By Adam Sockel, Social Media Specialist at OverDrive
Collection Development is one of the many parts of running a library that is truly a full time job. Your Collection Development Librarians have to be aware of titles that are coming out everyday whether they’re best sellers, midlist or backlist and regardless of if they’re authors who have been around for years or if this is their first ever book. This doesn’t even take into account keeping track of the titles you currently have purchased but may need to add new copies of due to popularity.

CaptureKeeping your collection in line with what’s trending and what your readers want can be a challenge. That’s why we provide an automated solution in OverDrive Marketplace called Holds Manager. This tool lets you set a ratio of holds to copies of a title owned that will automatically purchase new copies for you. If, for example, you never want more than five people waiting for a title you can set a 5-1 ratio and Holds Manager will automatically purchase a new copy of the title once it has more than five people waiting per copy. You can also set a budget on Holds Manager so you never need to worry about spending too much on filling holds.

Peggy Murphy, the Collection Services Manager at Los Angeles Public Library uses Holds Manager to both save herself time and keep her patrons happy. Recently they upped their holds ratio and saw a massive increase in their circulation. She had this to say about Holds Manager:

Capture“I find Holds Manager to be a powerful tool, proven by the growth we have experienced in circulation statistics. We use a holds ratio to measure how many titles we purchase per hold. Whenever we lower this ratio we see an instant spike in circulation that lasts, even when we raise the level again. OverDrive gives the patron the option, with a hold, to automatically borrow this book when it becomes available. We find that most patrons check this option and we acquire instant circulation when the hold is made available. There is no waiting for the patron to decide to borrow, it’s borrowed instantly. Managing the Holds Manager is not difficult and it makes itself adaptable to your preferences.”

To get started using OverDrive Holds Manager simply click the drop down in Marketplace next to Shop and select “Holds Manager”. You can also contact your Collection Development Specialist for assistance.