The "In Constant Demand list" is comprised of titles from a variety of sources, including suggestions from our staff, best seller lists in newspapers and journals, or DVD new release lists. The list is updated approximately once a month. A request for an item that appears on the list will not referred by our staff to other libraries in our region; instead the borrowing library is immediately notified that we are unable to fill it due to high demand. On your end of the request process, you will most likely see a report of "1- in use," or “31 – in constant demand in all library systems.”
Sometimes, it isn’t always clear why a particular title is so popular in our libraries when it doesn’t show up on any national best seller lists. However, it’s probably due to a regional connection of some sort, such as a hometown author, or a mention in a local newspaper, radio, or television program. Occasionally a title shows up on the list just because so few libraries in our region own it, yet the demand is constant enough that it is never available via interlibrary loan.
When I compile a list of “In Constant Demand” titles (or as we call them, the “31’s”) each month, I search them in multiple library catalogs in our region to determine if there are circulating copies available. When the title has very few holds, or if it is finally back on the shelf at one or more libraries again, it is removed from the list. A title can remain on our list for as little as 1 month, or rarely, as long as several years, depending on demand at the libraries in our region. The lingering titles tend to be “Oprah” books, or extraordinarily popular titles like “The Da Vinci Code.”
MINITEX staff see a slightly different “31” list than we provide to you; I alert our staff to titles that might become available before the next list is published. That includes titles with a low number of holds showing up at local libraries, as well as items where it appears there may be a copy or two available on the shelf. In those cases, I ask staff to exhaust possible referral sources before sending a negative reply back to your office. However, if you are sure that a title is available and circulating, but still receive a report of “31”, please don’t hesitate to contact our staff (Raquel Franklin or Kevin Kelley) to ask that it be referred to the appropriate library.
I really enjoy putting the “In Constant Demand” list together, and I frequently add these titles to my own reading list. (With apologies to my public library for creating the extra work and lengthening their “hold” lists!) I am delighted when I find a new author that I might not have otherwise read. Occasionally, I find myself puzzled by all of the fuss. When I become annoyed that a book I really detested loiters on the list month after month, it’s a good sign that I need to take some vacation!
I hope you are finding the list useful. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about the "In Constant Demand" list, by contacting me at: c-nels@umn.edu
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