Academic

Studies at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology on circulation data gathered during academic 1969-70 and 1967-68, respectively, showed thatbooks whose class numbers matched profiles of class numbers associated with courses taught were more likely to circulate than books whose class numbers did not match the profiles. The Louisiana study was based on 56,828 items circulated vs. 115,201 items not circulated and was statistically significant at the .005 level. The South Dakota study was based on 7,696 items circulated vs. 40,433 items not circulated and was statistically significant at the .005 level.                (Source)

A 1972 study at a midwestern university comparing the titles that faculty checked out with the titles on the monthly list of new acquisitions sent to those faculty (only those faculty who had elected to receive acquisitions lists were involved) showed that within 30 days 7 titles out of 232 were charged out from 1 monthly list and 15 titles out of 280 were charged out from a second monthly list.                 (Source)

A study at the University of Southeastern Louisiana reported in 1972 of 8,953 circulated books, 4,507 books left on tables, and 158,569 books left on the shelves showed thatbooks whose class numbers matched profiles of class numbers associated with courses taught were more likely to be charged out after being taken from the shelves than left on the tables. (The study was statistically significant at the .005 level.)                         (Source)

A study reported in 1974 comparing the effectiveness of collection development of librarians, teaching faculty, and approval plans in 5 academic libraries (3 college, 2 university) by comparing books bought by each of these groups with the books’ subsequent circulation records (7,213 books studied in total) showed thatthe circulation rates of the materials selected by each of the 3 groups was different to a statistically significant degree, with materials selected by librarians circulating most, materials selected by teaching faculty circulating next most often, and approval plan materials circulating the least. [Significance level not given.]                         (Source)

A 1977 study at the Music Library of the University of California, Berkeley, to investigate weeding criteria (based on a sample of 116 circulated volumes and a sample of 515 volumes from the shelf) showed thatweeding on the basis of circulation activity in distinct subject areas was the most feasible idea. For example, the number of books that had never been charged out ranged from 5.6% of the books in “performance practice” to 35.0% of the books in “history.”                        (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 thatover a 1-year period the circulation pattern showed a “log normal distribution.” Further, during a 1-year period the number of items that circulated 2 times was roughly half the number of items that circulated once, the number of items that circulated 3 times was roughly half the number of items that circulated twice, and so on. For example, for 1974:

                circulating 1 time                               63,526 items

                circulating 2 times                             25,653 items

                circulating 3 times                             11,855 items

                circulating 4 times                               6,055 items

                circulating 5 times                               3,264 items             (Source)

A study at Washington State University reported in 1982 of a relatively homogeneous book collection (a recent social science collection of 100,000 volumes) showed thatcombining patron reports of missing items in a collection subject area with the circulation rate of that subject area produces a combined predictor of the actual number of missing items in that area that is a more powerful predictor than either of the 2 factors singly with an r2 = .4892.               (Source)

        Ibid…. showed thatcirculation rate of a collection subject area was the second strongest predictor of the actual number of missing items in that area with an r2 = .3187.                  (Source)

        Ibid…. showed thatpatron reports of missing items in a collection subject area were the strongest single predictor of the actual number of missing items in that area with an r2 = .4049.                (Source)

Public

A questionnaire survey of 3,500 public library cardholders in 5 medium-sized Pennsylvania cities in conjunction with interviews of a randomly selected sample of householders in 1 city by the Institute of Public Administration (at Pennsylvania State University) under contract to the Pennsylvania State Library in 1965 showed thatthe major service provided by the library was book borrowing (60% of respondents), while reference/information was the next most important use made of the library (26% of respondents).               (Source)

A 1979 telephone survey of 1.046 New Orleans residents over the age of 12 showed that37.6% report having visited the public library in the past 12 months. Of these, 28.2% visited the Central Library, and 71.8% visited the branches. The 1978 circulation figures indicated that the Central Library accounted for 28% of the overall circulation and the branches for 72% of the overall circulation.                       (Source)

A study reported in 1980 of monthly library circulation data for the 12-year period 1965-76 for the Dallas public library system (main library and 14 branches), comparing circulation before and after the institution of the Nonresident Fee Card Program, showed that analysis by a series of statistical tests indicated strong evidence for statistically significant circulation declines in 3 libraries, moderate evidence for statistically significant declines in 2 libraries, weak evidence for declines in 4 libraries, and no evidence of statistically significant declines in 6 libraries. (Significance at the .05 level for all tests.)                     (Source)

An attempt reported in 1982 to establish 4 input measures and 4 output measures for public libraries, based on published statistical reports for 301 New Jersey public libraries over a 6-year period (1974-79) and survey data for 96 public libraries in New Jersey, showed that(per capita based on number of residents in the library’s service area):

                INPUT MEASURES

                The proportion of budget spent on materials averaged 19.9% with a standard deviation of .081 (based on 301 libraries).

                The new volumes per capita averaged .181 with a standard deviation of .097 (based on 301 libraries).

                The periodical titles per capita averaged .0094 with a standard deviation of .0054 (based on 301 libraries).

                The circulation per volume averaged 1.79 with a standard deviation of .77 (based on 301 libraries).

                OUTPUT MEASURES

                The circulation per capita averaged 5.04 with a standard deviation of 3.07 (based on 301 libraries).

                The patron visits per capita averaged 2.82 with a standard deviation of 1.82 (based on 96 libraries).

                The reference questions per capita averaged 1.12 with a standard deviation of .79 (based on 96 libraries).

                The in-library uses of materials per capita averaged 2.29 with a standard deviation of 2.02 (based on 96 libraries).                        (Source)

A survey of 53 U.S. public libraries (all responding) reported in 1983 concerning circulation and expenditures showed that, using 1980 as a base year (index value = 100), circulation had increased in 1981 by 4% (index value = 104) and in 1982 by a further 3% (index value = 107). Further, between 1980 and 1982 the circulation ratio between adult and juvenile materials had remained unchanged, i.e., adult materials accounted for 69% of the circulation, and juvenile materials accounted for 31% of the circulation.                    (Source)

Special

A study reported in 1968 of 6 months’ library monographic circulation at the Air Force Cambridge research library (Massachusetts), involving 835 individuals who checked out at least 1 book out of 1,000 potential patrons and a total of 8,966 items checked out, showed that12.5% of the 835 users accounted for 50% of the circulations while 50% of the 835 accounted for 90% of the circulations.                     (Source)

Dr. David Kohl

 "Libraries in the digital age are experiencing the most profound transformation since ancient Mesopotamian scribes first began gathering and organizing cuneiform tablets."

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