The Runaway Book Cart
Beginnings & Book Selection
I’m looking for you, out there on the other side of the internet. We’re kindred spirits, even if we don’t know each other yet. Let me tell you a little about yourself.
You use your library card so often you’ve memorized the number—and you probably keep it safer than your credit card. You proudly sport the hats, the tote bags, and the t-shirts from your favorite libraries, turning every grocery run into a silent pro-literacy rally. You volunteer, devoting countless hours to helping your library thrive (and maybe occasionally rescuing a misplaced romance from the cookbook section).
And don’t think I’ve forgotten the newcomers—just as welcome and valuable—who got your first cards last month, last week, or even yesterday. I’m talking to all of you wonderful people who love your libraries. And if a couple of the randomly curious happen to find your way here too, cool.
Welcome to The Runaway Book Cart, ready to whisk you behind the circulation desk to learn the inner workings of the library. I’m here to reveal the juicy stuff! Ever wonder how books are selected and cataloged? How they get processed and repaired (sometimes after a toddler with a crayon gets a hold of one)? Are you curious about the roles of the department heads (and who controls the temperature settings)? What technology powers our e-books? Or what about a breakdown of the library budget and upcoming strategic goals? Watch this space for the answers to these questions and more.
Let’s get started with one of my absolute favorite parts of the job: book selection. This is a topic that’s very exciting to me, and I hope to impart some of that enthusiasm to you!
Way back in the days of my youth, Scholastic gave me my first real taste of ordering books. Maybe you can relate--every so often in elementary school, the teacher would hand out a paper form covered with little pictures of book covers, organized in a grid to fill out with your selections. I’d luxuriate in the agony of selecting between boxes up to my budget limit, then erasing so I could choose all over again. I’d hand in my form at the last minute and wait what felt like an agonizingly long amount of time for the books to arrive. Book selection as a librarian isn’t all that different.
Surely there must be a huge difference between ordering books for yourself and ordering them for all the patrons of your library, though? Not necessarily. A wise librarian once told me, “Don’t run from your biases. Lean into them.” Or words to that effect. Now, if I was the only person buying books for the library I work for, leaning into my biases could be a little problematic. There’d be no new books on anything related to math or science, and I’d buy every Gothic thriller that came out. Luckily, there’s a team of people selecting titles for the library I work at. My patch of ground is fiction. And I’m not the only person selecting fiction. What does that allow me to do? You guessed it! Lean into my biases.
I’m partial to literary fiction, mysteries and thrillers, and the odd fantasy novel. So, when I’m looking for books to buy for the months to come, I’m free to follow my instincts about what will be a good read, what will be interesting and compelling, what will grab a patron when she’s standing in front of the display of new books reading the blurb inside one of the shiny fresh covers. The other side of the coin is that my colleagues and I strive for diversity in selection. What does that look like in practice? Basically, it means that although I have my favorite types of books, I try to choose works that reflect a wide range of characters, voices, and experiences.
Another aspect of selection that might be surprising is that contrary to the old adage, librarians do judge a book by its cover. If a book’s cover is unappealing, no one will take it home with them (a.k.a. borrow it). If a book doesn’t get borrowed, then it won’t have a home at the library for very long. At least at our library, space is at a premium, and each book must justify the amount of shelf space it takes up by circulating (or being taken out). We can’t keep a copy of every book, as much as we might like to. Long story short, part of the selection process is judging a book by its’ cover.
On to the nitty-gritty level of book selection. Let me list several pertinent facts: ordering is done online. We use a vendor called Ingram. The interface can best be described as “clunky,” as one of my colleagues termed it. We create “carts,” or lists for each month. We select the books and fill the carts according to selection criteria and budget. At our library, we pay to have the books processed by Ingram, which means that the vendor does things like put protective covers on the books, sticks spine labels on them, and places identification tags in them.
Next time on The Runaway Book Cart, we’ll go behind the scenes to lift the curtain on another intriguing library topic. Until then, feel free to comment, question, disagree—and of course, keep reading!
Yes, definitely! We've actually got a nice little form for patron book suggestions, which Jeremiah, as Head of Borrower Services, receives. He then takes them into consideration! So GPL readers, please share your wishes and interests.
Super cool to learn the process. Can patrons ask or suggest books for the library to obtain?