12 Lifecycle management

12.1 Application
12.2 Retention
12.2.1 Monographs - book and non-book
12.2.2 Serials
12.2.3 Digital resources
12.3 Relocation
12.4 Repair
12.4.1 Mending
12.4.2 Re-binding
12.4.3 Conservation
12.5 Replacement
12.5.1 Replacement decisions
12.5.2 Replacement lists
12.5.3 Partial replacement
12.6 De-selection
12.7 Disposal

Guidelines in greater detail are described in the Lifecycle Management Manual.

12.1 Application

ACL/TPK manages the lifecycle of its collection in three streams:
Heritage – items are selected and acquired to keep permanently and are treated as an appreciating asset and managed accordingly.

Depository – items are gifted to ACL/TPK with conditions around access, retention and disposal, usually kept permanently.

Current use or Working – items are primarily for loan, and during their life may be re-located, moved to a Heritage collection, replaced, repaired or withdrawn from use and disposed of.

For the working collections to remain viable and accessible, ACL/TPK regard the review and re-assessment of resources as being as important as selection.

There are planned, systematic reviews of both open shelf and basement material.  These reviews result in one of the following options:

• Retention
• Relocation
• Repair including mending, rebinding, conservation
• Replacement
• Withdrawal and disposal

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12.2 Retention

Decisions to permanently retain resources are based on an assessment of the ongoing future value of specific resources to the lifelong learning and research needs of the customers of ACL/TPK, and in some cases on their existence as the only copy available regionally or nationally.  Long-term storage will be reviewed separately.

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12.2.1 Monographs – book and non-book

Some items are purchased with the intention of retaining a copy permanently.  Others may not be but may prove to have enduring value, and will be retained.  If books and other items are no longer performing successfully at a site, but are still in reasonable condition, they may be transferred to another site, or to the back catalogue basement collections at the Central City Library, or into the Heritage collections.  There are special requirements around New Zealand items, items that are the last copy in the system, and old or rare items.

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12.2.2 Serials

Some serials are acquired to provide current information, and are disposed of after a set period of time, or when an updated volume is received.  Others will be of value and interest to researchers and other customers, and may build on the social, cultural and technical history of Auckland and New Zealand, so back issues are kept permanently and may be bound.

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12.2.3 Digital resources

ACL/TPK subscribes to some digital resources that provide archives of earlier information, whilst others provide only current information.

Digital indexes and databases ACL/TPK have created in-house that are of heritage and local history value are kept permanently, with appropriate archiving processes in place.  A policy on retention of website content is being developed.

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12.3 Relocation

Material in good condition may be moved to another site within ACL/TPK at the discretion of the Collection Development team when they deem it will be more useful at that site.
 
When material is used infrequently or is in poor physical condition, but nevertheless still contains important or historically valuable information, it may be relegated to a closed area. Serials may be shifted to closed areas because of space limitations.  Material may be assessed and moved into a Heritage collection, recognizing its rarity, value, age or importance of content to the cultural, social or technical history of New Zealand.

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12.4 Repair

12.4.1 Mending

Mending is carried out at each site.  Guidelines on how to assess when to mend an item are maintained by the Collection Development Team.  A manual on how to mend is kept updated by the Preservation Unit, and they organize mending training.

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12.4.2 Re-binding

Guidelines for when to rebind books, and what styles of rebinding are available, are kept updated by the Collection Development Team and the Preservation Unit.

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12.4.3 Conservation

Conservation of material is only undertaken for items within Special Collections or other heritage collections.

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12.5 Replacement

12.5.1 Replacement decisions

While ACL/TPK tries to maintain copies of standard and important works, materials withdrawn due to loss or damage are not automatically replaced. Decisions concerning replacement of individual items are based on the following considerations:

• Is the item still in demand?
• Is it a duplicate of materials in the collection, and is duplication still needed?
• Is it a last copy of a work in the whole system?
• Is it considered basic or a classic work in its field?
• Is it still up to date?
• Is there enough material on this subject in the local collection?
• Is the item in print at a reasonable cost?
• Is it cheaper (or possible) to mend or to replace?
• Is it part of a series where ACL/TPK hold the other titles in the series?

It may be necessary to temporarily retain damaged or worn out items that are in high demand until replacement material can be purchased.  If replacement copies are not available, damaged items may be retained until they have deteriorated beyond use if the content is considered to be crucial.  This is called planned deterioration.

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12.5.2 Replacement Lists

Special lists of needed replacements are compiled by staff on classic, reference and topical interest titles throughout the year.

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12.5.3 Partial replacement

Some resources held contain several discrete parts.  When individual parts are lost or damaged, replacement will be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the following factors:

• Ease of replacement.
• Value and condition of the item.
• Importance of the part.
• Format of the parts

Individual collection management policies will give greater detail on replacement for that format.

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12.6 De-selection

Decisions to permanently retain resources are based on evidence of the ongoing future value of specific resources to the lifelong learning and research needs of the customers of Auckland City Libraries.

Deselection (or weeding) is the process of assessment of items for possible removal from the collection.  All collections except for heritage collections are assessed regularly for material that may be replaced or discarded.

Reasons for deselection:

1. To identify and discard incorrect or outdated or superseded materials.
   Customer demand is for up-to-date information. Outdated medical, legal, travel, tax and educational information especially can cause serious problems for customers.
2. To remove from the collection those materials that are no longer being used
   Space restraints, and if the collection is crowded with items that are not being used, users cannot find what they do want.
3. To remove worn or damaged materials
   Attractive, clean materials are preferred by all users and give the message that the library is a modern, up-to-date source of information. A well-maintained collection sends the message that we expect users to treat materials with respect and return them in the good condition in which they were borrowed. 
4. To increase circulation
   Decreasing the size of the collection often results in increasing circulation.^xxiii  Users find it difficult to find useful materials when the collection is overcrowded with outdated, unattractive, irrelevant materials. Death from overcrowding is a common result of collections that are not properly and regularly weeded.

Exceptions to the above criteria are:

• Material considered classic or part of a core list.
• Material not likely to become outdated.
• Material about a subject not found elsewhere in the collection, where a replacement is not available.

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12.7 Disposal

Specific disposal guidelines for individual collections are found in the individual collection management policy for that collection.

For Sale

Deselected items are disposed by sale at sale trolleys at each site, using the prices listed in the Customer Service Manual.^xxiv

Disposal lists

De-selected serials or books may be offered for free disposal to other libraries through the New Zealand libraries discussion list – nz-libs.  Libraries accepting these items may be asked to pay postage or freight.

Sale on request

Some customers ask if a particular book they want can be withdrawn and sold to them. ACL/TPK does not withdraw books to customer demand, or tag books for customers in case they are withdrawn later.

Batches of books

ACL/TPK receives requests to provide batches of withdrawn books to good causes both locally and overseas, e.g., schools in the Pacific Islands, rest homes, etc.  Requests are managed by the Collection Development Team.  Guidelines for disposal are being developed as part of the lifecycle management manual.

Valuable books

Items in heritage collections are not disposed of unless severe damage has been sustained.  On rare occasions ACL/TPK may have duplicate copies of items held in heritage collections in the current use collections, and may dispose of these.  Responsibility for disposing of these books rests with the Collections and Heritage Managers, and may involve offering them to other heritage or research institutions or commercial sale.

Recycling and throwing out

Damaged books may be thrown out or sent to paper recycling companies.  Damaged resources in other formats such as cassettes are thrown out.

Book Sales

ACL/TPK may organise book sales for disposal where it is cost-effective and maximizes a return to the organisation.

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