Mapping the Processes of a Small Public Library

Erin Larucci

North Franklin Public LibraryNorth Franklin, NY

The North Franklin Public Library is located in the rural village of North Franklin, New York, with a population of just under four thousand. It forms part of the Three-County Library Consortium, which includes libraries in Otsego, Delaware, and Schoharie Counties. The five participating libraries rely heavily on Interlibrary Loan to provide services and materials to patrons of the included communities.  The library resides in a Victorian house donated by the town. The two main floors included reading rooms, a children’s area, computer area, research room, and a public meeting room. The attic and basement are utilized as office space and storage space for unused, or rarely used, materials.  Due to the limitations of space and budget, selection focuses mostly on electronic resources. With an annual budget of $350,000, the collection is comprised of roughly 35,000 books and magazines as well as access to online resources such as databases and e-journals. Various audio and visual equipment is available for use. Recently, four Kindles were purchased using grant funds and are now available for circulation.

In 2010, the number of area residents with library cards totaled over 5,000. Our patrons are made up of the following: 55% adults, 34% toddlers and school-aged children, and 11% teens.  The staff in North Franklin Public Library is comprised of two full-time employees: the Library Director and the Librarian. A part-time bookkeeper manages the accounting and two part-time clerks handle circulation and sorting. A part-time janitor maintains the premises. During the school year, student workers are available for routine tasks. Volunteers are also available through a collaborative program called Alternatives to Incarceration, which provides teens with community service opportunities. Programs are instructed by the Library Director as well as contracted individuals. Various programs target young children, teens, adults, and teachers in order to improve literacy and computer skills.

Identification & Selection

Organization, Preparation, & Storage

Interpretation & Dissemination

Utilization

Acquisition

KEY

End User – Public

Decision Points [Bold outline colors vary by section]

Staffing

Flow Lines

BUDGET [In background of most pages]

Connection Line [Colors vary by section]

Identification& Selection

What to get/Why to get it?

AcquisitionHow to get it?

Organization, Preparation, &

StorageWhat to do with it?

Interpretation &

DisseminationHow to get it to users?

UtilizationWhat do users need to use it?

Surveys

JobbersPublishers

Feedback

User Requests

Staff Requests

Reviews

Magazine Racks

Bookshelves

Licenses

Book Swap

Interlibrary Loan

Purchase Orders

Donations

End User(Public)

How do users react?

Kindles

Website

Monthly Newsletter

Reference Desk

Circulation Desk

Workshops

Book Clubs

Children’s Story Hour

Computers

Printers

A/V Racks

Cataloging

Local History

Local Authors

Sorting

Instructional Sessions

Labeling

Book Swap/

Sales Rack

Monthly Interest Display

Children’s Display

Bar-coding

Stamping

Periodicals Contracts

Online Databases

Need, Legal, Technical,

Space Issues

Environment Software

Equipment

Space

Attend Workshops

Consume Resources

Receive Customer

Service

BUDGETAffects all aspects of library services

Local Teachers

START

Identification &Selection

REQUESTS

Other Public

Requests

Staff Requests

Verification

Justification

Acquisition

Local Teacher

Requests

Reviews

Booklist

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries Bulletin of the

Center for Children's Books

Curriculum Requirements

Administration

Parents

Difficulty finding material in collection

Item not found

Item not in collection

Government

Under-supported School Library

Ignorant about School

Library

Lack of communication

Jobbers

Blackwell

Baker & Taylor

Publishers/Vendors

EBSCOhostNA

Publishing Inc

Scholastic

BUDGET

Newer Edition

Available

NY Times Bestseller

List

Need, Legal, Technical, Space

Issues

Non-redundancy

Staff Involved:Director, Librarian

(Youngman, 2006)

What to get/why to

get it?

AcquisitionOpen and

SubscriptionPurchase Orders

(Standing Orders)

Licenses forElectronic Resources

Web Domain Fees

Interlibrary Loan

Book Swap

Donations

Special Item/Service

Purchase Orders(Firm Orders)

Organization,Preparation, & Storage

Items/Services Received

Periodicals

Individual Books/eBooks& A/V items

Printing

Newsletter

Library Supplies

Contracted Services

Online Databases& Journals

Three County Library Consortium

Used Books, Serials,

A/V Items

SELECTION

Reader’s Digest

Newsweek

Instructors

Teacher Reference

Center

Ancestry.com

Infotrac

Interlibrary Loan-to-Buy Option

Low-use items at one library can be purchased by another library

with high-use patterns

Jobbers

Blackwell

Baker & Taylor

Publishers/Vendors

EBSCOhostNA

Publishing Inc Scholastic

BUDGET

NYS Newspapers

NY Times

LISTA

Grolier Online

LitfinderAmazon.com

Note: Approval Plans not used

HarperCollins

NoveList Need, Legal, Technical,

Space Issues

Library Hosting.com

Staff Involved:Purchaser, Librarian

(van Dyk, 2011)

How to get it?

Organization,Preparation,

& Storage

Reference

ACQUISITION

Interpretation & Dissemination

Local Authors Display

Local History Display

Stamping

Library of Congress &

Dewey Decimal System

Children’s Display

Interest Display

Magazine Racks

Sorting

Cataloging

Labeling Book Jackets

Remote & Local Access

Physical Resources

Electronic Resources

Book Swap/Sales Rack

Ancestry.com

Entering Barcodes

Dust jacketing/placing

protective film

Placing Care Instructions (for

A/V)

Upd

ate

as n

eede

d

Infotrac

NYS Newspapers

Grolier Online

Computers

LISTA

Teacher Reference

Center

Weeding

Low-Use Items

New Items& Regular Items

New Item Display

Bookshelves

A/V Racks

BUDGET

Staff Involved:Librarian, Clerk,

Student Workers, Volunteers

(Aloi, Esposito, Gotsch, Holliday, Kretz, 2007)

What to do with it?

Interpretation&

Dissemination

Organization

Utilization

Physical Resources

Monthly Newsletter

Book Clubs

Computers & Printers

Website Children’s Story Hour

Workshops

Kindles

Reference Desk

Circulation Desk

Electronic Resources Services

Online Databases

Monthly Newsletter

Tiny Tykes Club

Teen Reading

Club

Improving Computer Literacy

Shakespeare for All

Improving Reading Literacy

Making Reading

Fun

www.nflibrary.org

Instructional Sessions

Using Library

Resources

Guides to Research

BUDGET

Staff Involved:Director, Librarian, Clerk,

Contracted Instructors(Roy, Bolfing, Brzozowski, 2010)

Books, A/V Materials,

Serials

How to get it to users?

Utilization

End User (Public)

Interpretation & Dissemination

Space Environment

Meeting Room

Computer Area

Computer Games

Research Rooms

Restrooms

Children’s Area

Temperature Control

Privacy Screens

Lighting

Storage

SoftwareEquipment

Offices

Computers

PhotoshopPrinters

Games

iTunes

Utilities

Reference Desk

Circulation Desk

Windows Media Player

Reading Rooms

Ellison Machine &

Dies

Screen

Chairs & Tables

Projectors

Speakers

BUDGET

Microsoft Works Suite

Corel Word Perfect

Internet Explorer

Microsoft Office Suite

2010

Kindles

Book Stacks

Staff Involved:All Staff

What do users need to use it?

End User (Public)

Consume Resources

Attend Workshops

ReceiveCustomer

Service

Comment Box FeedbackSurveys

Identification & Selection

Utilization

Staff Involved:All Staff

How do users react

to it?

Staffing

Library Director

Volunteer Student Worker

Part-Time Clerk

LibrarianPart-Time Purchaser

Part-Time Janitor

BUDGET

Board(unpaid)

Contracted Instructors

Staffing – 40%

Utilities – 5%

Purchases – 30%

Licenses – 22%

Contracted Services – 2%

Annual Budget$350,000

ReferencesEvans, G.E., Intner, S.S., Weihs, J. (2011). Introduction to technical services. Santa Barbara, California:

Libraries Unlimited. vanDuinkerken, W. (2009). Bringing public services experience to technical services: Improvements in

practice. Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services, 33, 51-58. doi: 10.1016/j.lcats.2009.4.001

van Dyk, G. (2011). Interlibrary loan purchase-on-demand: A misleading literature. Library Collections,

Acquisitions, & Technical Services, 35, 83-89. doi: 10.1016/j.lcats.2011.1.001 Youngman, D.C. (2006). Process Flow Analysis in Academic Libraries. Technical Services Quarterly,

24(1), 37-44. doi: 10.1300/J124v24n01_03 Aloi, M.J., Esposito, L., Gotsch, J.R., Holliday, D., Kretz, C. (2007). Technology of Displays: Using

Technical Services Skills to Enhance Library Displays. Technical Services Quarterly, 24 (4), 15-24. doi: 10.1300/J124v24n04_02

Roy, L., Bolfing, T., Brzozowski, B. (2010). Computer classes for job seekers: LIS students team with

public librarians to extend public service. Public Library Quarterly, 29, 193-209. doi: 10.1080/01616846.2010.502028

American Library Association. (2011). Marketing to Libraries. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from

http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet05.cfm.

Other Resources Used: Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut Street, Oneonta, NY 13820