Collection Development for newbies

The library I work at does not have a Collection Development librarian... We don't have set budgets, specifically designated collecting areas or a system to track orders. This has been a great gift for me; it has allowed me to really learn and grow in terms of CD. I have gotten a grand opportunity to innovate and learn for myself what works and what doesn't (and share via the interwebs :) )

What Should I Order?

• Though it is my library's general philosophy for everyone to order everything, I generally order only for areas where I know what I'm doing. For example, my liaison areas are Computer Science, Physical Sciences and English/Communications. I try to connect with these departments in-depth by:
• Email communication with faculty. I try to send emails with cover graphics of what has just come in in their subject area that month/semester and also beg them to send me specific books or subject areas in which to order (replies are rare). When someone does order, I keep them updated on when things come in by giving them short urls to the records mentioned below and emailing them personally.
• Updates on statuses of what they and I have ordered for their department. I keep a public record of everything I've ordered, why, and its status (yellow-ordered, orange-in process, green-received/on shelf). Check out some examples: Computer Science, Physical Sciences, English/Communications.
• Knowing what classes are offered in the department. Recently, I started a project where I list all the classes being offered in Fall 2012 in a particular department, highlight keywords in the course description, list what books we have already that may be useful for that particular class and what I might order to support it. Here's the work in progress. 
• Finding out what textbooks classes are using. Many librarians are against collecting textbooks... I personally am I big fan of this, though. Students at my college often don't have the funds for books, or their grants for books aren't received till several weeks into the semester. I will order textbooks if no one can get me a free desk copy, and encourage instructors to put them on reserve and let students know in their syllabi.
• Statistics are important! If I'm in doubt on whether to spend money on something, say a YA fiction book, I check the circulation stats. Oh hey, a third of our top 100 circs are PZs! Since my library serves high school and community patrons as well as students, and has no policy against leisure reading, I order general interest and leisure books with the philosophy that all reading supports learning, which is part of my college's mission statement. I use statistics to back-up what I think we need and to learn about what's going on. For example, books about hurricanes have a really high circ rate. This topic is so popular that it warrants me consistently checking on what's published so I can keep the collection up-to-date.

What Should I get rid of?

• Weeding is necessary. If your computer science shelves are bogged down with Microsoft books from 1987, MS-DOT and WordPerfect help, the cool and helpful things you just ordered will get lost. Don't get caught up in the Library-of-Congress collecting philosophy. You have a specific population to collect for, and it is not the entirety of America. 
• As mentioned above for collecting, emailing faculty is a good choice, if doable. At my library, we just don't have the staff to let faculty know everything we're getting rid of, but it's a great idea. Check out this post on the weeding project at SUNY Potsdam's library.
• Knowing your subject and the curriculum offered is just as important in weeding as ordering. Computer science and technology books go out of date faster than other subjects; I have to be on top of what's current. Curriculum knowledge is also a basic here... if a certain program/class/department has been eliminated at the college, materials supporting that can be weeded down.
• Statistics generally indicate whether you should keep or chuck. My library has a policy that if something hasn't circulated in ten years, it automatically goes. You can use your judgement on this if your library doesn't have a policy; Is it a book that students often look at/read only in the library? Is it a staple of background theory? Ten years is probably a longer time than you'd typically give a book to circulate, so knowing your topic as previously stated will help.

What should I do so the books I order aren't the ones gotten rid of?

• To a certain extent, taking above steps on ordering will automatically help circulation rates. The background research you do will lead to good choices and check-outs. However, it shouldn't stop there. You should promote the books you order! Does your library have a facebook page? How about reviewing/promoting books there? In my experience, posting a book on the facebook page leads to its immediate check-out. What about a Pinterest account to categorize/recommend books? Maybe a display with reviews of books or "staff picks" section? Highlighting select subject books on the libguides? Promotion is the most important step here for librarians.