Collection Developments @ Sno-Isle

Building on the success of the Camano Island Library which opened last June, the Clinton Library opened today in its new configuration as a popular materials library. Like our Camano Island branch, the Clinton library offers patrons a browsing collection that focuses on popular new titles (including an Explore collection) subjects of perennial interest to patrons and formats that are in demand at all of our libraries.

Library services will be slightly different as well.

How does Clinton differ from other Sno-Isle libraries?

• The Clinton collection will appear in the catalog but will not pickup holds.
• Clinton will not be on router and the collection will not be shared. This practice will help ensure that the browsing collection at Clinton is kept intact. (All copies of high demand titles will be in addition to the number of copies the system purchases to meet our holds to copy ratio.)
• Clinton Library materials will have the same loan periods as those in other libraries, including short loan periods for POP materials, but Clinton materials will not renew. Clinton materials check out once, with no renewal. POP materials will have a POP location (that is, short loan). All other items, except for a few reference books will have a location of BROWSE. Clinton and Camano are the only libraries using the BROWSE location.
• Staff in other branches should not refer their patrons to Clinton to pick up popular materials that show a shelf status because these materials may not be on the shelf. Also, staff should not call Clinton and ask staff to check the shelves for titles their patrons want.
• Staff in other branches should not check out Clinton materials that are returned to a branch other than Clinton. After returning a Clinton item place it in a delivery box for Clinton. The Clinton Library is on the Island delivery route.

New shelving purchased for the library enable staff to display the collection in much the same way as a bookstore. Materials at the Clinton Library are available in multiple copies and are being shelved face-out. Clinton retains a small children’s collection similar to other Sno-Isle libraries however these materials have a BROWSE location and are not shared.

If you have questions, please contact Barbara Hart, Nancy Messenger or Becky Bolte.

Here are some photos of the new Clinton Library collection.

Gardening books are prominently featured at Clinton.

New Adult Fiction and Non Fiction display

New furniture offers patrons a comfortable place to sit while browsing.

Midwest Tapes the vendor we use for DVDs and CDs recently entered the audiobook market repackaging the consumer editions of the audiobooks we had been purchasing direct from the publisher. The repackaged consumer editions (same readers) enable us to purchase significantly more copies of titles as well as choose a wider variety of titles since the cost savings is significant over library editions from the audiobook publisher. Library editions can often cost upwards of $120 per copy, while the average price of a Midwest Tapes consumer edition is $39.00.

These consumer editions will not include original cover art, but rather will be color coded by material type (fiction green, non fiction blue, Spanish red, children’s gold). Given the popularity of this format Collection Development staff feel that the greater purchasing power represented by the repackaged consumer editions serves our customers better than library editions. Consumer editions from Midwest Tapes should begin appearing on your shelves soon.

If you have questions about this change please contact Jim McCluskey, Marin Younker (adult talking book selector) or Lorraine Burdick (teen/children’s audio book selector).