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Thanks so much for all the terrific advice! When pasted into WORD, this is five pages loaded with helpful ideas for creating and organizing an effective Consideration File. Responses: I keep a spiral notebook (starting a new one each September - it's always so fresh and new!). 5 or 6 pages for each letter of the alphabet, and I write books in by the author's name. Just author, title, ISBN, price - maybe a tiny note to myself about age level, Dewey number, illustrator - whatever made me want it. You can prioritize with stars, or numbers, or whatever. You can mark stuff out as you purchase it. I know people who keep lists on the computer, but I like my notebook. I can carry it to bed with me when I read School Library Journal or Booklist, and I've been known to take it into a book store, too! I am in my 4th year as a middle school LMS. I found it got easier as the years went by because I got a better feel for what I'd need, what money I'd have, etc. In the early years, I felt I had to keep everything! Here's what I do now -- I have one shelf behind circ desk for catalogs. I, being an obsessive librarian type, have them in alpha order... When I get a new catalog, I look on the shelf, discard the old one, put the new one in its place. I have narrowed down the number of catalogs as I started to realize which ones I'd actually use. In my desk drawer, I keep a folder where I note on slips of paper any teacher requests during the year for books or videos that I will try to fill at the end of the year with budget money. Recommended lists I go through as I get them and the books that I really want, I enter into a Wish List in Titlewave for when I have money. Then, I don't keep the paper list anymore. Good luck! It just gets better and better! Whenever I see something that I like I open my Excel file called books to consider. In this I have headings for: title, author, series information (if any) and then the binding I'm seeking. Most of the time it is in author sort. When I get ready to create an order I will do a binding sort. So I can check to see if any of the WFP (waiting for paperback) are available. Most of the online jobbers would probably even just take this as an attachment to an e-mail to fill an order, but we then go through and make our selections because many times something else will pop up that is a great purchase on a search. It is quick to place a new book to this file, you can sort anyway you want and just because something is on the list, it doesn't mean you have to purchase it. It can just sit there. Because we are at the JR. high level, we also have a books to stay away from file. Titles go here that need to stay at the high school level or public library. I decided not to worry about tracking ISBN. It is so easy to type that wrong. Yes, you can use copy and paste, but it's just as easy to search on the title copied and pasted. That way you can look at all of the binding choices, not just the particular one you have the ISBN for. I had the same problem when I first started also. I walked into a library in which the librarian kept every catalog, including old ones that she kept in the back room. For what reason, I've never determined. Here's what I do now to keep the catalog situation under control. It will take some time the first day, but after that, it's easy. Go through all you catalogs and make 2 stacks - one to keep and one to throw away. In the keep stack, keep only the most recent copy of any company's catalog. Most companies send multiply copies, special features, etc. Keep the one with the most current date and the largest selection of products. Put the supplemental catalogs (smaller, special features) in the throw away pile. In the throw away pile, put all the old catalogs and any catalogs from companies you know you are not interested in. I've got on shelf in my office for holding catalogs. I put all the book catalogs together, then the equipment catalogs, Video catalogs, supply catalogs, grouped so I can find them easily and on the same shelf. When a newer catalog comes in the mail from a company that I use, I pull the catalog on the shelf and throw it away. The new one replaces it on the shelf. I also keep a plastice index card box on my desk. When I come across a specific book, etc. that I might want (or someone request something specific), I put the title on the top of the index card and then list all pertinent ordering info. that I have (author, illustrator, ISBN, etc.) I also list the journal in which I read the review on it or who requested it. Then I file these alphabetically in the box. If it something that I absolutely want to get as soon as I have money, I put it up front in the box behind a tab labeled "Must Haves." If it's a book that I need to replace due to loss or damage, it goes in the front also behind a tab labeled "Replacements." When money appears, I go to my box and start ordering from what I've put in there. I use my online accounts (like with Brodart, Follett, etc.) to keep my consideration file. I usually have several lists and label them accordingly: teacher requests, award winners 2006, etc. I throw away all catalogs primarily because I'm more concerned with reviews than with what's available. I try to add to teacher requests monthly when I have them and (at least with Brodart) I can then combine them into one list for actual ordering. Good luck taming the junk monkey As someone constantly trying unsuccessfully to be organized, I suggest using Follet Titlewave. While I am not pushing them as a company you must order from, you can get a free account and make lists for ordering. You can have multiple lists going at any time, titled for different subject areas: I use content areas: math, science, or new fiction or even bib for this book talk. Your list is then readily accessible from any computer, you can merge them, edit them, or whatever you need. As soon as someone suggests a title, I log on and add it to a list so I have all my purchasing ideas in one place when I am ready to start ordering. It is very possible that other vendors have something similiar -- so check with whoever you use most often. Don't feel you have to keep every single catalog! I only keep the ones from vendors who are already approved by the district, I've ordered from before, or I might consider ordering from. I sort them into those plastic magazine files on the bottom shelves in my office. I don't try to keep them alphabetized - but label the boxes with things like: Office Supplies, Promotional Items (like Upstart, ALA Graphics), Books, Reference , AV, etc. If I see something I am actually thinking about buying, I do one of two things: either paperclip the page OR tear the page out and move it into my consideration file. At the end of every school year - I throw out all the catalogs - but I watch for the paper clips and take another look at those items before I toss the catalog. For my consideration file, I use an accordion folder with divisions for: Teacher Requests, Book Lists, Book Reviews, AV, Professional, etc. I file catalog pages, review clippings, email messages, etc. under the appropriate tab. When I'm ready to place an order, I can pull from any or all of the tabs to put the order together. I recently acquired one of those tote file boxes - and it has come in really handy because it does hold more than just the accordion file. I have one deep file drawer that I dedicate to catalogs- I have them alpha filed and divided by category: books, A/V, Equipment, Furniture, Supplies and Misc. Since I don't keep many catalogs anymore, I use this same drawer and in front of the catalogs I have the following file folders: Requests for Purchase, Recommended Lists, My Wish List. Each folder is further divided, as needed, by: books,A/V, future needs, grade level or subject. I try to keep things filed as I get them, that way they don't pile up on my desk and I can find them when I need them. I pitch those I know I won't need as they arrive. New ones of those I keep I mark with the date, as it is sometimes hard to figure out which is the current one if you don't date them when they arrive, and I pitch the older one. I keep very few catalogs anymore. Never order from them, anyway. I keep a running order on my Follett Titlewave account. Things not available from Follett - I either keep the review or request in a file. I do pass some catalogs on to the art teacher for collages. I use a method that sometimes shocks and horrifies librarians - but here goes. I go through reviews and occasionally catalogs. I look at very few catalogs, preferring to make decisions on the basis of reviews. Anyway, I mark things that look good. If it is a "must have no matter what" I mark them with a double check mark. I also write down what curriculum area the book fits into. Fiction books I simply mark fiction. All the check marked review magazines etc. go into a box behind the circ desk. I then have my library assistant or one of my student volunteers clip the reviews and paste them on the back of old catalog cards. They will sometimes have to copy a page if 2 marked items happen to be back to back on a page. Once the reviews are clipped and pasted - they are then sorted by curricular area. I generally place 3 orders a year with my book jobber. One order is all fiction, one order is for social studies & science books, and the third order is for all other areas. That reflects the needs of our school. Everyone will have a different way to divide this up. Next , when I am ready to do a social studies & science order, I look at the reviews that have been sorted into those subject areas. I then sort the cards into priority status and order as many as I have money for. This ensures me that I have ordered the "best of the best" with my always limited funds. Hope this helps. I keep my wish lists on-line - I use Titlewave by Follett because it's so extensive and I love their customer service and Capstone because my teachers love their easy non-fiction books. Whenever a teacher asks for a book I just add the title to my list. Our school secretary knows that I always have an order list up and ready to go so whenever we have a bit of money that has to be spent ASAP she sends me an e-mail. I print out the list, hand it in and I'm good to go. Last year my quick and ready lists netted me an additional $5000 to my book budget! I wrote an article for Book Report Magazine (Sep 99) (Yeeks can it be that long ago) about maintaining a datbase for considerations. I still maintain that database because I can order from different jobbers, sort out publishers and make sure I have balanced orders. I have used Titlewave to keep track of books I need to replace, but generally don't use Follett because they are so much more expensive. It is a time consuming issue, but I feel collection development is a huge part of our job. (In reference to above mentioned article). I just checked EBSCO and it's there if you search for ashbridge. Here is the direct link in Tiny url format: _http://tinyurl.com/my4jr_ (http://tinyurl.com/my4jr) Hope it helps. Carole -- Oh isn't this always an only problem for librarians? Here is what I do. When I closed the card catalog I had all of those cards that were blank on the back sides. I kept them all. I use them now with a 4 drawer wooden card cabinet to create a tickle file. Arranged by Author. It has the Authors name, Title, ISBN, Publisher and Date of publication, date added to tickle file. Also if I read a review I site that source on it as well. If and when I order the item I give it an order date and source and move card to another location. When the item comes in It get a received date and is placed in the item for cataloging. the only stay in tickle file 18 months. I weed them out during the summer. Works okay. At the time of order I create a dummy Bib record that shows inthe card catalog as on Order. I always check the card Catalog before ordering. Although sometimes I goof and still get a duplicate. I am using Ingram iPage to order many books, but it works almost as well with Follett Titlewave. Just create an imaginary order, call it ConsiderationFall2006 or something like that, and enter books once a week or so. Then you can discard or file the magazine or newspaper clippings. The dummy order can sit there for a long time, maybe years, until you get some money. Ingrams iPage has an additional feature that I am not aware of in Titlewave, although it may be there. There is a field for Notes, and I like it because I can say, "teacher recommendation/Jones for world history," "Caldecott honor 2005", "SLJ May 2006" or whatever you wish so you will have some documentation of where you got the idea from, because, trust me, you will forget it. By the way, it's a really good idea to keep something like that going ALL the time. Believe it or not, once in a while a windfall drops in your lap, right at the worst time, and you can just pull up your dummy order, slap a "Do Not Exceed $xxxx " on it and it's ready to go. There are probably similar tools available through many of the larger library book jobbers. I am most familiar with the two mentioned. They are free, and you can also check on book reviews right there. It's a wonderful service, and probably gets them jillions of dollars of business down the road. That's always been a problem for me, too--even after sixteen years! I was overcareful, and so put off purchasing until it was awful. I have a large budget, so that was really killing. Slowly, I began to file things in general subjects: the disciplines (I'm at a high school) and fiction, reference, etc. That way I could keep a kind of ledger of what I was spending in each category and I could be more sure of being fair. One thing that really helped was that I try to always grant the requests of faculty. I don't get that many (even after hounding them constantly), and so that made that much go quickly and easily. This past school year we added another librarian, and our budget (Alabama State Library Enhancement) was increased so that we really didn't have to be that careful. She is young and very confident (my opposite) and I learned from her to JUST DO IT. Between the two of our styles, things have worked very well. Like you, this is my second year. I set up several files and drop the requests in the files throughout the year: Considerations: Books Considerations: Videos Considerations: AR Quizzes You get the picture. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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