At a glance
Improving the library user experience with collectionHQ
Four UK library services on increasing stock usage, maximising existing material, discovering new titles and monitoring performance — including Lewisham cutting dead stock from 25% to 17%.
Library services
Reduction in dead stock at Lewisham
Timeframe
The challenge
What the library was up against
Across four UK library services, the same pressures recurred: stock that had not been borrowed for long periods because of low demand at its branch, poor visibility on the shelf, or items simply lost or missing.
Tracking stock performance, task completion and potential cost savings was a time-consuming job for library managers.
The solution
What they did
Lewisham Library and Information Service used Collection Check and Dead Item action plans to identify dead stock and move it to branches with higher demand or more prominent positions.
South Gloucestershire: transfers and displays
South Gloucestershire Libraries used Transfer tools to replace worn or "grubby" stock with low-usage items from other branches, and Dead on Arrival plans to build "Hidden Treasures" displays.
Fife: evidence-led buying
Fife Cultural Trust used the Spending Plan tool to decide which authors and how many copies of new releases to buy, and the Discovery module to track gaps in popular authors, subjects, titles and series.
Durham: performance at a glance
Durham County Council used the Dashboard to monitor turnover, circulation, transfers, dead item percentage and overused stock at a glance.
The results
What changed
Lewisham: dead stock down
Lewisham reduced dead items in its collection from 25% to 17% over a 12 month period.
South Gloucestershire: a second life for stock
South Gloucestershire generated 9,017 additional circulations from transferred dead titles.
Fife: buying with confidence
Fife buys for new libraries with confidence, using evidence of what is borrowed in similar libraries.
Durham: impact made visible
Durham exports Dashboard charts to demonstrate to staff the impact of their work on stock performance.
“I use the Dashboard to monitor the performance of stock movement internally to see if any branches are moving less or more stock than they should be, as this helps me to identify potential training issues.”
Michael Nattress
Senior Librarian, Durham Libraries, Lewisham, Fife, Durham and South Gloucestershire
More case studies
Other libraries, other pressures
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Rebuilding stock management after deep budget cuts
After service closures, a third fewer librarians and a change of LMS, South Gloucestershire used collectionHQ to re-establish a collection management process — and gave dead stock a second life worth 9,017 extra circulations.
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South Gloucestershire, UK
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A decade-long collectionHQ customer cut Dead on Arrival stock from 17.5% to 14.1% while lifting DEI representation from 21.9% to 24.9% — by promoting books rather than weeding them.
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