The Circulation Trap

The oldest and most common measure of library use is overall or per capita circulation. The statistics turn up in library budgets and annual reports, in the annual Public Library Data Service report, in Department of Education statistics. They are trotted out regularly to show the effectiveness of a library.

Librarians have always known, however, that circulation is a flawed measurement. If materials budgets are hefty and the library does a good job of providing service and marketing that service to its users, circulation statistics may be high. If funding is poor and community literacy is low, circulation numbers may be low. But if budgets are strong and circulation dips, as it did at the turn of the 21st century, funding authorities will want to know why. Circulation statistics can be used to lobby for more funds or they can be the agent for funds to be cut.

"Circulation statistics can be dangerous," says Gianna Miles, collection development coordinator at Broward County Library, Fort Lauderdale, FL. "So many things can factor into them." For instance, her library recently instituted voice notification for picking up reserves. After three phone calls, a postcard is automatically sent. Then patrons have up to two weeks to get the materials. Miles also points to placing holds from home as another circulation killer. A single user can put 30 items on hold, come into the library and say, "I'll only take these five, save the others for me"—and the library will hold those items for another week.

"There are unexpected consequences," says Miles, of policies like voice notification and placing holds remotely. Her library is moving to shorten time periods for both. "We may have to explain [changes in circulation] to our funders at the end of the year. We're trying to educate them."

In recent years, when LJ's annual book survey and other indicators showed that circulation was static or declining slightly (it has since rebounded), circulation overall didn't go down as much as it might have. "AV is driving overall circulation stats," says Elissa Miller, collection development librarian, Arlington County PL, VA. Videos turn over in three days, compared with two and three weeks for books. Even if budgets decline, circulation overall can still look good because of AV loans.

Instead of overall circulation, in Arlington County librarians are looking at turnover of the collection—circulation divided by number of library items owned—as a measure of its quality. Librarians in several branches in Arlington County have tried to improve turnover of backlist fiction by rearranging it and doing point-of-service marketing (e.g., displays, themes, tie-ins). At one branch turnover increased 6.3 percent, at another a whopping 37 percent.

Turnover may not be a perfect measurement either. "You may have fewer items and the collection may be turning over more—or," warns Miller, "you may have too few items."

The problem with using traditional circulation statistics as a measure, however, is that there is no standard way to count it. Is a three-day AV loan of equal weight to a two-week book loan? Should circulation of a floating collection of best sellers, which can't be put on reserve, be valued the same as branch collections? We need to be able to evaluate precisely how effective library collections are. We need a much more complete picture of library impact.

When LJ spoke to Miller, she pulled up a grid on her computer that showed a variety of statistics, including circulation, that revealed how well the library was serving its users: door count, activities in the building, program attendance, Internet use within and without the library, telephone renewal, reference questions, and on and on. We need to decide which of these, or what other statistics, are valid to "march out…and show our advocates," says Miller. Circulation is a trap.

fialkoff@reedbusiness.com