Academic
A 1-year study during 1964-65 at the Yale Medical Library concerning book and journal circulation (34,825 circulations) showed thatjournals accounted for 59.1% of the circulations while books accounted for 40.9% of the circulations. (Source)
A study reported in 1977 at the University of Pittsburgh, based on the complete circulation history during the period October 1968-June 1976, showed thatcirculation was a good indicator of total book/monograph use. For example, based on 30-day samples of in-house use taken over a period of 2 academic terms and involving 29,098 items, 75% of the items used in-house had also circulated externally by the end of the sample period, with an additional 4% of the in-house items circulating the following year. Further, of 4,250 books/monographs loaned on interlibrary loan during the period January 1969-December 1975, 3,246 (76.4%) had external circulations, with the remaining 1,004 items accounting for only .34% of the total circulation during the period of the study. Finally, of 33,277 books/monographs selected for reserve during the period January 1969-December 1975, 27,854 (83.7%) had external circulations, with the remaining 5,423 items accounting for only 1.84% of the total circulation during the period of this study. (Source)
A study reported in 1979 at the Polk Library of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, of books circulated to faculty and students during 6 sample days (1,371 titles circulated) showed that157 (11%) books circulated every 30 days or more frequently, that 392 (29%) books circulated every 90 days or more frequently, that 879 (64%) books circulated once a year or more frequently, and that 1,360 (99.1%) circulated at least once every 8 years or more frequently. (Source)
A study reported in 1980 at Emporia State University (Kansas) involving book and periodical use data for 1 year showed thatthe ratio between periodical and book use for the major subject areas was as follows: social/behavorial sciences, 9.1 to 1; life sciences, 3.4 to 1; pure/applied sciences, 3.1 to 1; and fine arts/humanities, 1.1 to 1. (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatthe ratio between periodical and book use for the major user groups was as follows: undergraduate students, 2.1 to 1; graduate students, 1.6 to 1; and faculty, 7.4 to 1. (Source)
A study reported in 1981 at DePauw University of circulation patterns over a 5-year period (1973-77) for a group of newly acquired monographs (sample size: 1,904 books) showed thatin 5 years the following circulation pattern obtained:
no circulation 702 (36.9%) books
1-5 circulations 951 (49.9%) books
6-10 circulations 166 (8.7%) books
11+ circulations 85 (4.5%) books (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatthere was a statistically significant difference in the circulation rates of gift books and those books purchased on the recommendation of classroom instructors or librarians, with the gift books circulating less than the purchased books (significant at the .01 level). For example, of 189 gift books, 121 (64.0%) did not circulate at all [during the 5-year period], while of 1,715 purchased books 581 (33.8%) did not circulate at all [during the 5-year period]. (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatthere was a statistically significant difference in the circulation rates of books selected by the classroom instructors (1,542 books) and those books selected by librarians (173 books), with the books selected by the librarians circulating more (significant at the .01 level). For example, 74% of the librarian-selected books were either lightly circulated or not circulated at all compared to 87.3% of the books selected by classroom instructors, while 26% of the librarian-selected books were either moderately or heavily circulated compared to 12.7% of the books selected by classroom instructors. (Source)
Special
A 1-year study during 1964-65 at the Yale Medical Library concerning book and journal circulation (34,825 circulations) showed thatjournals accounted for 59.1% of the circulations while books accounted for 40.9% of the circulations. (Source)
