DOCUMENT NEMO-. t?, ED 114 058 p 002 682 AUTHGRUT Ha Itim, Choong H.; Sexton, Irwin M. TITLE "Bboks by Mail Service;A Conference Report (Las Vegas,-Nevada, June.23, 1973). INSTITUTION - Council on Library Re'sourceS, Inc.,' Watlington, ,D.C.; Indiand-State Univ..., Torte Hae. Dept. of Library Science:: PUB DATE Mar 74 NOTE . 173p. T \,)ED1sPRICE AP-10.74 HC-$8.24 Plus Postage, DESCRIPTQRS Cbnference Reports; bsts; *Delivery Systems; *Library Circulation; *Library Services; Public . 0 Libraries; Rural Aiea4; Urban Areas . IDENTIFIERS '.*Book;s By'Mail ABSTRACT a When repre$entatives of public librariei with programs to deliver books to patrons by mail met in Las Vegas, Nevada, in June of 1973, the conference brought, to a 'sharp focuS the' emergence of =two differept-types of books by-aail.(BBM). programs. One is the uttan ot: metropolitan proqram serving the fog t. to six ,percent. of the, urban population who axe. homebound, elderly, or institutionboWnd or who find mail service more convenient. Another is the aural prograw-ierving from Et. to'over 40 petcent of a local population hitJerto inserve by public librariegr The reading p interests shown by BBM patc reflecto.,theoageneral reading patterns, of the local iirea. Staff cos s the largest cost factor in both urban-andgtural'prograMS. In.urwZ programs, maintenance of a seyarate:paperback,collection and creation of a catalog for the BBM 'progrdm are the second and third ranking cost factors. In most areAs, the ,BBM. program complements rather than competing with or replacing the existing standard library services. The conference .report .includes an extefisthve summary and 13 presented papers. (Author/PF) , .4. =-7 *$7****4t***************1!********************************0************ ,Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * * material not . available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort,* ic to obtain the best*-copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * reproducibility are often encountered and this' affects the quality -* . * of the microfiche and hdrdcoPy reproductions ERIC makes available * ,* via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) .EDRS is not * * responsible for the quality of 'the original dOcument. Reproductions * * supplied by EDI'S ape the best that can.be made fiom the original. ******************************************************************** e 'cr V BOOKS BY MAIL SERVICE ACONFERENCEREPORT "4 .11 or March 1974 co . , Department of :Library Science CAS Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana 0 U S DEPARTMplr.OF HEALTH. C EDUCATION WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION TH,s DOCUMENT FrAS BEEN REPRO DUGED EAAt IL r AS IRPCEVED FROM °THE pERS,:,N OR uR,ANIZA7I0j4 ORIGIN ATI NO IT POIN rS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS 51ATED DO NO NE,_ESsARILv REPRE SENT' OF F NAT1ONALENST,TUTE OF EDUCATION pos,110N OR /,'DLICY BOOKS SP' MAIL\SERVICE:. CONFERENCE REPORT r The Conference wad' held on June 23, 1973, iri tas Vegas, Nevada, under the joint . sponsorship of The Cduncil on Library Resourcet and The Indiana State University' Department of Library- Science . The keport Written and the Papers Edited by Choong H. Kim and Irwin AA-Sexton March 1974 Department .ofdibrary Science Indiana Setate University Terre Haute, I,cliana 4 INDIANA STATEUNIVuRsiTy TERRE HAUTE. INDIANA 47809 DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY SCIENCE p September 11, 1973 Dr. Fred C. Cble, President Council on Library Resources, Inc. One Dupont Circle, N.W. Suite 620 WashiOgton, D.C. 20036 Re: CLR 554 Deaf Dr. Cole: It is our great pleasure to report to you that the Conference on Pooks by Mail Services which the Council sponsored with the Indiana State - University,. Department of Library Science, was convened and concluded as scheduled. The Conference reaffirmed our belief that the Books by Mail program has, in fact, become a firmly established library service. The Books byMail program has established itself as a viable ,vehicle of communication, information, and readingmaterials,.and it has proven to be quite adaptable to,any community in the Nation. We are submitting to you a two-part report for the present:7a 60-minute cassette tape recording, of highlights of the Conference discussion, and a written report summarizing all the available program data which wild serve as an informed suggestion book to nelp public librarians plan new books by,mail programs or a neW direction for theeuture of existing programs. On behalf of the Board of Trustees of this University and for the participating libraries in the Conference, wp are pleased to expiess our deep appreciation for your continuous faith and financial support for the Books by Mail service and for supportirig this national Con- ference. We look forward to the Council's continued support. Sincerely, Choong H. Kim Associate Professor Thq Conference Chairman Irwin Sexton, Library Director San Antonio Public Library The Conference Co-Chairmah and Principal Investigator t V CONTENTS HICHLIGHTS BOOKS BY MAIL: A,SUMMARY REPORT Choong H. Kim and Ir4in M., Sexton MAIL ORDER LIBRARY SERVICE (A Report from the North Central Regional Library,-Wenatchee, Washington) Boyden Brooks MANITOWOC (WI) COUNTY'S MAILBOX'LIBRARY Alice W. Kelley 31 ATOMING.COUNTY (N.Y.) LIBRARY SYSTEM MAIL ORDER CATALOG PROJECT Liene 'W. Swanton ,,- 56 BOOKS BY MAIL SERVICE Of THE DODGE COUNTY (WI) LIBRARY SYSTEM Fred J. Mencer 68 REACH OUT WITH MAIL ORDER INFORMATION Central Kansas Library System, Great Bend, Kadsas MAIL ORDER LIBRARY SERVICE IN ME ILLINOIS CORN BELT 79 Henry, R. Meisels P BOOKS BY MAIL - BUR OAK LIBRARY SYSTEM (ILL) Charles D. De Young 86 THE KINDS OF BOOKS REQUESTED BY BOOKS BY MAIL PATRONS Lucille M. Wert 96 A BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS OF BOOKMOBILES VS, BOOKS BY MAIL IN PENNSYLVANIA.-- AN OVERVIEW OF THE. STUDY 'Teh-Wei Hu, Bernard H. Booms, D. Lynne Kaltreider 101 MAIL ORDER BOOK SERVICE UTILIZATION IN-WATS LINE (DIAL-4 BOOK). North Cenfral Kansas Library Ffystem, Manhattan, Kansas I16 BOOKS BY MAIL: A REPORT FROM EVANSViLLE, INDIANA- Ronald S. Kozlowski 121 BOOKS BY MAIL AT .THE ENOCH PRATT FREE LIRRARY Emily W. Reed .. :7eS: 125 BOOKS BY MAIL SERrICH AT SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY Irwin M. 3cxton'and Choong H. Kim 1,ri" APPENDIX A: CONFERENCE PROGRAM r APPENDIX B: CONFERENCE'REGISTRANTS AND PARTICIPANTS 1:', APPENDIX :. A DIRECTORY OF BOOKS BY MAIL PROGRAMS IN THE H.S. D. Lynne Kaltrcider Ho', D 0 HIGH IGHTS o aural books by mail programs are reaching from 8 to over 40 percent' of rural population hitherto'unserved by any' of the standard public .library services in the local area. /3, o There is 'little difference in readingvinterests of rural people . whether they usethe books by mail program or the regular.library outlets. Rural reading interests are found to be largely in the areas of reclkation, pleasure, homean'd family rife. Women are the dominant group of.ruralfreaderk,, and not surprisingly, childrdn constitute a minority. o Urban or metropolitan books by mail programs are reaching a.growing segment of those-homebOund, elderly, institiitionbound, and working people who 'Work during the ribrary-hoursAas well as a growing number 1 ..., of users of standard library services. ,Together these people represent from 4 to 6 percent of the total population in the lochl urban area. o. .Urban books by mail uses reflectto a large extent the generalreadIng. ,interests of the regular library users in tile local area where, in sharp contrast with the rural reading, non-fiction reading predominates.- o Books by mail programs are the main source of books for unserved rural population; whereas they are a supplementary source of books for most of urban population except those homebound, elderly,and people with physical impairments. The program is the main source for the latter groups.' o Staff involvement is an essential part in all of the books by mail programs. In both rural as well as urban programs, staff cost is found to bethe'largest cost factor, whog relative cost may be expressed in median percentages of about 50 percent in urban and 30 percent in-rural programs. I A o The available data indicate that the staff,cogt in urban programs, such as San Antonio's where professional staffhandles books by mail requests just as they handle walk-in patrons' requests, isestimated to be about equal to or less than that VI ruraljprogranis, o In rural books,by mail programs, a separate book(paperbac4 collect* is found to be the second largest cost factor (the median is about 24 percent). In spite oft be cost, such a Collection A justifiable in order to serve a largeadditionalrural popillaiion. liot*ver, similar collection to serve general reading. interestsfor an urban program would be a costly mistake, inasmuch as a greatmajority of urban books by mail users are also users of standard libraryservices. -i - 1 4 . o Preparation andlnass-distribution f books by mail catalogs are found to be tile third ranking cost factor (median of 12 percent) among rural programs. The cost pg4 catalog cdpy ranged from 50 to 200. (J973 costs) The larger the ndMber of bc,xs by mail,pers, the less costly the catalog becomes. o The available data indicate that the frequency of issue rather than 4..A the size of books by mail catalog is directly influencial in improving the oatalogpse, and that people tend to choose from the catalog titles prominently listed, illustrated, and annotated. Leis'also fouud that people order very few non-cataloged items from the main' collection in spite of the faCt that a statement is made in the catalog urging such outside-the-catalog orders. It is suggested that both urban and rural programs experiment with "mini-catalog's and/or "package . stuffers" on selective topics to selective users. o Most of the known books by mail programs have ltarned to even out or control the demand by staggering the mailing, of the catalog and thereby improve the'collection as well as catalog efficiency.