Librarians’ book selection practices and budget fluctuations in the City of Cape Town, South Africa

One of the main purposes of a library is to disseminate information to the community it serves. Collection development, which is the process of building and maintaining a library’s collection is, thus an essential part of library services. The selection of materials that align with community needs and interests is an especially important aspect of collection development. With reference to the Helen Haines theory of book selection which is community-centred and highlights the role of lifelong learning in book selection, this research investigated the book selection practices of librarians from the City of Cape Town Library and Information Service. It assessed the role of the current Collection Development Plan (CDP) in book selection; it gathered insights on selection tools utilized by librarians performing book selection and explored how declining library budgets have affected the book selection process. This research utilized a two-pronged mixed methods approach. Firstly, electronic questionnaires were distributed to 75 libraries to gather the initial research data. Interviews were then conducted with 5 librarians to gain a more in-depth look at the book selection process. This research found that book selection librarians within the City of Cape Town are highly experienced and that the selection process is a highly consultative one, which involves both staff and communities. Another key finding was that participants considered the CDP to be outdated. Finally, the data suggest that book selection for community libraries are more affected by budget fluctuations than regional or city-wide libraries. The study thus recommends that the CDP should be updated in consultation with the different levels of library staff for whom it is intended. Another recommendation is that the methods in which budgets are allocated to the different library tiers need to be re-evaluated to ensure that community libraries are not unfairly disadvantaged as a result of budget cuts.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Universty of the Western Cape

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Chanderdeo, Kerisha

• Book selection
• Collection development
• Collection development plan
• Community needs
• Community libraries

Licence

• https://uwcscholar.uwc.ac.za/bitstreams/3b2c17f7-cdff-41f9-974e-cc6d00acb98f/download