Library stocktake : some experiences at the University of Botswana Library

Library stocktake, inventory control or stock verification as it is variously called is a necessary but time consuming exercise for any library. It is a topic that authors have only sporadically addressed. It took an intervention of the Internal Audit Unit of the University of Botswana (UB) which revealed anomalies in the purported stock of the library, to compel one of the branch libraries to conduct a stocktake and blaze the trail for the rest of the library. With no precedent in sight, three senior library staff were given the mandate to undertake the verification exercise of the Francistown Campus branch library of UBL, otherwise known as CCE North Library. The staff had to develop procedures for the stocktake as no policy was in place. The experience gained showed the importance of the exercise and was applied to formulate a policy document to be adopted by the rest of the UB branch libraries. This article gives an account of the conduct of the stocktake, procedures undertaken, problems encountered and solutions proffered. It also examines the follow-up exercise and presents recommendations for a stocktake policy.