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Paula Lewis spends her workdays poring over book reviews and carefully selecting the few she hopes will get the most bang for the buck.

With a materials budget half of what it was two years ago — from $6.3 million in fiscal 2008 to $3 million in fiscal 2011 — Lewis and the other three selectors for Montgomery County Public Libraries still stock the shelves with popular titles, while maintaining enough range for people to discover new favorites.

In fiscal 2009, the library system purchased about 310,000 copies of 18,000 different titles, 12,000 audio books, 28,000 DVDs and 8,000 CDs, said Barbara Webb, chief of collection and technology management for the libraries. She expects about half as many new materials to be purchased this year, and focus will be shifted to the highest priority areas, such as providing popular titles in every genre, and new nonfiction material.

Niche materials such as travel books, cook books, craft books and reference materials will see significant cuts, and almost no CDs will be ordered, she said. The library system also will not be able to replace some well-loved children's titles as frequently as desired. One selector position also was eliminated this year.

In fiscal 2010, library materials were circulated more than 12 million times, a 1.7 percent increase over the previous year, Webb said. About 18 percent of the budget is dedicated to growing the electronic materials collection. The circulation of digital "ebooks" was up 26 percent over the previous year, and DVDs have a turnover rate four times higher than other materials.

Last month the selectors placed their first order since March. They bought 6,000 books, Webb said.

In fatter budget years, Lewis orders materials three or four times per month.

"It's a very big change," she said.

Tricky picks

The materials budget reduction means ordering fewer titles and fewer copies, therefore selectors must carefully make each choice, Lewis said.

"It means that we can take a lot fewer risks, really concentrate on the best sellers and really on what people are going to want," she said.

Lewis and the other selectors work in a central office and each have areas in which they specialize. She spends her days looking at book reviews, award lists, staff recommendations and occasionally browsing advanced copies. They also do hands-on work in library branches a few times per month.

In Lewis' 16 years as a selector, she never has selected a book solely based on her personal tastes, but does keep people like herself in mind.

"I tend to like some more quirky or obscure authors and I try to get things that appeal to people that don't like the mainstream as much," she said.

Libraries try to make new releases available the same day it is available in stores, Webb said. Readers can reserve a copy of new releases, and the library also orders a certain number of "express" copies which cannot be placed on hold.

This year they expect to order one copy for every 10 reserve requests instead of every four, she said.

"When you have a lot of money it is an easier job," Webb said.

Weeding the reading

When Dan Brown's highly anticipated book "The Lost Symbol" came out in 2009, Lewis ordered 262 copies of the book and additional 130 express copies. When demand for books such as "The Lost Symbol" dwindles, many copies end up being weeded out of the collection.

Each library branch weeds to make room for new books and to remove books that are rarely or never checked out, are in poor condition or have outdated content or research, Webb said.

"You have to be sensitive to content issues, with the changing norms in society," she said.

All books removed from the county's 21 library branches are given a second life at the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County bookstore in Wheaton. Ten percent of profits from the store go back to the county to cover the cost of books, said James Ludlum, business manager for Friends of the Library, a nonprofit library support group. The other 90 percent goes into an account that the director of the library system can spend on projects.

A truck visits each branch twice per month to pick up the rejects, and brings a couple thousand books a week to the store, he said.

Half of the 70,000 books in the store located beneath the Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia Ave., once sat on library shelves, Ludlum said. The store also sells donated books.

If books haven't sold in 60 to 90 days they are recycled, he said.

Friends of the Library, Montgomery County operates three bookstores that benefit Montgomery County Public Libraries. The three stores gross $700,000 annually.

-Randolph Hills Shopping Center, 4886 Boiling Brook Parkway, Rockville. 301-984-3300

-Basement of the Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia Ave., Wheaton. 240-777-0688.

-Quince Orchard Plaza,

604 Quince Orchard Road, Gaithersburg. 301-355-7211.

Ari Brooks, executive director for Friends of the Library

ccalamaio@gazette.net