Collection for the Davidson County

Animal ShelterINLS 513, Spring 2013

Hillary Fox, Kathleen Hill, Meaghan Lanier and Megan Proctor

Community Analysis - County• DCAS is located in Lexington, NC

but serves the entire county• Davidson County is

o Ruralo Large in area (567 square miles) but smaller in

population (149,331) with a 267/sq mi population density; compare to Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), which has 546 sq mi but a population density of 1,755/sq mi - 6.5 times the size

o Homogeneous - 84.05% white, 11.14% Black/African American, etc.

Community Analysis - DCAS• Exists under the Sheriff's Department and

collaborates with Animal Control officers• Director is Judy Lanier since December 6, 2011

(first ever director)• Very small staff that often has some fluctuation• Assisted by the Friends of the Shelter group

Selection Criteria • Conducted interviews and focus groups (Meaghan's

mom, director of DCAS, and Drs. Lynn and Preston Roberts of Animal Care Clinic Hospital of Rural Hall, NC)

• Examined central issues related to our community and its patrons

• Combed through search engines, etc, to find relevant and interesting materials related to said issues

Selection CriteriaNarrowing the choices:1. Author credibility2. Price3. Durability of resource4. Focus on materials for

patrons 18+ (this is the youngest age one can adopt an animal)

5. Relevance to shelter and community needs

Issues for the Collection to Address

• Spay/Neuter• Vaccinating animals, especially for rabies• General responsible pet ownership

principles• Euthanasia and surrounding issues• Compassion fatigue• Veterinary medicine and disease• Volunteer management

and Fundraising

Collection Organization • Responsible Pet Ownership

o including Spay and Neuter

• Veterinary Medicine, Diseases, and Safety• Volunteer and Fundraising• DVDs• Magazines• Journals• Websites

Cat and Dog Resources • Most of the collection deals with information

about cats and dogs

• Why?o Based on our interviews and focus groups, shelters

typically exclusively receive and adopt out cats and dogs; this is definitely the case at DCAS

Example: Volunteering and Fundraising

Publicity to the Rescue by Susan Daffron

• Relevance to shelter's needs

• Authority

• Price

Example: Responsible Pet Ownership

The Everything New Puppy Book by Carlo De Vito & Amy Ammen

• Relevance to shelter's needs

• Authority

• Price

Example: Emotional/Social

One At A Time by Diane Leigh and Marilee & Marilee Geyer

• Relevance to shelter's needs

• Authority

• Price

Rejected "Good Enough" Resources

We rejected items based on authority, relevance to the collection, quality, and how expensive they were.

Example: Petersen, Christine A., Glenda Dvorak and Anna Rovid-Spickler. Maddie’s Infection Control Manual for Animal Shelters. 2008. Sprial-Bound $139.95 via Amazon

This item was very expensive, it would not hold up well (spiral-bound) and did not seem to be very reputable.

Example: Stroud, Rebecca. The Animal Advocate. Rebecca Stroud, 2012. Kindle Edition $2.99 via Amazon

This item was not as relevant to the collection (too biased - newspaper columns) and seemed to only be available via Kindle, which would not be possible for the shelter to support.

Alumni from DCAS: Mason and Oliver!

Bibliography• Davidson County Animal Shelter. "Davidson County, North Carolina Animal

Shelter." Animal Shelter Home. N.p., 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.co.davidson.nc.us/animalshelter/>.

• "Information Needs of the Davidson County Animal Shelter." E-mail interview with Judy Lanier. 2 Apr. 2013.

• “Information Needs of the Davidson County Animal Shelter”. In person interview with Drs. Lynn and Preston Roberts. April 2013. United States Census Bureau. "Davidson County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau."Davidson County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37057.html>.

• United States Census Bureau. “Mecklenburg County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.” Mecklenburg County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37119.html>.