Jessica Walton
Assistant Director
Have you ever wondered how librarians decide what materials to order? Perhaps we simply add the newest, most highly recommended books to our cart and call it a day?
Of course not!
There is a really fun, long process we go through to ensure the materials we bring in are going to be of interest to our communities. The main way we do this is simply by getting to know you. By speaking with our patrons and seeing what they check out, we know what authors and genres are popular.
Now, imagine all of our patrons are completely invisible to us. No voice. No face. Just a number on a screen. This is how it feels when we are selecting materials for our e-book readers who use their library card to borrow e-materials from Libby. These checkouts are a considerate number; 26% of our county’s total circulation is through this service. Often, we meet our Libby readers once, when they sign up for their cards, we give them their PIN, and instructions on how to access Libby, and then we only hear from them once a year to renew their accounts. Our material is still being used and loved, just in a different form – a digital form.
So, how do we decide what e-materials we need if we don’t get to know these invisible patrons? Well, I’m here to explain. No, we cannot speak face to face with these patrons to learn their preferences. However, there is a way for me to get to know them in a different way.
OverDrive Marketplace is our electronic (e) and audio book provider for the Libby App. That is where I go to curate an order to be added to the e-material collection for all our West Virginia Libby users. Through this provider, I am able to access insights which tell me what our readers are enjoying. The system allows me to isolate Pocahontas County specific readers and see what is being checked out and what books our patrons are waiting for. Although I only see numbers, I can see what our readers want. I see that four of our patrons are waiting for “Broken Country” by Clare Hall, specifically in audio book form. I can see that eight people, just from our county, are waiting for “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans. With these numbers, it is easy for me to curate an order for our patrons.
Of course, Libby material is shared with all the users in our e-book consortium which includes much of the state. All of us contribute to the expense of these e-materials to ensure West Virginia patrons have free access to this service, no matter how big or small the library. When you click on “hold this book,” you are sharing with all the other readers in this network. However, when libraries meet their quota each year in contributions, we gain access to an express ordering tier. The material we buy, after our quota is met, is set in a special reserve for our patrons to have first dibs. So, if you opened your Libby App today and noticed that you went from 84th in line to ready to borrow – it’s because you’re a VIP until our next quota needs to be met. Congratulations!
If you are still waiting for a book, here’s a reminder that we may have what you are looking for as a physical book.
Green Bank, Hillsboro and Marlinton all hold copies of “The Correspondent.” Marlinton holds a copy of “Broken Country” and if none of our Pocahontas County libraries hold a title, we can always Interlibrary Loan titles from another library much faster than that Libby waiting line. Just stop in, call or search our online catalog, you can find it on our website at pocahontaslibrary.org If what you’re looking for isn’t there, let your librarian know. We’re the key to getting the materials you want.
