Stacking Up: A How-To Guide to Condition Surveys.

Item level surveys have a place in both public and university library collections. Although rarely applied outside of special collections, item level surveys benefit both patrons and library staff in several ways. These benefits include the reference or subject librarian's increased knowledge of the collection, which passes to the patron through reference services and collection building; the ability to compile precise statistics about how the collection is used by patrons; and the identification of particular challenges the collection faces (such as theft, mutilation, or damage). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]