Huggins: Library collection needs updating

The Fairfield Public Library?s collection needs weeding and updating to retain its Tier 3 accreditation from the state in 2012.

During her annual report to the Fairfield City Council Monday, library director Rebecca Huggins said the library qualified for $12,000 in state aid for achieving the highest level of accreditation this year.

She said Fairfield?s average circulation rate per capita is double that of the state average. The Fairfield Public Library scored well on all of the state?s standards for quality except one: turnover rate, Huggins said.

?We have reason to be concerned about our turnover rate,? she said. ?Turnover rate is defined as the rate at which the library?s overall collection is borrowed by its patrons. Ideally, you want to see a turnover rate of three or higher. We barely squeaked by with a turnover rate of one-point-something.?

Huggins said the library can improve its turnover rate by weeding out materials that haven?t circulated in several years and by acquiring new materials that are ?irresistible to our patrons.?

Providing current titles and materials has been identified as a top priority for the library, Huggins said. She noted the library?s new material budget from the city?s general fund has decreased from $25,000 in previous years to $9,000 in the current fiscal year. Though, it was supplemented with Local Option Sales Tax revenue, raising the budget to $15,000.

Huggins plans to address funding during the city?s upcoming budgeting process.

Huggins also explained the median age of a library?s collection should be five years, with newer resources balancing the older resources that still have value.

?We have large segments of the library?s collection that have a median age of 15 years or older, and I have had numerous complaints that there?s too much old stuff ? too much of it is outdated,? Huggins said.

She explained the library is currently in the process of trimming its collection based on formulas for the various sections. For example, science and technology materials need to be updated more frequently, while nonfiction works are judged on quality and age, Huggins said.

For the complete article, see the Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010, printed edition of The Fairfield Ledger.