Annual Library Book Stock Review 2020
The consultation closed on 30 April 2020
The library book stock review is a collaborative process we undertake to ensure that our collections remain relevant for teaching and research by reviewing titles which have not been borrowed for a certain number of years and which are widely held nationally.
We want to work in partnership with academics to make decisions about these titles. We review stock annually in the Spring term.
The process and criteria
In a typical year, we might buy around 15,000 new print items. Shelves in many locations are too full to add new books, and retention of unused titles makes it both difficult to find specific books and to browse for titles most likely to be of interest.
In 2019, we piloted a new approach to withdrawing final copies of low-use books from our libraries and Stores. We worked with our academic community to agree a systematic and standard approach to withdrawing material. We were delighted with the level of engagement with the listings of items that we shared. Academic comments allowed us to identify more than 1,800 items that, although low-use, are important to teaching and research.
Criteria
For the Spring 2019-20 review, we used a combination of library and national tools to identify titles which match the following criteria:
- Item held by the Library for more than 10 years
- Item not borrowed for a certain number of years (10 for Arts and Social Sciences, 6 for STEM)
- Item not on a reading list in the online reading list system
- Item not previously flagged for retention
- Item also available in a number of other Research Libraries UK (RLUK) libraries (7-10 for Arts and Social Sciences, 3 for Science, MHS, Engineering, 7+ for Stores)
The resulting lists of eligible titles were available to colleagues in academic departments until the end of Thursday 30 April (an initial 11 week reviewing period, extended to 15 weeks due to the closure of our libraries).
After this date we will review your comments and plan for the summer vacation when we will remove or move stock, update the catalogue and reorganise shelf space.
If you have any questions about the process, please contact the Collections Team.
How to contribute
Colleagues in academic departments are welcome to identify any titles you want us to keep.
- Please review the lists from the Library lists below
- Select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any titles that you consider are still relevant and therefore want us to retain.
- Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.
We welcome academic engagement with this process so that collaboratively we can make the right decisions about our collections.
Current listings which meet the criteria
Business Library
- 7-10 other holding libraries.
Please review this list and select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any items that want us to retain.
Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.
- 11+ other holding libraries.
Although this list is for information only, it is still open for comment. If you choose to review the list, you can select items that you want us to keep.
Djanogly Learning Resource Centre
- 7-10 other holding libraries.
Please review this list and select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any items that want us to retain.
Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.
- 11+ other holding libraries.
Although this list is for information only, it is still open for comment. If you choose to review the list, you can select items that you want us to keep.
Greenfield Medical Library
- 3+ other holding libraries.
Please review this list and select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any items that you want us to retain.
Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.
Hallward Library (classmarks D, E and F only)
- 7-10 other holding libraries.
Please review this list and select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any items that want us to retain.
Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.
- 11+ other holding libraries.
Although this list is for information only, it is still open for comment. If you choose to review the list, you can select items that you want us to keep.
Central Stores
- Store 1, 7+ other holding libraries.
Please review this list and select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any items that want us to retain.
Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.
- Store 2, 7+ other holding libraries.
Please review this list and select Yes from the drop-down in the Keep column for any items that want us to retain.
Please add a brief note into the adjacent column explaining why you want it to be kept.