Shannon Jacobs wrote:

> My second suggestion is that you improve the process for accepting 
> donated books. Your head librarian apparently feels there is a problem 
> with shelf space. If so, then you should move some of the older books to 
> archival storage, send them to another branch library, or even discard 
> them. If you need some English-speaking volunteer assistance to deal 
> with the English books, then please feel free to contact me. However, 
> you should be able to automate the process with your new-fangled 
> computer system. Can't it identify the books which are no longer being 
> borrowed?

When things are poorly managed by humans, installing a computer does not
accomplish much.  The confusion just moves into the computer.

A few years ago several public libraries in Japan started fighting
falling patronage by "being more attentive to requests from citizens."
To this end they bought multiple copies of the latest best-sellers.
Appeasing the populace has been largely successful - if success is
measured by the number of visitors.   Critics point out that a library 
that relies solely on circulation counts for determining what items to 
keep and what to discard will end up with less diversity.

Bookstores use sales data to determine what books to order and what
books to discard.  (In Japan, the store can send back any unsold book to
the wholesale distributor without any penalty.)  Because stores keep an
eye on the latest data, slow starters are moved off the shelf before
they get any chance of taking off.  This works against books that
require careful reading to be truly appreciated.