Read in or check out: A four-year analysis of circulation and in-house use of print books

As libraries offer more multi-dimensional study areas and online resources, it is important to understand how print books are being used. The reported decline in print book circulation has largely been based on books checked out of the library without recording in-house use (books used in the library but not checked out). Including in-house use gives a more accurate representation of book circulation, helping to demonstrate the value of the physical library and print collections, and informing collection development. To better understand how our print collections are being used, we analyze holdings, checkout data, and in-house use data by subject, as well as circulation in regard to patron group, library gate count and student enrollment. Our findings show declining use of all print collections with the steepest decline in reference books. The majority of books used in house were not checked out, affirming the need to include in-house use data to provide an accurate picture of print book use and inform collection development. We use our findings to inform the redesign of our reference collection and suggest ways to integrate print and digital formats and promote the value of books and reading.     

Collection Assessment of Monograph Purchases at the University of Nevada,Las Vegas Libraries

The purpose of this article is to describe an assessment project of the monograph collection at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Lied Library. The circulation statistics and in-house use of all monographs for the nine colleges at UNLV were assessed analyzing the last five years of data. The analysis included an assessment of the circulation statistics and in-house use of books purchased on an approval plan compared with books purchased by individual liaison librarians. The findings illustrated the fact that overall use of the monograph collection has declined over the past five years. The findings also showed that books purchased on an approval plan had slightly higher use than the books purchased by individual liaisons. The study shows that academic libraries need to monitor usage of the monograph collection to be certain that money is spent in the most efficient manner and that usage data can be helpful if there is a need to reduce budget allocations for monographs or if a reallocation of funds for monographs is necessary.     

Circulation Scenarios:

A desire to learn more about how library resources were being used led to an analysis of the circulation records of books added to a psychiatric library collection from July, 1983 through May, 1985. The total number of books that circulated was counted, as well as the number and percentage circulated in specific subject areas. Missing titles were also tallied. Borrowers were categorized as in-house or off-site and their usage of the collection noted. The results of this study provided useful information for future collection development.     

Shelf-ready: A cost-benefit analysis

Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library conducted a time-task cost study to compare the cost and processing time of shelf-ready books to non-shelf-ready books to determine if it could better use its human resources and if it should expand the use of shelf-ready to include its approval books. The results showed that shelf-ready was, on average, 5.7% cheaper, took 47% less processing time, and arrived on the shelves 33 sooner than books processed in-house. Based on the results of the study, the library moved its approval books to the shelf-ready program and was able to reallocate catalogers tasks.     

Using citation analysis to develop core book collections in academic libraries

Collection development in college and university libraries most often occurs using longstanding traditional selection methods, such as favorable book reviews or local user needs. This study uses citation analysis as a tool to select books for the social science book collection in one academic library and compares the circulation of books using traditional methods to those books using citation analysis. The journal impact factor was used to determine those journals and authors cited the most in the disciplines of business, anthropology, education, political science, psychology, and sociology. If those authors published books, the books were purchased and circulation data on the books were tabulated and compared to books chosen using traditional methods. Findings indicate that books purchased using traditional methods of selection circulated more, except when individual disciplines were measured. In the areas of business, political science, and psychology, there was no significant difference in circulation statistics, and together both the traditional and citation analysis methods accounted for circulation of nearly 95% of the social science collection. Since it is based on scholarly activity, citation analysis is a collection development method that could be used in all academic libraries.     

How biomedical investigators use library books

Relatively few studies have been concerned with the use of biomedical books. This paper reports an investigation into use made of library books by biomedical investigators. Based on cancelled charge slips collected at the Yale Medical Library circulation desk, telephone appointments were made to interview those research investigators whose books had been returned the previous day. The interviewer obtained answers from the investigator to a questionnaire to discover how the investigator had learned of a book, if the book had been useful, and, if useful, how it had been used. During the six-month study period, 30.4 percent of researchers' volumes returned were monographs. Almost four-fifths of books borrowed supplied information wanted, and about four-fifths of books used had been printed in the previous decade. Nine-tenths of the use of books was research-related, the other tenth being for lecture preparation.     

Demand for Library Materials:

To evaluate the effect on the use of library materials of various possible changes in library policy on circulation rules, for example, or on the buying of duplicate copies, one must estimate the potential demand for the material, not just the actual use under existing policy. Although the concept of the potential demand, for a book, for instance, is a rather vague one, this paper shows how it can be defined and evaluated in terms of the more definite and more easily measurable quantities of yearly circulation rate and mean loan period for borrowed books. The estimates are statistical ones, the average demand per book, the probability that a book that circulates m times a year has a demand, etc. Graphs and tables are given that show how these quantites can be evaluated once one knows the mean per-book circulation and the mean length of time a book is out of the library per circulation, for a portion of the library that is fairly homogenous in regard to use (such as all science books, or all biographies). The analysis is then used to show how one can, by the use of the tables and graphs, estimate how much a change in the allowed length of loan period will change the average per-book circulation, or what the quantitative effect would be if duplicate copies were bought for all books that circulated more than m times, as well as other measures of library utility that depend on demand rather than directly on past circulation.     

基于读者阅读倾向h指数分析的馆藏资源优化策略研究

文章将h-index指数法引入到读者阅读倾向实证研究中,以高校图书馆流通数据为样本,根据实际统计数据获取各类图书h指数并以此研究读者阅读倾向,分析相应图书学科类别分布与价值利用程度,进而为图书资源优化配置提供依据。     

Analysis of one year's circulation at the Downstate Medical Center Library

A survey of the circulation of books and journals at the Downstate Medical Center Library was conducted, based on cancelled circulation cards accumulated during a one-year period. Analysis of the results shows the frequency of use of various materials by several groups of borrowers and brings out important differences between circulation of books and that of journals. One of the results was the compilation of a list of most frequently used journals. The findings are graphically represented by several tables and charts.     

Online tables of contents for books: effect on usage

OBJECTIVES: To explore whether the presence of online tables of contents (TOC) in an online catalog affects circulation (checkouts and inhouse usage). Two major questions were posed: (1) did the presence of online tables of contents for books increase use, and, (2) if it did, what factors might cause the increase? METHOD: A randomized and stratified design was used in tracking usage of 3,957 book titles that were previously divided into two groups: one with TOC and one without TOC. Stratification was done for year of imprint, location, subject, previous use, circulating or non-circulating status, and presence of TOC. The use was tracked by the online catalog statistics in the InnoPac online catalog for fourteen months. RESULTS: The study found that tables of contents do increase usage. It also showed a correlation in the size of the effect based on the currency of the titles. In general, even after adjusting for all of the variables (publication date, location, circulation status, subject, and previous use), the odds of a title being used increased by 45% if the titles had online tables of contents, a statistically significant impact at the 0.05 level. CONCLUSIONS: This case-control study presents new information about the impact on circulation and inhouse use when tables of contents for books are added to the online catalog record. The study helps to establish the positive role of tables of contents in online catalogs. The research establishes TOC as a major parameter that can be successfully studied using quantitative methods. The study also provides information professionals with some guidance on when enhancement of TOC is likely to be most effective in increasing the use of existing collections.     

Circulation of core collection monographs in an academic medical library

Academic medical librarians responsible for monograph acquisition face a challenging task. From the plethora of medical monographs published each year, academic medical librarians must select those most useful to their patrons. Unfortunately, none of the selection tools available to medical librarians are specifically intended to assist academic librarians with medical monograph selection. The few short core collection lists that are available are intended for use in the small hospital or internal medicine department library. As these are the only selection tools available, however, many academic medical librarians spend considerable time reviewing these collection lists and place heavy emphasis on the acquisition of listed books. The study reported here was initiated to determine whether the circulation of listed books in an academic library justified the emphasis placed on the acquisition of these books. Circulation statistics for "listed" and "nonlisted" books in the hematology (WH) section of Indiana University School of Medicine's Ruth Lilly Medical Library were studied. The average circulation figures for listed books were nearly two times as high as the corresponding figures for the WH books in general. These data support the policies of those academic medical libraries that place a high priority on collection of listed books.     

Review of "The Living Library: An Intellectual Ecosystem," by Patricia Steele,David Cronrath,Sandra Parsons Vicchio,and Nancy Fried Foster

This study was conducted in order to establish an objective basis for managerial decisions relating to the preservation of library books. The investigation was concerned with the operational issues underlying such decisions, focusing specifically upon the problem of accurately and efficiently assessing books in terms of their present physical condition and past utility. Its objectives were: (a) to determine if date of publication and/or measures of library use (i.e., frequency of circulation and date of last circulation) constitute reliable indices of a book's current physical condition; (b) to determine if the frequency with which a book has been circulated tends to correspond with its date of last circulation; and (c) to devise a systematic approach to the preservation of library books based upon the results of the inquiries (a) and (b).     

Literature use as a measure for funds allocation1

The library of the University of Constance in West Germany has developed a technique of using past circulation figures as a major factor in allocating its monograph acquisitions budget among the respective subjects. It has found that first-time circulation and repetitive circulation are important elements, but in-house use a minor one, when measuring future resources needs.The second major factor used for funds allocation is the proportionate purchases made in each subject field during the preceding three years. The third factor is the respective price per volume in each subject. The precise formula used is shown by means of text and tables.The author points out that this method seems to be fair to the various subject fields, that it provides a stable long-term measuring device, and that it adjusts automatically to changing needs. In a climate of shrinking funds the method has diffused much of the struggle among departments and bibliographers for a larger share of the available funds.     

Setting Up In-House Mending Operations in Small College Libraries

Small libraries must find every opportunity to save money. They can do so by reevaluating bindery procedures and deciding to repair books in-house. This article details how one small college library created an in-house mending operation and significantly reduced bindery bills. It outlines the necessary steps in the decision process for handling and repair of books and lists sources that will be helpful to others who may want to begin such a program.