Floating Collections: An e-forum

If you Love Them, Let Them Float!: An E-Forum Discussion on Floating Collections
November 16-17, 2010

Please join us for an e-forum discussion. It’s free and open to everyone!

With many libraries facing budget cuts and looking for more efficient ways to manage services, the option of floating collections has entered the spotlight again.  Once considered a radical approach to collection management, floating a few or perhaps all of a library’s collections is becoming more mainstream than revolutionary.  What are the benefits of this model and how does it impact patrons, library collection development, and library staff?  If you are just curious, considering moving toward this model, or about to flip the switch and set your collection free, you’re bound to find useful information for your floating toolkit in this discussion. 

What is an e-forum?

An ALCTS e-forum provides an opportunity for librarians to discuss matters of interest, led by a moderator, through the e-forum discussion list. The e-forum discussion list works like an email listserv: register your email address with the list, and then you will receive messages and communicate with other participants through an email discussion. Most e-forums last two to three days. Registration is necessary to participate, but it's free. See a list of upcoming e-forums at: http://bit.ly/upcomingeforum.

To register:

Instructions for registration are available at: http://bit.ly/eforuminfo. Once you have registered for one e-forum, you do not need to register again, unless you choose to leave the email list. Participation is free and open to anyone.

Deborah George is the Division Director of Materials Management at Gwinnett County Public Library in Lawrenceville, Ga., where she supervises Materials selection and cataloging, as well as Technical Services and Interlibrary Loan.  Deborah received her MLS from Florida State University.  Her previous positions include working as a children’s and reference librarian, as well as serving as a manager of both a physical branch and the library website. 

Barbara Spruill is the Branch Services Division Director for Gwinnett County Public Library, which has been floating all collections (except Reference materials and magazines) since 2004.  Barbara received her MLS from Florida State University and has worked with library collections throughout her career.  She recently moderated a panel presentation and virtual program -  “Adrift or Right on Target:  Perspectives on Floating Collections” at the national PLA conference  in Portland, Oregon.