, the Johnson County Library is meeting the patron’s needs by following and responding to their collective actions. The system is learning how to catch a trend as it starts.