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.
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