CDL: Insurance value of the collection (response 1)

The original posting appears in the list archives:

http://www.infomotions.com/serials/colldv-l/archive/2007/200706/0152.html

==#1==


From: rakirk_at_ulibnet.mtsu.edu

Usually assets are recorded at historical costs and then market cost 
or (replacement
cost) is usually disclosed.

You want to insure your collection at replacement cost.

I think you are going to need to approach this issue from several 
angles. One of the
first things you need is the inventory of your catalog holdings with 
their original prices
at the time of acquisition.  The current value of the collection will 
not be based
entirely on the original cost of the acquisition, but it is a factor.

1) The first and easiest is to price all books and binded serials at 
replacement cost
because that is what you would have to pay to replace these items in 
the event of a
fire/ flood etc.   As we have seen with the Hurrican Katrina damage, 
this situation can
be devastating to a library.

2) One of the problems is that a certain portion of any collection 
will no longer be in
print. And some of those items will be very important as core 
collection resources,
they will have historical significance, and/ or be part of 
rare/special collections. I
consulted with our Special Collections Librarian, Alan Boehm, about 
rare and special
collections.

As we go farther back in time records are difficult and books are to 
replace and are
expensive to replace.

Rare books are hard to estimate value of because one book might have 
one value
while that same book as part of a collection might change. That market 
is especially
price sensitive.  In addition, the time spent locating out of print 
materials (rare or
otherwise) can be quite time-intensive and expensive.

Another option is to use your previous estimate (if you have one):

1. Start with last year's estimate.
2. Adjust for book inflation for 2006.
3. Add cost of this year's purchases.
4. Subtract cost  this year's withdrawals

Rachel Kirk

Rachel Kirk
Collection Development / Acquisitions Librarian
James E. Walker Library
MTSU
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
rakirk_at_mtsu.edu