Stock Policy

January 2011

CONTENTS

  1. Overall aims and objectivesp.3
  1. Legislative basisp.3
  1. Stock Selection Policiesp4-9
  2. Library Tiering
  3. Purchasing Criteria
  4. Requests
  5. Donations
  6. Stock Rotation
  7. Categories and Genres
  8. Stock Maintenance
  9. Reserve Store
  1. Books p9-11
  2. Audiobooks
  3. Large print and Braille
  4. Books in other languages

5. Other Formatsp11-14

5.1CDs and DVDs

5.2Electronic resources

5.3Language courses

5.4Newspapers, magazines and periodicals

5.5Other Information Sources

6.Library cataloguep.14

7. Stock Recovery and Securityp. 14

Appendix A:

Luton Libraries Tiering Guide p15

Appendix B:

Local Studies and Family History p 19

1. Overall aims and objectives

The mission statement of Luton Library Service is:

‘Luton Libraries - your gateway to books, information, lifelong learning and opportunities for everyone in the community.’

The key aims for the library service are:

  1. Access to books and information for the whole community.
  2. Support for literacy, learning and encouraging an enjoyment of reading.
  3. Providing opportunities for the community through advice, support and space.
  4. Promoting the services offered by libraries to increase awareness and usage.
  5. Developing, involving and training staff to provide a friendly and helpful customer service.

This document brings together the general principles and policies relating to the purchase and presentation of stock within Luton Libraries. It is intended as a guide for customers to the range and selection of stock that is available throughout our libraries.

Further details on the overall service objectives and priorities can be found in the current Luton Libraries Service Plan which is available in all libraries.

2. Legislative basis

Public libraries are a statutory service under the terms of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, amended by regulations introduced in January 1992 and further defined by National Library Standards in 2001. The regulations confirm the concept of a free book-based library service but allow for charging for anything beyond this core service.

3. Stock selection policies

3.1 Library Tiering

The Resources Fund is used to supply all libraries; books and other items are bought with stock rotation in mind. This means that they are not purchased for a particular library and will be moved around the service on a regular basis.

Luton’s libraries are managed as a whole service, but services are provided around the tiers as listed below. There are 4 tiers:

  1. Luton Central Library – the largest library with the most comprehensive collections of stock
  2. Strategic libraries – Leagrave, Wigmore and Marsh Farm
  3. Community libraries – Lewsey, Stopsley, Sundon Park, Bury Park
  4. Home Library service

Tiering the services in this way allows us to establish a standard of provision for each library and enables stock rotation between similar sized libraries. For further details of what services are available at each group of libraries, please see Appendix A: Luton Libraries Tiering Guide.

3.2 Purchasing criteria

Stock is selected to serve the needs of the whole community, not just current members of the library service.

In choosing stock we aim to meet current and anticipated needs, and take account of known tastes, preferences and interests, and support general education needs.

Library stock reflects the racial, ethnic and cultural make-up of society and the local community as far as is achievable. However, titles that are concerned solely with the promotion of a single political party, racial group or religion, or that may be regarded as propaganda may not be added to stock.

It is not financially possible to buy every book that is published, so choices have to be made with regard to value for money and overall stock coverage. Purchasing is planned to ensure a continuous supply of new books throughout the year, balancing available funds against needs of stock in particular categories, as well as customers’ requests.

The library service purchases a wide range of books and other items that are published in the UK or overseas, covering all subjects and levels generally up to (but not including) graduate level. An item at graduate or post-graduate level may occasionally be purchased, depending on price and subject matter. Decisions in these cases will be made on an individual basis. The service is not able to replicate the services and stock offered by academic libraries.

The library service does not usually purchase spiral bound items, leaflets or other ephemeral material for loan, as the bindings are not hardwearing enough to withstand regular library use and do not represent good value for money. These items are occasionally purchased for reference use only, if the subject is not covered by more substantial publications, is an area of current interest, or is an item covering local issues or history.

3.3 Requests

Access to the book stock of Luton, Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Libraries is available from all Luton libraries. Customers can request books that are based in any library within the three authorities; this can also be done via the web catalogue in a library or at home via the Internet. Luton Library members may request any book or any audio-visual item without charge (if they choose to be notified by email).

The library service will decline to purchase an item if it is felt that it does not meet the criteria or the item is unlikely to be borrowed by many other customers. Where a purchase is declined, staff will contact customers promptly, giving reasons for the decision. In these cases, the library service will try to obtain the book through the inter-library loans scheme, if possible.

Some books may be borrowed from other library authorities or the British Library. There is a cost implication in obtaining these books; other authorities and the British Library charge Luton Libraries to borrow their books, therefore it is necessary to pass on some of this charge to those who wish to make use of the service.

If a book is only available through this system, customers will be contacted to check that it is still needed and they are willing to pay the additional charge. Periodical and newspaper articles are usually supplied in the form of photocopies and these must be paid for at the stated rate. If a customer loses a book which has been requested through inter-library loan, they will be charged a substantial replacement cost.

The library service always tries to satisfy requests, but books can go out of print very quickly and sometimes it is not be possible to buy a book that is relatively new, or borrow it from another library service.

3.4 Donations

Donations are only accepted on the understanding that they are in good physical condition, up to date and will enhance the library stock. In practice, we find that many Items are not suitable to be added to stock. These are disposed of in the same manner as purchased stock, through book sales or recycling.

Occasionally organisations approach a library with a view to providing stock for their local library. This may be in the form of goods or cash. Such donations are welcome as long as they can be easily catalogued, value is added to the existing stock and there is sufficient space in the chosen library.

All donations that are added to stock will be treated as normal purchased stock and will be withdrawn when the relevant criteria regarding usage or condition are met.

Some authors or publishers send items that have not been ordered, enclosing an invoice, in the hope that a purchase will be secured. Items supplied on this basis are not accepted. Items sent in this way will be kept for three months after which time they become library property and will be disposed of. Should the sender require the return of an item, the cost of postage must be provided in advance.

3.5 Stock rotation

To make the best use of available resources and to extend the choice of books and other items to our customers, aproportion of stock is circulated around branch libraries. This means that titles allocated to one branch spend a set amount of time there before moving on to the next branch on the list.

3.6 Categories and Genres

Adult Services

There is a huge range of adult novels for customers to choose from, so to make that choice quicker and easier, the number of categories has been extended to include the following:

Crime

Thriller

Family sagas

Ghost and Horror

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

Romance

There are also special collections of African Caribbean, Asian and Gay/Lesbian writing.

Customers will find many novels labelled and sometimes separated out into these categories. If a novel does not fit any of the chosen categories it will be shelved in the general fiction (A-Z) section.

Libraries also have specific collections of books, leaflets and magazines aimed at teenagers. The collections, known as Fifteen Plus, include both novels and information books, on subjects of interest to teenagers – dealing with school and college choices, life issues and leisure. These sections are based in the adult areas of each library.

Children’s services

Children’s stock is categorised to help customers find books of a suitable reading or comprehension level. These categories are generally indicated by a coloured spot on the spine. Categories are shelved separately where possible but in some libraries the categories are shelved together, because of lack of space.

Categories include:

First picture books and board books – usually in the book boxes

Beginning to read – with green spots

Young readers – with red spots

Picture books – with red spots

Junior fiction – in alphabetical order by author

Collections of stories – yellow spots

Key Stage 3 (KS3) (fiction for 11 – 13 years) – blue spot

Information Services

Information (Not For Loan) Stockis integrated into the main non-fiction section. There is a Quick Reference section, including a full set of UK telephone directories. There is a Local Studies and Family History collection based at the central library, with items on the history and development of Luton and the surrounding area.

3.7 Stock Maintenance

Customers expect a high standard of stock maintenance in all our libraries. This means that books will be in good, clean condition, and that books or other items that are not popular in one library are moved to another library, or put into our reserve store. Books with yellowing or torn pages, damaged covers, water damage or spills, will be withdrawn from stock.

If a book is popular and has been superseded by a new edition, it may be replaced. If a newer edition cannot be bought (for budgetary or other reasons), the item will be withdrawn and replaced with a similar item, or put it in the reserve storeat Luton Central Library. Non-fiction books that are more than 10 years old will not be stocked unless there are exceptional circumstances. Generally, any books that are kept beyond 10 years will be kept in the reserve store.

Where books become out-of-date, are superseded by a new edition or are no longer in good condition and are withdrawn from stock, they will either be put into one of the regular library book sales, or will be recycled.

Occasionally withdrawn items may be offered to one of the charities that provide books to libraries in developing countries, but most of the withdrawn stock is not suitable for this option. Items that have been in a sale and have not sold will be recycled.

3.8 Reserve Store

The reserve store includes both fiction and non-fiction items. There is an historic collection of workshop manuals, some of which are available for loan. The store includes older material on a range of subjects; some back runs of magazines and directories such as Whitaker’s Almanac. The library staff will check and get books out of the reserve store, but customers are not allowed to enter or browse the reserve stores because of security and health and safety issues.

4. Books

Luton Libraries aim to purchase a wide range of books including fiction, non-fiction and reference items. This includes bestsellers and popular novels, modern and standard classics. Non-fiction books are bought covering the widest possible range of subjects, taking into account the needs of children and adults.

The central library stocks the widest range and greatest number of books, with smaller libraries having a narrower and more popular range. The Tiering Guide (Appendix A) describes the level of stock customers can expect in each library.

4.1 Audiobooks

Books on CD and pre-loaded MP3 players (Playaways) are stocked in every library, partly for those customers who have visual impairment, but also to encourage reading in every format. A range of titles is provided, including fiction and non-fiction, with the greatest range at the central library. Newer titles are rotated to give customers the widest possible choice. The Home Library Service has many customers with a visual impairment, and therefore stocks the largest range of audiobooks outside of the Central Library.

4.2 Books in large print and Braille.

Luton Libraries have a wide variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction available in large print at all branches. These include both classics and current best sellers, where published.

A selection of children’s books in Braille provided by the Clear Vision project is available from the Central Library. Luton Libraries recommends the RNIB National Library Service and Calibre for an extensive range of large print, books in Braille and audiobooks. These organisations deliver items directly to the customer, and the library service would be unable to supply a comparable service.

4.3 Books in other languages

Luton has a diverse, multicultural population, with many different languages and dialects being spoken. The library service cannot provide books in all of those languages, because of budgetary restrictions, but also often because of difficulties in obtaining books in those languages.

In order to provide a viable collection, fiction in other languages is only available at selected a library, that is Luton Central, Leagrave, Marsh Farm and Bury Park Libraries. These collections currently include books in Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi, Polish, Russian and Chinese, with all these languages available at the Central Library. These languages have been chosen because of the number of likely users in the town and may change in future years, depending on the make-up of the population in Luton and their ability or desire to read in English or their birth language.

Some dual language books are available for children at all libraries with the largest collection held at Luton Central Library.

Through the Internet, Luton Libraries provides access to sites, such as on-line newspapers and magazines, in languages other than English. Luton Libraries also provide access to information in other languages through leaflets, where they are available. These are checked and up-dated regularly.

5Other Formats

5.1 CDs and DVDs

The largest collection of CDs and DVDs is based at the Central Library, with selected collections at strategic libraries. Small taster collections are available at community libraries and customers may request and borrow items from any Luton library at no extra charge (if they opt to be notified by email).

There are legal restrictions on what libraries can buy and how soon items may be available for loan. These are called holdback periods, typically three months from release. The library service is not able to compete with commercial outlets, and new stock will only be bought for a request if we are legally able to supply it and if we believe that it will be popular.

Technological advances and changes in customer purchasing habits need to be tracked closely, as they affect the viability of these services.

Downloading music from the Internet, cable and satellite “pay-as-you-go” films and advances in mobile phone technology may affect the future use, availability and popularity of these services.

5.2 Electronic resources

Electronic resources include websites, information on CD-ROMs, on-line databases, and eBooks.

The Internet is a huge resource that provides access to information that a few years ago would have been beyond the reach of the library service. Luton Libraries offers a range of interesting websites for customers, through the Do It Online section of. This includes an eBook website, newspaper archives, language learning, practice for the Citizenship testand the driving Theory Test.These services are offered remotely, enabling customers to use them from a home PC.

There is free access to the Internet in Luton Libraries, for Luton Library members. There are no charges for children and students under the age of 19, while other customers get 60 minutes free access each day. The library service uses filtering software and some sites are not accessible from public computers. The library service deals with each request to unblock particular web sites on an individual basis.