General

A 1977 study of 9,605 volumes retrieved for patrons at the Library of Congress during a 3-day period in November 1977 (almost 100% of volumes retrieved) showed that, although serials represent 39.8% of the holdings, they accounted for only 24% of the sample use. However, their use declined over time at essentially the same rate as monographs. Percentage of serials used during the study period versus monographs used broken down by imprint for the 6 decades beginning with the 1970s and concluding with the 1920s was as follows: 43.2 vs. 41.2, 23.5 vs. 22.8, 9.5 vs. 8.5, 5.4 vs. 6.4, 4.0 vs. 5.3, and 2.5vs. 3.6.                (Source)

Academic

A 1964 study at the Yale Medical Library involving patron use of books (survey size: 831 borrowers; responding: 430) during a 5-month period showed that, of 13,704 items circulated, 7,718 (56.3%) were serials, and 5,986 (43.7%) were books.               (Source)

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)

        Ibid…. showed thatthe ratio of book to journal circulations varied considerably by subject. For example, of 1,171 circulations in the area of experimental medicine, journals accounted for 98.8% of the circulations, while in the area of zoology, journals accounted for 14.3% of the circulations.               (Source)

A 1968-69 study over a period of 9 months of the use of materials at the Midwest Regional Medical Library (John Crerar Library), involving a random sample of 1,071 requests for material, showed that, of 1,069 requests, 141 (13.2%) were for books, while 928 (86.8%) were for journals.                 (Source)

A study reported in 1974 investigating the materials used by master’s and doctoral candidates completing theses after 1966 in public health at 5 universities (Yale; Harvard; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley; and California State University, Northridge), involving 3,456 citations taken from 44 theses, showed thatthe distribution of materials by format was as follows:

                journals                                        1,785 (52%) citations

                books                                             961 (28%) citations

                documents                                      293 (8%) citations

                unpublished                                     242 (7%) citations

                serials                                              131 (4%) citations

                theses                                                44 (1%) citations                (Source)

A survey reported in 1978 of 31 Ph.D. dissertations in the field of business/management (13 from the State University of New York at Buffalo and 18 from SUNYAB incoming faculty but completed at other schools) showed thatthe overall distribution of 2,805 citations by form was:

                periodicals                                 1,377 (49.1%) citations

                monographs                                  895 (31.9%) citations

                serials                                           266 (9.5%) citations

                miscellaneous                                267 (9.5%) citations                (Source)

A study reported in 1978 at the West Virginia University College of Engineering of the citations found in the master’s theses accepted over a 4-year period (126 theses between 1971-74), showed thatnonjournal (i.e., book) literature was more important in the engineering sciences than previously thought, by showing that, of 3,002 references overall, only 1,000 (33.3%) were journal citations, with the proportion of journal citations by department ranging from 11.4% of the references in aerospace theses to 49.4% of the references in chemical theses.                     (Source)

School

A study reported in 1978 of 19 bibliographic tools listing materials for young adults, involving a total of 19,405 titles in conjunction with a purposeful sample of 270 papers collected from college-bound high school students (grades 10 through 12) in a large metropolitan area from a wide variety of schools, showed thatthe proportion of materials referenced in the bibliographies of the 270 papers was monographic references (67%); journal references (20%); and other, including encyclopedias, documents, primary materials, etc. (13%). Further, only 14% of the 270 papers had half or more of their total references to materials that were 5 years old or less at the time the paper was written.                    (Source)

A study reported in 1979 of term paper bibliographies of high school students (270 students/papers from 6 high schools, involving 3,165 identifiable references) showed that2,117 (67%) of the references were to monographs; 624 (20%) were to journals; and 424 (13%) were to miscellaneous sources.                    (Source)

A 1981 study of 53 ninth-grade honors students in science in a suburban Philadelphia public high school showed thatout of 47 bibliographies 83% had magazine citations, 66% had book citations, 45% had encyclopedia citations, 44% had government document/pamphlet citations, 24% had newspaper citations, and 4% had nonprint citations. Out of a total of 409 citations, magazine citations constituted 46% of the total, books 25%, encyclopedias 10%, government documents/pamphlets 10%, newspapers 7%, and nonprint 1%.                         (Source)

Special

A 1964 study at the Yale Medical Library involving patron use of books (survey size: 831 borrowers; responding: 430) during a 5-month period showed that, of 13,704 items circulated, 7,718 (56.3%) were serials, and 5,986 (43.7%) were books.             (Source)

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 1968-69 study over a period of 9 months of the use of materials at the Midwest Regional Medical Library (John Crerar Library), involving a random sample of 1,071 requests for material, showed that, of 1,069 requests, 141 (13.2%) were for books, while 928 (86.8%) were for journals.                      (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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