collection development with numbers by karen kohn, arcadia university
DESCRIPTION
Charleston Conference Saturday, November 6, 2010 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM The data in our library catalogs can be recombined in many ways to tell us about our users. In this presentation, I will describe an evaluation project I did that used easy-to-access data about library holdings, circulation, and InterLibrary Loan requests to reveal user behavior from several different angles. As my data all came directly from the software we already use, my methods should be replicable without using a dedicated collection analysis product. The collection evaluation includes two angles: course-based circulation statistics, and a comparison of ILL and circulation. In order to determine which courses most heavily use library resources, each 200-level course was assigned a call number range, so that I could look at holdings and circulation history for each course. I will discuss what these numbers told me, what they didn’t tell me, and further steps that might help me make meaning from the data. As another measure of how well we are meeting user needs, I also compared InterLibrary Loan data to circulation data to see how often users’ needs were met by books we own versus books they need to request from other libraries. I will discuss how my library plans to use this information to inform collection development in the future and will note other data that attendees could consider collecting. Audience members will benefit from seeing concrete steps that can be replicated in almost any library. I hope that the audience will also share their own systems for evaluation.TRANSCRIPT
Collection Development with Numbers:
Mining our Circulation and ILL Data to Understand Patrons’ Needs
Karen KohnCollection Development ManagerArcadia UniversityGlenside, PAwww.arcadia.edu
Charleston ConferenceIssues in Book and Serial AcquisitionSaturday, November 6, 2010
Our InstitutionMaster’s Level3156 FTE~130,000 items, including online~112,000 books in circulating collectionNo approval plans: Librarians and faculty responsible for all selection
Goals
1. To analyze our collection as it relates to our curriculum
2. To identify both what is being used and what is wanted that we don’t have.
3. To do so with quantitative data
What Has Been Done Already?Usage-based
• How much of what we have gets used?• How much of what students use do we
have?• Knievel, J. E., Wicht, H., and Connaway, L.S. (2006). Use of
circulation statistics and Interlibrary Loan data in collection management. College & Research Libraries, 67(1), 35-49.
• Ochola, J.N. (2002). Use of circulation statistics and Interlibrary Loan data in collection management. Collection Management, 27(1), 1-13.
Comparison to Other Institutions• White, H. D. (2008). Better than brief tests: coverage
power tests of collection strength. College & Research Libraries, 69(2), 155-174.
My Questions
• How much of what we have gets used?• Circulation Data• Course-level analysis
• How much of what students use do we have?• Checkouts v InterLibrary Loan• Department-level analysis
What data I collected
How much of what we have gets used?• For course-specific call number ranges• How many items held• How many of these circulated• How many total checkouts• Ratioso Checkouts to books ownedo Number of books used to books ownedo Uses per book
How much of what students use do we have?• For department-specific call number ranges• Number of ILL requests• Number of checkouts from our library• Ratio of checkouts to ILL requests
Why these data?
I felt I knew what they meant, could translate the numbers into words.
I had access to the data with existing reports
What courses I looked at
200 level coursesPresumed to involve more research than 100-levelManageable number (240)
Of these 240 courses-21 needed same resources as other courses (ex: Photography I and Photography II)-19 presumed not to need books (ex: fieldwork, conversational language, physical activity)-2 were special topics, no real course description198 courses were assigned call numbers or ranges
Examples
Great Trials in History (CJ208)KF8910-9066, F74.S1, E451, B310-318, QB36.G2, KZ1175-1179, KF224.S3, KFM2478.8.W5, TR140.M347, KD372.W53
Modern Programming Languages (MA228)QA76.7-QA76.73.Z2
Human Anatomy (BI205)QM
Ratio of Checkouts to Holdings
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
Does not include:19 courses that had no books54 courses that had books but no circulation
Health and Human Rights
Introduction to Art Ther-apy
Intermediate Italian I
Feminist Theory
Script Analy-sisDigital Imaging II
History of Modern Architecture
Acting: Scene StudySurvey of Latin-American
Literature
By Department: Criminal Justice
Great
Tria
ls in
Histo
ry
Crimin
al In
vest
igat
ion
Crime
Scene
Inve
stig
atio
n an
d
Recon
stru
ctio
n
Rehab
ilita
tive
Pract
ices
and
Pol
icie
s
Polic
ing
and
Socie
ty
Prison
s an
d Cor
rect
ions
Crimin
al M
inds
, Crim
inal
Rol
es
Compa
rativ
e Crim
inal
Just
ice
Syste
ms
Surve
illan
ce0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
By Department: Psychology
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
What does it mean?
If ratio is high:Keep buying books!
If ratio is low:Less clearPossibilitiesCourse has no research
assignmentSubject lends itself to journal
useOur books are too oldOur books are off-base in some
way
If no books:Have to ask faculty their needs
Percentage of Collection Used
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
Intro to Art Therapy
Health Psychol-ogy
Feminist Theory
Forensic PsychologyHealth and Human Rights
Acting: Scene StudyRenaissance Art
Modern Africa /South Africa
Cases Where A Few Books GettingA Lot of Use
Buy more books, or more copies of the same books?
Looked at circulation rates only for books that circulatedDivided total number of checkouts by number of books checked outHow heavily are these books being used?
Ratio of Checkouts to Number of Books Checked Out
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Courses that Have Books But No Usage
Painting I Printmaking IIPlant BiologyFinancial Accounting Conceptual Physics I Video Production I Writing Poetry and Fiction Native American FictionJacksonian America Linear Algebra Introduction to Italian LiteratureHispanic Experience in PhiladelphiaSpanish for Medical Careers
Symphonic Literature and Repertoire Developmental Psychology of the Black ChildPsychology of Work Behavior Script AnalysisStage Makeup
54 courses total
Recommended Actions So Far
•Seek more books for courses with high
checkout rate
•Buy similar books to those with high use
•Weed ranges with very low % of books used
•Where no checkouts or no books, speak with
faculty
Limitations of My Data
Only collected 1 year. Not all courses were offered!
Would need more years of non-usage to justify weeding.
Had only rudimentary guesses of which courses required
library research.
Some courses might be using journals rather than books.
Do not have a record of in-house use.
InterLibrary Loan Statistics
How much of student needs are being met by our collection?
What do students need that we don’t have?
Could not break this down by courses because not enough requests
2,802 ILL requests for books v 10,198 checkouts from our stacks
Departmental Call Number Ranges
Anthropology GN, GT
Math/Computer Science QA
Art and Design N, TR, TT Modern Language PA-PD, PF-PM, PQ, PT
Biology QH-QM, QP501-end, RC212-RC320, RC571- RF, TD
Music M
Business HB-HJ
Peace and Conflict Resolution
JZ4835-end of JZ, KZ
Chemistry/Physics QB-QD, TA, TK Physical Therapy RM695-893
Criminal Justice HV8079-end of HV, HV6001-8069 Political Science J-JZ3875, K-KW
Education L Psychology
BF, QP351-495, RC321-571, RJ499- 507
English P, PE, PN, PR, PS Public Health QP-QP345, RA- RA1000
Forensic Science
HV8073, RA1001-1171, RS189-190, RS441, TH9025-9745 Religion/Philosophy B-BD, BH-BX
History C-F Sociology HM-HV5840
InterLibrary Loan Requests Compared to Checkouts from Our Library
Department
Call Numbers
ILL Requests
Checkouts
Percentage of Book Needs Met By Us
Anthropology GN, GT 27 59 68.60%
Art and Design N, TR, TT 99 1341 93.13%
Biology
QH-QM, QP501-end, RC212-RC320, RC571- RF, TD 28 124 81.58%
Business HB-HJ 131 308 70.16%Chemistry/Physics QB-QD, TA, TK 12 82 87.23%
Criminal Justice HV8079-end of HV, HV6001-8069 15 90 85.71%
Education L 112 455 80.25%English P, PE, PN, PR, PS 51 158 75.60%
Forensic Science
HV8073, RA1001-1171, RS189-190, RS441, TH9025-9745 8 11 57.89%
History C-F 397 1805 81.97%Math/Computer Science QA 31 168 84.42%Modern Languages PA-PD 34 133 79.64%Music M 26 144 84.71%Peace and Conflict Resolution JZ4835-end of JZ 11 65 85.53%Physical Therapy RM695-893 2 13 86.67%Political Science J-JZ3875 73 300 80.43%Psychology BF 77 364 82.54%Public Health QP-QP345 6 35 85.37%Religion/Philosphy B-BD 45 123 73.21%Sociology/Anthropology HM-HV5840 191 736 79.40%
InterLibrary Loan Requests Compared to Checkouts from Our Library
Anthr
opol
ogy
Art an
d Des
ign
Biolo
gy
Busin
ess
Chem
istry/P
hysic
s
Crimin
al Ju
stice
Educa
tion
Englis
h
Foren
sic S
cien
ce
Histo
ry
Mat
h/Com
pute
r Scien
ce
Mod
ern
Langu
ages
Mus
ic
Peace
and
Con
flict R
esol
utio
n
Physica
l The
rapy
Politi
cal S
cien
ce
Psych
olog
y
Public
Hea
lth
Relig
ion/
Philo
sphy
Socio
logy
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Caveats for ILL Data
Patrons may not be requesting everything they need• Would skew satisfaction rate up
Some books requested may not fall within our Collection Plan(e.g., textbooks, leisure reading)
• Would skew satisfaction rate down, mostly in the Ps.
Actions
Look at what books and topics were requestedMake recommendations for purchasing
Other Information I Wish I Had
What’s wrong with the books that aren’t circulating?
• Could not operationalize this numerically
Are books selected by librarians circulating more than books selected by faculty?
• We do keep track of who selected, but harder than expected to decide what counts as librarian-selected.• Ex: I make a list and faculty member says please order #
1,5,7, and 9.• Ex: Faculty member orders literary criticism, librarian
realizes we don’t have the literary work and orders it.• Ex: Librarian submits the order but does not specify where
it originated.
Future Plans
ActionsLibrarians have been looking at ILL data, approaching facultyWill bring course-based data to faculty soon, possibly in the Spring
Future AnalysisRepeat analysis for 300-level coursesLook at 5 years of usage data
Questions
Have you done something like
this?
