Orem Public Library

Orem Public Library purchased the digital version of Core Collections in 2017. The decision to upgrade from the paper version of Core Collections to the digital online database was driven by the library’s desire to stay up-to-date and provide access for more staff to the product. 

“The paper version was published once a year and it was expensive, and you had one copy of it,” explains Julie. “So not as many staff could use that, which means it was hard to train, and it was hard to get people to utilize the resource.” 

“Core Collections online is updated constantly. It provides great training within it and because it's digital, you can have multiple librarians and multiple departments using it at the same time, which really gives you more bang for your buck.” 

Orem Public Library has a huge children’s wing encompassing two floors. The kids’ books circulate well and keeping up with new books for children is one of the library’s big challenges. But that challenge is made easier by using the Children’s Core Collection. 

“It's a huge, huge undertaking to keep track of all of the children's books that are published,” says Julie. “And it's not just picture books, but it's first reader and beginner and intermediate and middle grade and all the junior fiction. And then there's all the nonfiction!” 

In addition to keeping up with books, Julie says the staff work to make sure they have a balanced collection of diverse books. They use Core Collections authoritative recommendations, which are vendor and publisher-neutral, with titles chosen by the book experts at NoveList, to make that task easier. Orem Public Library added NoveList's Middle and Junior High Core Collection and Core Collection en Español earlier this year to complete their full suite. 

“Everyone deserves to be represented at the library,” declares Julie. “So, it's really important that we pay attention ​and ​have a wide variety of books about different people ​in ​different circumstances.​ It's also very important that we provide opportunities for people to find books through their browsing that they may not automatically think of as a title that they want to check out.” 

With a large community made up of readers with many different tastes, Julie and the staff at Orem Public Library are always looking for ways to save time. Julie says Core Collections has lots of features that make this work easier. 

“I like ​the lists in the 'Browse by Category' section,​” she says. “I can very quickly go through and say, do I have this title in my collection? I also pull up the weeded list often. I check our collection to see if certain books are still popular and trending here in our library and ask myself, is this something that I should keep?"

“I also like the integration feature where I can see what's available in my catalog. While I'm working in Core Collections, I can see if ​a title is in our collection and ​ I can see how ​well ​it's used."  

“And the other section I use frequently is the reference shelf on the left side of the page. 
I love all the embedded how-tos, FAQs, training, videos, and search strategies. If you're a new collection developer or new to the product and you're not sure where to start, that's a great place. It encapsulates everything that you need to know to maximize your Core Collection subscription and get the most out of it."

Core Collections content specialists and collection development staff are committed to creating and maintaining collections that reflect the diversity of the human experience.

The staff at Orem Public Library know that having the full suite of Core Collections provides holistic guidance for their whole collection, and they work better together.  

Julie says staff use the four recommendation levels (Essential, Recommended, Supplemental, and Weeded) to make informed decisions on which books to buy, repurchase, or weed. Because different collections have different needs, one book may be "essential" for a middle school collection but only "recommended" for a senior high collection. That’s why having the full suite is best, so libraries can keep different reading needs in mind as you're buying and weeding.

“I just talked to the person in children's who ​purchases ​middle-grade​ fiction, and she has been so grateful that we added Middle and Junior High Core Collections," says Julie. "There are so many books that are published in that age range and what’s popular is always changing. Many books are in a series, and she's found it incredibly helpful to have a place to go​ to be sure she is current."

Julie and the staff at Orem Public Library know the work they do with Core Collections to build and maintain a collection that reflects the ever-changing needs of their community is rewarding and fulfilling.  

“What I like most about working in a library is the ability to make a difference in people's lives,” says Julie. “Libraries are about connection. Having people come back to me and say, ‘Hey, you recommended a book to me when I graduated from high school, and it changed my life.’ You know, I really like knowing that I've made a difference in people’s lives.”