Morgan Ritchie-Baum

October 30, 2017

LIS 610- Fall 2017
SWA #3

In Steven Bell’s ALCTS webinar, Designing Collections for Collisions, Bell, an associate

librarian for research and instructional services at Temple University, discusses how carefully

designing spaces and displays in the library can help combat a loss of “serendipitous” discovery

occurring in traditional library stacks. Bell highlights current trends in libraries that are leading

to a decline in accidental or “serendipitous” discovery of materials in library stacks and then

presents the concept of engineered serendipity as a way of highlighting the importance of

accidental discovery of information. Finally, Bell provides viewers with several strategies for

engineering serendipity into their own library spaces and services. Bell’s discussion on the

importance of increasing “collisions” between library collections and patrons highlights how

vital serendipity is to the core tenants of learning and research within collection development.

Both literature and practice in the library and information studies field acknowledge that

the increasingly digital nature of information retrieval and discovery have led to a decrease in

many of the traditional, tangible methods of information retrieval i.e. people roving, discovering,

and pulling books from the stacks. As information organizations adjust to this change in

information access and retrieval, Bell highlights with irony that many academic, public and

special libraries choose to move the very collections, in which so much time, effort, and money

have gone into, to remote storage areas in order to design spaces that fit increasing digital need.

Especially affecting for academic libraries, the number of students studying for degrees in the

humanities, typically heavy users of traditional library spaces, has dropped precipitously, further

engineering a scenario where neither the collections nor the space is deemed suitable for the

needs of the modern information user. Evans & Saponaro (2012) highlight in their text on the
basics of collection management that “[u]sers’ opinions about collection adequacy, in terms of

quantity, quality, or both are significant factors in their overall view about library quality” (p.

144).

To this seemingly dire scenario, Bell counters that libraries are bucking national trends in

creating spaces that engineer serendipity. The open office spaces devoid of cubicles, strategically

placing bathrooms in office buildings so people from various departments are meeting at regular

and frequent occasions, major tech-firms turning away from telecommuting in order to

encourage more face-to-face communication and collaboration; all are scenarios engaged by

major corporations like Yahoo!, Pixar, and Apple in order to engineer the very serendipity that

can be equally measured by the chance discovery of a mind or life altering text when browsing a

library shelf. Bell highlights that community surveys clearly indicate that books in libraries are

strongly viewed as an important part of the library and in the community’s interest. Bell goes on

to emphasize that instead of relegating our collections to warehouses or building giant robotic

platforms in which to retrieve titles from remote storage, libraries need to be creatively engaged

with sourcing the best methods and devices for creating collisions between the patron and the

collection.

Perhaps the most important takeaway from Bell’s webinar on designing Collections for

Collisions is his emphasis that when designing or evaluating collections and space that the needs

of the community are considered and met. What is the right amount of space and type of

collection for the community? There are many ways that libraries may design library

management systems that build serendipity into the OPAC. Examples include the “you may like”

features found on many OPAC search pages or creating a digital replica of the real-time library

shelf that can be accessed when a patron searches for a particular title online, thus finding similar
but also different selections simultaneously. In the physical library space, Bell looks to strategies

entertained by corporate retailers searching for opportunities to engage and surprise potential

buyers. Curating displays deep in the stacks where a patron may not expect to find such a display

or placing popular fiction, nonfiction, or graphic novels in areas adjacent to computer stations,

main thoroughfares, or cafe spaces may also help create an environment of engineered

serendipity. Finally, Bell asks his viewers to engage in design that not only encourages patrons

colliding with collections but also with one another. When people are able to engage with one-

another while also being afforded the opportunity to make textual discoveries, the power of

serendipity can be truly felt.

Undoubtedly, the ever-evolving, overwhelming nature of technology will continue to

change how libraries spaces are designed and collection developed. Bell’s overarching message

in his talk on Designing Collections for Collisions is that by being more intentional in the design

and content of our collections, information professionals can help engineer serendipity back into

library spaces and collections. From changing collection development policies to include more

popular and engaging titles to creating collaborative, comfortable spaces where people want to

be- engineering serendipity into library collections can take many forms. Bell closes on a truly

remarkable story about bee expert Marla Spivak who, at the age of 18 just happened upon a book

about bees at her local library that led to a life-long fascination with the species and, ultimately,

critical discoveries on the nature of beehive diseases and what can be done to prevent a

devastating scenario called “colony collapse”. Designing Collections for Collision underscores

just how important the seemingly opposed idea of “planned accidents” are to the propagation of

learning and discovery in our institutions.

Resources:
Bell, S.J. (Producer). (2015). Designing Collections for Collisions [Video webinar]. Retrieved

http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webinar/091615

Evans, G. E., & Saponaro, M. Z. (2012). Collection Management Basics. Santa Barbara, CA:

Libraries Unlimited.