Assessing an academic library collection through capacity and usage indicators: testing a multi‐dimensional model

Borin, Jacqueline; Yi, Hua

doi:10.1108/01604951111146956

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The usage data could tell us the characteristics of use, including usage frequency, types of materials and what subjects were being used, which would provide us with valuable information for improving library collections and services. As stated in another article by Borin and Yi (2011), usage was reaffirmed as one of the good indicators for assessing academic library collections which showed the users' interest in using the collection. Circulation statistics for physical items, e.g.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…To respond to the diverse and evolving library world today, Borin and Yi created several indicators for collection evaluation. They were collection capacity, subject-specific standards, scholarly publishing, environmental factors, users and usage (Borin and Yi, 2011). In our study, usage-based approach, one of the key indicators, was adopted.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Collection analysis on social work: a cost-effective approach

Liu

2015

Collection Building

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to ensure the provision of effective library support to the scholarly community in areas of collection development and management. Last year, the author's library made the first attempt to conduct a collection evaluation on a multidisciplinary subject -social work. Design/methodology/approach -In view of extensive subject coverage of a cross-disciplinary subject and the library's constraints, a cost-effective and manageable strategy using internal resources was used. The focus of the study was to concentrate on core subject areas of social work. By making use of circulation statistics of those areas, adequacy, strengths and weaknesses of the collection would be identified. Findings -A positive adequacy of the social work collection was evidenced from a high usage of the collection. An in-depth study on the two major active sections, DDC 361 (social problems and services) and DDC 362 (social work for different groups of people), was also undertaken. Specific subject areas for improvement were identified. Originality/value -Through conducting the project, it not only directly served the main purpose of enhancing the quality of the collection in alliance with the development of academic departments, but also expanded our subject knowledge. It is hoped that our experience can offer tips and stimulant for other libraries contemplating collection analysis on a multidisciplinary subject under restricted resources.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collection analysis on social work: a cost-effective approach

Liu

2015

Collection Building

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“…Traditionally, an effective way to assess a diverse physical library collection was to focus on two indicators, capacity and use (Borin and Yi, 2008, 2011; Henry et al , 2008). The transition period from primarily print formats to primarily digital formats required researchers to take account of this shifting landscape in collection evaluation (Borin and Yi, 2008).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

All that glitters isn’t gold

Perrin

Yang

Barba

et al. 2017

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Purpose Digital collection assessment has focused mainly on evaluating systems, metadata and usability. While use evaluation is discussed in the literature, there are no standard criteria and methods for how to perform assessment on use effectively. This paper asserts that use statistics have complexities that prohibit meaningful interpretation and assessment. The authors aim to discover the problems inherent in the assessment of digital collection use statistics and propose solutions to address such issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper identifies and demonstrates five inherent problems with use statistics that need to be addressed when doing assessment for digital collections using the statistics of assessment tools on local digital repositories. The authors then propose solutions to resolve the problems that present themselves upon such analysis. Findings The authors identified five problems with digital collection use statistics. Problem one is the difficulty of distinguishing different kinds of internet traffic. Problem two is the lack of direct correlation of a digital item to its multiple URLs, so statistics from external web analytics tools are not ideal. Problem three is the analytics tools’ inherent bias in statistics that are counted only in the positive way. Problem four is the different interaction between digital collections with search engine indexing. Problem five is the evaluator’s bias toward simple growing statistics over time for surmising a positive use assessment. Because of these problems, statistics on digital collections do not properly measure a digital library’s value. Practical implications Findings highlight problems with current use measures and offer improvements. Originality/value This paper identifies five problems that need to be addressed before a meaningful assessment of digital collection use statistics can take place. The paper ends with a call for evaluators to try to solve or mitigate the stated problems for their digital collections in their own evaluations.

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“…10 The most recent articles focus on usage statistics as a tool for return on investment analysis (ROI). 11 Our study is the first in the French-speaking scientific literature to analyse the uptake and usage of statistics in academic libraries.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Statistics usage by French academic libraries: a survey

Boukacem‐Zeghmouri

Schöpfel²

2012

Learned Publishing

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The article presents a survey on usage statistics management in academic libraries in France. The objective is to provide empirical evidence on real methods and processes, best practices and problems experienced by librarians. The survey adapted Baker and Read's methodology to the French context. One‐third of French academic libraries answered the survey. Results show that usage statistics are crucial for librarians' daily work. COUNTER reports are mostly used, specifically the JR1 format. Two‐thirds of the libraries enhance the usage statistics with other data. Librarians face three major difficulties: lack of time, lack of usage data produced by French vendors, and the need for customized tools. The article contains a short literature review and ends with recommendations for further studies. It is the first published survey on usage data management in France and allows for comparison with results from other countries.

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Assessing an academic library collection through capacity and usage indicators: testing a multi‐dimensional model

Cited by 16 publications

References 14 publications

Collection analysis on social work: a cost-effective approach

Collection analysis on social work: a cost-effective approach

All that glitters isn’t gold

Statistics usage by French academic libraries: a survey

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