Active Stock Management in

Stirling Libraries :

Taking Care of Business

Robert Ruthven

Background

Stirling Council Libraries• Population 88,000• Area 8th largest in Scotland• Large sparsely populated rural hinterland• Urban centres mainly south and east• Diverse mix of affluent and deprived communities• 16 Libraries• 2 Mobile Libraries

The problem; declining book loans

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Stirling All Book Issues Scotland All Book Issues

Trends from 2007Issue trends April 07 onwards

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

120%

130%

Apr-07

May-07

Jun-07

Jul-07

Aug-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

Apr-08

May-08

Jun-08

Jul-08

Aug-08

Sep-08

Oct-08

Nov-08

Dec-08

Jan-09

Feb-09

Mar-09

Adult fiction Adult non-fiction Junior Audio visual

Trends from 2007 (6 mth rolling average)

Issue trends April 07 onwards

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

120%

Apr-07

May-07

Jun-07

Jul-07

Aug-07

Sep-07

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

Apr-08

May-08

Jun-08

Jul-08

Aug-08

Sep-08

Oct-08

Nov-08

Dec-08

Jan-09

Feb-09

Mar-09

AF trendline AN trendline AV trendline Junior trendline

What have we done?• Recognition that there was a problem• Stock Selection Group• Display and Marketing• Stock Promotion Group• Evidence Based Stock Management: SmartSM

Recognition that there was a problem• Declining issues• Key Copies no longer available• Stagnant or declining bookfund• Unfocused purchase of multiple copies• Too much dead stock

Stock Selection Group• Involves staff from across the service• Radically updating stock selection policy• Focussed attention on stock• Changed attitudes radically

Selection• Central Fiction fund• Staff selecting for whole service• Bestseller standing orders• Supplier selection considered• Experimental fund

Rotation• Stock moving round every 3 months whether used or not• Stays permanently at 6th Location• Rotation numbers based on issues per library• Every library heads at least one rotation and is 2nd on another and so on roughly proportional to annual issues• Central library heads 7 rotations out 39 in total

Sample RotationsBAL03 BAN01 BAN02 BAN03 BOA01 BOA02 BOA03 BOA04 CAL01BAL BAN BAN BAN BOA BOA BOA BOA CALCAM CEN BAL DRY MOB1 PLE CEN CAM DUNCEN MOB1 STR StN CEN BAL MOB1 BAN CAM

MOB1 DUN BOA CEN COW MOB1 STR KIL CENStN FAL MOB1 DUN BAN CEN CAM MOB1 KILDUN DRY CEN MOB1 STR StN DRY CEN COW

CEN03 CEN04 CEN05 CEN06 CEN07 COW01 DOU01 DRY01 DRY02CEN CEN CEN CEN CEN COW DOU DRY DRYDOU BOA BAL StN MOB1 BOA BOA CEN CAL

MOB1 CAL BAN DRY KIL CEN BAL MOB1 PLECAL BAL StN FAL DUN PLE STR DUN CAMBAL BAN BOA CAL CAM MOB1 BAN BOA CENFAL StN DUN MOB1 StN DRY CEN BAL BAN

DUN03 DUN04 FAL01 KIL01 PLE01 STN01 STN02 STN03 STR01DUN DUN FAL KIL PLE StN StN StN STRCAL MOB1 BAN CEN STR DUN BAN COW CENSTR FAL BOA STR CAL CAM CEN DUN COWDRY STR MOB1 BAN BOA CEN CAL MOB1 DUNDOU PLE CEN DUN BAL STR BOA CEN BAL

MOB1 CEN CAL CAM MOB1 PLE DUN STR CAM

Display and Marketing• Marketing Team• Improving library appearance• Brand image• Signage and headers• Less stock but with higher visibility• Display furniture and face-on display• Book festival

Display and Marketing: Fallin Library

Stock Promotion Group• Stock promotion Policy• Readers’ groups and Wiki• Targeted groups; emergent readers, ethnic groups• Promotional Buys; national initiatives

Pro-active stock management• Dead stock• Grubby stock• Targets• Promotion

Evidence Based Stock Management: SmartSM• Dead stock and targets• Grubby stock and targets• Stock swaps• Project Plan

Stock EditingSchedule

Stock swaps (weekly basis) Stock edits Stock edits

To be added

WEEK BEGINNING A N-F Adult fiction Junior N-F Junior Fiction A-V

20-Oct-2008 746-750Complete LP

deadstock27-Oct-2008 796-796.6

3-Nov-2008Junior fiction Deadstock

10-Nov-2008 360-38017-Nov-2008 914.6-915

24-Nov-2008 915-917

25% limit on stock not

used in 1 year1-Dec-2008 917-9188-Dec-2008 918-920

15-Dec-200822-Dec-2008

29-Dec-2008LP grubby

stock5-Jan-2009 920s Double week

12-Jan-200919-Jan-2009 750-760

26-Jan-2009 000-100

2-Feb-2009 To be reviewed

General Fiction

deadstock

9-Feb-2009

limit lowered from 20% to

15%16-Feb-2009

What’s still to do?• Early stages with Adult Non-fiction• Earlier stages with Junior• Large Print and audiobooks• Audio-Visual• Start again

The Starting Point; Declining Book Loans Now Reversed

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Stirling All Book Issues Scotland All Book Issues

The Results of Stirling’s Efforts: Fiction Loans

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Stirling Adult Fiction Issues Scotland Adult Fiction Issues

Taking Care of Business

Robert Ruthven

ruthvenr@stirling.gov.uk

Data prepared by Andrew Muirhead