Stock policy

Hampshire Libraries and Information Service aims to ensure that the range of books, music, films and games that are available for loan is in line with people's wants and needs.

We aim to ensure that

• All our customers are provided with a balanced range of books and formats including audio-visual material relevant to their needs and appropriate to the size of library and its level of use
• Stock is treated as a countywide resource to ensure maximum use and all stock is selected to be part of the overall county collection
• Stock is selected via a streamlined, efficient and professional system involving staff who work directly with the public
• The majority of new stock is ordered several months prior to publication to guarantee speed of supply. Our aim is that our stock holdings be as current as bookshops
• An efficient and speedy centralised Acquisitions system provides prompt delivery of new stock to branches
• All appropriate stock is systematically circulated in order to maximise use and to provide a constantly changing range of material for our users
• Stock surveying is regularly carried out to monitor stock performance eg individual branch stock sizes and proportions aim to reflect the needs and use made by the communities served within building constraints
• Our stock layouts are planned and books shelved and displayed, including face out display, to help our customers find interesting reading material easily eg 'quick visit' areas
• Promotion of new and existing stock and the promotion of reading and literature development is an essential part of stock management
• Our aim in stock maintenance is that all stock available to the public should be in good condition, in good order on the shelves and the contents, as far as is possible to ensure, be up to date and that best use is made of the material purchased through policies on binding, storage and withdrawal
• Our bookfund is targeted to ensure sufficient depth of provision of the books that our customers most want to read, including displays of top 10 bestsellers in 'Fastback' collections, as resources permit
• Appropriate specialist and expensive material is purchased and is circulated in order to meet cost per issue criteria and to ensure a range of stock is available to meet county wide needs but with the aim of not duplicating further/higher education or professional provision available elsewhere
• Our scope covers the material published in, or distributed/readily available in, the UK. Any title legally published or distributed in the United Kingdom may be considered for purchase
• The bulk of our bookfund is spent with contracted suppliers to ensure best possible discounts and hence the most cost effective use of money available
• Customer feedback and requests as well as branch stock profiles are important parts of the selection process
• Appropriate stock loan periods are set according to the material concerned and to the needs of Hampshire library users - currently, following public consultation, the basic loan period for books is 4 weeks