Lending Stack Collection Policy

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This policy is primarily concerned with lending stack collections at the City Library. It defines the conditions under which items are maintained and added to lending stack collections.

1. Collection Scope

Stack collections comprise serials, adult fiction, adult non-fiction, and youth fiction and youth non-fiction. They may include last copies contributed by community libraries through the deselection process.

It is not intended that works of very specific local focus, eg family histories will be retained for lending, unless the subject is of interest to a broader audience.

2. Collection Purpose

The lending stack collections at Dunedin Public Libraries contain older stock and are intended to augment the more current lending collections of Dunedin Public Libraries by adding depth and richness to the materials available for use by residents and library members.

The stack collections will preserve lending copies of New Zealand titles, where condition permits and future anticipated demand warrants.

It is intended that they will contain classic works that, while rarely consulted, may have future use as reference resources. It is not intended that the stacks act as a repository for all last copies.

3. History

Stack storage was in use for the Dunedin Public Library collections from an early date.

By 1938 there were seven 12-foot high stacks for fiction in the library basement. War time also saw the excavation of an area in the basement of the original Carnegie Library building in Moray Place for an air raid shelter. This was subsequently used for additional stack storage.

With the move into the new building in November 1981 provision was made for fiction and children’s stacks in the Upper Basement area. Non-fiction stack books were housed adjacent to the collections on their respective floors.

A reorganisation of stacks took place in 1998 with the opening of the non-fiction ‘open stack’ on the second floor.

A lower basement stack for non-fiction materials was erected in space previously occupied by the Civic Centre boiler house.

4. Description of Collection

Within the adult non-fiction stack collections, there are smaller stack collections including the collection of music scores (Lower Basement) and Royalty Plays (first floor).

The youth stack comprises material from the young adult collection (fiction and non-fiction) as well as material from the children’s section.

The youth stack contains teen and children’s “overflow” collections which cater for seasonal demand in both fiction and non-fiction areas of the youth collections.

These collections duplicate material held elsewhere in the collections and are subject to the same collection management practices as the lending collections.

Items that are available for borrowing are retrieved by staff, on request, from all stack areas. Items in the open stack on the second floor are directly accessible to the public.

4.1 Adult Non-Fiction Stack Collections - Strengths and Highlights

The non-fiction collections contain considerable quantities of material of historical value, especially from the late 19th and early 20th Century, on a wide range of subjects.

Adult non-fiction items in the lower basement stack were mostly published before 1970 and are in low demand but considered to be of lasting value, and some other items are located there because of fragility.

The adult non-fiction second floor stack contains older materials (mostly published between 1970 and 1989) which are still of general interest, and some standard works.

The music scores stack collection (Lower Basement) contains both popular and classical music scores. Some classical scores are in miniature format. The collection contains some rare 19th Century works for voice and instrument and complements the Mosgiel music collection.

The Royalty Plays collection housed in the first floor stack comprises acting editions of mostly English plays.

The material in the collection has been donated but some additions have been made to it over the years. Most of the plays are no longer in print.

4.2 Fiction Stack – Strengths and Highlights

The fiction stack is a large collection that includes classics of literature from the 19th and 20th Century, international literary fiction including prize winners and fiction in translation. Many of these titles are no longer in print.

Popular fiction from the late 19th Century through to the present day shows the development of fiction reading patterns over time.

The fiction stack is notable for efforts made to retain lesser works by significant authors rather than only the titles which have gained the writer renown.

Lesser known works by experimental or avant garde writers are a feature of the collection.

New Zealand and Pacific fiction titles are retained for reasons of cultural heritage.

The short story collection, dating from the early 20th Century is international in scope and comprises works across all genres.

4.3. Youth Collections Stack – Strengths and Highlights

The collections aim to showcase the historical, literary, artistic aspects of children’s literature.

The collections include a number of first editions and also titles that are no longer in print.

The youth fiction stack collections preserve lending copies of classic fiction titles that have enduring value for nostalgic borrowing, eg by parents wishing to share the stories of their childhood, and as examples of popular culture for students and researchers. It includes picture books as well as fiction for children aged 5-18 years.

The youth non-fiction stack includes a comprehensive myth and legends sequence (398s) and a large poetry collection which reflects 20th Century attitudes to children and their education in the arts.

In addition, there are numbers of New Zealand School Bulletins and early New Zealand primary school readers produced by the Department of Education.

4.4 Serials Stack – Strengths and Highlights

The serials stack comprises two sequences: The “ceased” sequence contains older serials which are no longer published, which may have changed title (later title may continue in current sequence) or to which the Library has cancelled subscriptions.

The “current” sequence contains titles still subscribed to, which are two years or older.

5. Housing

The lending stack collections are housed in the following locations: serials stack (Upper Basement), adult fiction stack (Upper Basement), adult non-fiction stacks (open stack - second floor, closed stack - Lower Basement), youth fiction stack (Upper Basement) and youth non-fiction stack (Upper Basement

6. Valuation

Valuation for insurance purposes is revised regularly.

The value of each stack lending collection is based on average prices of that category of materials multiplied by total numbers in each collection.

The Library submits these total values to the Dunedin City Council’s insurer to show replacement value.

Note: New lending collection materials are depreciated each year at the rate of 20% of the total collections capital expenditure of that year. For this reason lending stack collections have no financial values in the DCC asset register.

7. Collection Management

Responsibility for retention of items in the stack collections rests with Collection Specialists who work in consultation with Collection Advocates and designated section heads such as the Youth Services Librarian and Information Services Librarian.

The serials stack is managed and maintained by the Acquisitions Librarian with input from the Collection Development team.

7.1 Selection Tools

Not applicable

7.2 Selection Guidelines

In retaining titles for the lending stack collections, Collection Specialists take note of the following:

7.2.1 General Criteria:

Representation of NZ publishing, eg Reed, Whitcombe and Tombs
New Zealand or Pacific content or authorship – lending copies will be retained where ongoing demand is anticipated
Multiple copies – these will be retained only where there is enduring demand or a marked difference between editions, eg revised or commemorative editions
A duplicate may be retained where another copy exists in a non-lending collection, eg Sonnenschein or McNab /Reed Collections, if demand exists
Author is renowned
Author represents a literary style or era
Title documents contemporary response to historically important event, eg Hurricane Katrina, election of first black president of United States
Style or content of book is characteristic of an era or style of publishing, eg Whole Earth Catalogue
Quality of design or production is outstanding
Item is a unique holding within New Zealand

7.2.2 Specific Criteria for Fiction:

Winners of significant awards, eg NZ awards, Caldecott, Newbery’s
Title is classic, eg David Boy of the High Country. Note: Classics, eg Black Beauty, Little Women will be included if there is something special about the edition
Book has marked literary or artistic merit including important illustrators (eg Rackham, Ardizzone, David Elliott)
Work has significant impact on social or political thought or is controversial, eg Little Black Sambo
Earlier titles by an author are retained in stack
Title is part of a series where ongoing demand is anticipated
Long term retention of duplicates in hardback format is desirable due to author’s popularity, eg Joanna Trollope or John Marsden
Selective representation of genre writer whose style is characteristic of era, eg Catherine Gaskin
New Zealand titles are kept in duplicate or multiple copies where the reputation of the author warrants, eg Maurice Gee, Janet Frame

Dunedin Public Libraries is party to an agreement with the National Library of New Zealand (April 2008) to transfer copies of low use overseas fiction into the ownership of the National Library, subject to the conditions of the agreement.

7.2.3 Specific Criteria for Non-Fiction:

Subject is of historical interest, eg Physical Therapy with Indian Clubs, Boy’s Own Annuals
Title is a standard work in field and no longer in print or edition is distinguished in some way
Work has significant impact on social or political thought or is controversial, eg Washday at the Pa
Local interest, especially Dunedin

7.2.4 Deselection

Items are deselected from the lending stack collections by Collection Specialists using the guidelines below:

Duplicates
General histories of or introductions to subjects by unremarkable authors where the information is available in a more up-to-date/more accessible/otherwise better form
"Just another book" on an already well-represented subject
Obvious textbooks of no special merit
Books of no use as sources of current information, and of little historical value, held by other NZ libraries (usually at least two)
Damaged or fragile items whose condition makes them unusable, and which are not worth the cost of repair
Sets of encyclopaedias where a later edition is held or the information is available electronically and no historic importance attaches to the set
Lesser works by well regarded authors where no demonstrable demand exists and copies are held by other NZ libraries

Items identified for deselection are reviewed by three collection development staff, including Collection Specialists, the Collection Development Librarian and the Head of Collection Services.

New Zealand items will be discarded only when it is certain that they are not required for McNab collections.

7.2.5 Relocation of materials to Heritage Collections

As part of the management of lending stack collections it is desirable to relocate any materials which most properly fall within the selection criteria for significant heritage collections. These include:

Noteworthy examples of English Literature (18th and 19th Centuries - Samuel Johnson, Dickens, and Robert Burns in particular) and books about printing, bibliography, paper-making, illustration, etc
New Zealand titles not held by the McNab Collection
New Zealand titles where demand is very slight

8. Formats

Collections will include all formats relevant to the ongoing needs of library users. Large print editions will not be kept if title available in standard format. Audiovisual materials are not retained.

9. Acquisition and Purchasing

Not applicable

10. Standing Orders

Not applicable

11. Donations

Not applicable

12. Preservation and Repair

Low turnover in the lending stack collections means that active maintenance of the collections by way of mending and repair to individual items is a low priority.

Care is taken to ensure optimal storage conditions are met. Regular checks on hazards to the collections are undertaken by members of the Libraries’ Disaster Preparedness Group which includes the Collection Development Librarian.

Repairs will be undertaken to preserve the integrity of a set or series, eg Jane’s Fighting Ships or where future demand is anticipated.

13. Review

This policy will be reviewed within five years

Lending Stack Collection Policy

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