Managing Children's Collections from Acquisition to Weeding
3/1/21 - 3/26/21
4-Week Asynchronous ALA Course

Managing children’s materials in the library can be a challenge. Books look, feel, and age differently than they do in other collections. Multimedia and AV materials come and go quickly and must stand up to both the scrutiny of parents and handling by kids. The process begins long before physical items have arrived at the library and ends after weeding. In this four-week eCourse, you’ll work through all the phases of the collection management circle of life—from initial selection to weeding—focusing on customer service and good stewardship of financial resources. Instructor and experienced children’s librarian Jill Burket Ragase covers

Best practices for evaluating items of varying formats to add to your library’s collection

• Tips to efficiently acquire and process new materials, so they reach your patrons as quickly as possible
• Strategies to maximize the circulation of materials and track circulation in combination with displays, programs, and other collection marketing efforts
• Implementing the MUSTY method in combination with circulation statistics to improve the deselection process and weed your collection with confidence