Evaluating Lubuto Library Collections: A Case Study in Dynamic and Strategic Children’s Collection Development

Abstract

Collection development in African public libraries is often dependent upon book donation programs from Europe and the United States, a reality that prevents many libraries from serving their communities with relevant and current resources. Children’s collections are often the most neglected, and research evaluating the efficacy of children’s collections in African countries is largely non-existent. Consequently, children’s librarians seeking to strategically improve their collections have limited information upon which to base collection development aims.

There is a critical need for libraries serving children to explore the unique needs, interests, and perceptions of their users in order to develop collections that are holistic, responsive, appealing, and child-centered. The focus of this research is preliminary data from an exploratory, mixed-methods study being conducted at two children’s in Lusaka libraries run by Lubuto Library Partners. Lubuto Library Partners is a non-profit organization that creates open access libraries for children and youth starting in Zambia. The study, comprised of interviews, focus groups, and use tracking, provides insight into collection strengths and weaknesses, use of the collections, and factors impacting utilization.

This paper makes use of the preliminary in-house use data to illustrate the existing collections and current usage patterns. The preliminary data shows wide variation in usage patterns between the libraries, providing early insight...