At the root of all library acquisition decisions is the goal to add to the collection those materials that meet users' needs. Compiling circulation statistics is one way of assessing users' needs. This project seeks to assess the current collection development practices at Stetson Univer sity with respect to the circulation of books purchased in support of se lected departmental curricula. Circulation statistics for books selected by five academic departments over a five-year period are compared with those of librarian selections in corresponding subject areas.he process of allocating depart ment and program funding for library materials is a compli cated and timeconsuming en deavor for acquisitions and collection development librarians in small academic libraries. Although many academic librar ies have been able to increase their mate rials budgets in recent years, these in creases have often failed to keep pace with the rising cost of materials. This de crease in buying power impacts libraries' ability to support the research needs of their users.At the root of all library acquisition decisions is the goal to add to the collec tion those materials that will meet users' needs; compiling usage statistics is an ef fective way of assessing previous deci sions and allows extrapolation for the future. Studies have been conducted to track the use, over time, of a sampling of circulating books. Larry Hardesty con ducted two studies at DePauw University and at Eckerd College in the 1980s. At DePauw, Hardesty tracked all circulating books purchased over a sixmonth period (2,031 books) and found that "80% of the . circulation was accounted for by 30% of the books."l At Eckerd College, he tracked purchased circulating books ac quired during one budget year (1,398 books) and found that 34 percent of the books studied accounted for 80 percent of the total circulation.
2At Stetson University's main campus in DeLand, Florida, assigning materials budget amounts for university depart ments and programs is a highly refined process involving an allocation formula based on variables such as number of stu dent majors and number of faculty in a department. There also is a general fund from which librarians make selections.
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