A Floating Collection at a Large, Multi-Campus, Academic library

Abstract

A floating collection is operational across 19 campus libraries of this large, multi-campus, academic library. A floating collection is a group of items that are housed at whichever library most recently discharged them. Floating collections have been successful in public libraries, but no evidence was found that the concept had been attempted in a large academic library system. In 2009, a task force was charged with examining the feasibility of a floating collection. In 2011, a floating collection, limited to circulating monographs in the general stacks of multiple campus libraries, was implemented. This session will describe what we learned since the project's inception and successful implementation, including some unintended benefits and consequences.