HPL began floating neighborhood library collections in 2008. In August 2011, a tiered distribution system and Floating Blog were created to redistribute the overabundance of materials returned at specific neighborhood libraries. The tiered distribution system significantly increased front-line staff workload. As a corrective action, six neighborhood libraries were established as floating hubs where staff reviewed items in the Integrated Library System (ILS); then transferred materials to another location based on holding and shelving capacity. Neither system addressed core issues: evidence based collection development, local community needs, the additional time materials remained in transit.

The innovation was to place key staff with collection development experience in charge of redistributing and weeding overflow, and empowering that staff to establish their own workflow. The Floating Team uses their expertise to analyze and share the impact of prior purchases to inform future purchasing decisions. The Floating Team communicates usage patterns, collection gaps, and overstock information with selectors to affect evidence based ordering. The opportunity to fill local needs is available via virtual “shopping” in CollectionHQ, submitting request to the Floating Team, and by encouraging staff to “shop” in-house for materials at the centralized floating hub.

By replacing a multi-tiered and multi-location approach to floating materials with a single floating hub staffed by collection development professionals, reduced an average of 12,000 individual item transits per month system-wide. The Floating Team handled over 75,000 items in its first year of operation, re-homing an average of 4000 items monthly and weeding an additional 2300 items per month. The restructuring reduced floating staff from the equivalent of six full-time employees to 2.5. Staff loves to shop, too! After a recent Youth Services meeting, over 500 floating items were chosen by “shoppers” for delivery to their libraries.