OCLC and OhioLink Release Extensive Data Sets on Book Usage Patterns in Academic Libraries
By Michael Kelley Sep 29, 2011OhioLINK and OCLC Research released on September 21 what is likely the largest and most comprehensive study of academic library circulation ever undertaken. Among the more interesting findings, the "80/20" rule, which says that 80 percent of a library's circulation is driven by approximately 20 percent of the collection, may not be accurate.
The report, OhioLINK-OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011, and its extremely large, diverse data sets will not only clarify the usage and collecting patterns of books and manuscripts within OhioLINK libraries but also provide a basis for further research and comparisons at other institutions. The goal is to better inform acquisition behavior and create "a set of collecting rubrics that will help reduce unnecessary duplication, allocate resources more effectively, and increase diversity of collections across the state," according to the report.
"We really hope to be able to provide analysis down the road, and we hope other scholars will jump in and use it, too," said Julia Gammon, the head of the acquisitions department at the University of Akron libraries and a co-author of the report.
OhioLink circulation data from 2007-2008 for virtually all books in Ohio academic libraries was collected and joined with WorldCat bibliographic records to create a base file of nearly 30 million different books. The study was limited to books because they typically circulate and circulation is a significant element in evaluating collections. Ninety institutions participated in the study, including 16 universities, 23 community/technical colleges, 50 private colleges and the State Library of Ohio.
"Trying to corral 89 libraries, all with different hierarchical structures, to send in circulation data on a prescribed schedule was a tough order," Gammon said.
OhioLINK's Collection Building Task Force (CBTF) identified the data needed, and worked closely with OCLC Research to plan the study
The report itself does not provide many conclusions, offering more of an overview of how the data was analyzed and collected and suggesting further uses for the data, which has been made publicly available under the Open Data Commons Attribution license (an open license).
But some results for Ohio's academic libraries can be gleaned from the report as well as a presentation that Gammon and her co-author, Edward T. O'Neill, a senior research scientist at OCLC Research, made during an OhioLink libraries webinar in November 2010:
- Gammon described it as a "shocker" that the "80/20" rule was more like an "80/6" rule;
- 2-year colleges had the smallest holdings (6 percent) but the highest circulation rate (compared to academic research libraries, universities, colleges, and depositories);
- Social science accounted for the largest percentage (22.1 percent) of subject distribution;
- Arts and recreation had the highest annual circulation rate;
- Collectively, the duplication level is high with law books having the highest duplication rate;
- German accounted for the largest portion (26.5 percent) of non-English collections;
- Spanish had the highest relative usage by language;
- Non-English works as a percent of collection have steadily declined, now hovering at slightly less than 5 percent.
"We're hoping other librarians, or any one actually, will use the data to find out what's being used or how we can develop our collections deeply," Gammon said. Among potential uses she highlighted were:
- The strengths and deficiencies of the statewide and local collections can be viewed by quantity, or circulation rate by Library of Congress subject class.
- A consideration of obsolescence trends in each discipline might guide purchasing versus rental decisions for e-book collections.
- Use the circulation rate by subject class data to identify high- and low-use collections for special collection management considerations.
- Areas with high duplication and low circulation rates might be targeted for de-selection or moved to off-site storage.
The current OCLC-OhioLINK project team will also continue to study the data.
"This is an ongoing project and ultimately we hope it will lead to better collections and a better use of our money," Gammon said.
