Saskatoon Public Library
and the
University of Saskatchewan Library
LEISURE COLLECTION PARTNERSHIP
Rachel Sarjeant-Jenkins, University of Saskatchewan Library
and
Lorraine Salt, Saskatoon Public Library
May 2013
With thanks to Regan Gunningham, SIAST – Kelsey Campus
What does the literature tell us?
Leisure reading collections were a part of academic
libraries until the 1920s and 1930s (Hallyburton et al., 2011; Diers
and Simpson, 2012)
“While public libraries strive to help their patrons
discover reading material of choice, academic libraries
are more focused on locating materials that will
support a task.” (Gilbert and Fister, 2007, 477)
Barriers to leisure collections in academic
libraries:
• Collection development policies
• Lack of time, budget, staffing, physical
space
• Perception that students don’t have time
to “read” (Diers and Simpson, 2012; Elliott, 2009)
Benefits of leisure reading:
• Increased literacy
• Creativity
• Improved academic achievement
• Relieves stress
• Increased civic engagement
(NEA, 2007; Gilbert and Fister, 2011; Elliott 2009)
About our libraries:
• University Library
o 21,700 students, 7500 faculty and staff, and 17
colleges and schools (2011/12)
o Library traffic of ~2 million annually (7
locations)
• SPL
o 8 locations
o Materials: 800,000+ / 4.3 million+ thru SILS
o Serving population: 239,000 (Dec. 2012)
Why did we do it?
• SPL
o Community partnerships
o Promote SPL collections
o Extend life of materials
• U of S Library
o Community partnerships
o No mandate for leisure reading collection
o Work-life balance for students
Why we could do it:
“Hot titles”
• Popular print fiction and non-fiction
• Feature film DVDs and documentaries
• Music CDs
• Audiobook fiction and non-fiction
Anticipated Challenges:
• Separate governance models
• Separate policy frameworks
• Different work cultures
• Impact on staff
• Transportation
What we did about them:
• Project Charter/Partnership Agreement
• Planning meetings
• Procedures evolved
Technical
Services /
Alice Turner
Library
Murray Library
U of S campus
Workflow
SPL
selects materials
removes some stickers
creates a spreadsheet
exports MARC record file
U of S Library
packs up items
removes MARC records
transports items back to SPL
SPL forwards to sale tables
U of S Library
picks up items
loads MARC records
adds U of S barcode
places on the shelves
U of S Library
promotes the collection
circulates the materials
collects statistics
Circulation data:
• DVDs circulate the most, ~5 circs each.
• Print ~2 circs each.
• CDs ~1.5 circs each.
• Audiobooks did less well. Of 14 audiobooks
provided, there were only 4 circs.
180
160
140
120
Number of items
circulated
100
80
60
40
20
0
Nov-12
Dec-12
Jan-13
Feb-13
Mar-13
Apr-13
Growing pains:
• Collection growth
• Type of materials
• Workload on SPL technical services
• Promotion on campus
Why the partnership works:
• The people work well together
• Both institutions value the partnership
• Both institutions value partnering
Next steps:
• Expand types of materials
• Explore other joint projects
References
Bosman, R., Glover, J. & Prince, M. (2008). Growing adult readers: Promoting leisure reading
in academic libraries. Urban Library Journal, 15(1), 46-58. Retrieved at
http://ojs.gc.cuny.edu/index.php/urbanlibrary/article/view/1268/1357
Dewan, P. (2010). Why your academic library needs a popular reading collection now more
than ever. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 17(1), 44-64.
Diers, B. & Simpson, S. (2012). At your leisure: Establishing a popular reading collection at
UBC Library. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 7(2), 49-66. Retrieved at
http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/12296/14031
Elliott, J. (2009). Barriers to extracurricular reading promotion in academic libraries.
Reference and User Services Quarterly 48(4), 340-346.
Gilbert, J. & Fister, B. (2011). Reading, risk, and reality: College students and reading for
pleasure. College & Research Libraries, 72(5), 474-495. Retrieved at
http://crl.acrl.org/content/72/5/474.full.pdf+html
Hallyburton, A.W., Buchanan, H.E. & Carstens, T.V. (2011). Serving the whole person: Popular
materials in academic libraries. Collection Building, 30(2), 109-112.
Kelly, K.E. & Kneipp, L.B. (2009). Reading for pleasure and creativity among college
students. College Student Journal, 43(4), 1137-1144. Retrieved from
http://www.projectinnovation.com/College_Student_Journal.html
National Endowment for the Arts. (2004). Reading at risk: A survey of literary reading in
America. Research Division Report #46. Retrieved form
http://www.nea.gov/research/ReadingAtRisk.pdf
National Endowment for the Arts. (2007). To read or not to read: A question of national
consequence. Research Report #47. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.gov/research/toread.pdf
Nicholson, H. (2012). How to be engaging: Recreational reading and readers’ advisory in
the academic library. Public Services Quarterly, 8(2), 178-186.
U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). A First Look
at the Literacy of America’s Adults in the 21st Century. NCES 2006-470. Retrieved from
http://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/PDF/2006470.pdf
Rachel Sarjeant-Jenkins
rachel.sarjeant-jenkins@usask.ca
Lorraine Salt
l.salt@saskatoonlibrary.ca