Discovering Data Discrepancies during Deselection: A Study of GreenGlass, Aleph, and Due Date Slips Circulation Data

Abstract

Amid a weeding project, librarians at a state college suspected GreenGlass's circulation data was inaccurate. This study compared GreenGlass's and Aleph's circulation statistics for a random sample of books. It also determined if GreenGlass's list of books with zero uses included curriculum related works using keyword searching. The study compared GreenGlass's and due date slips' circulation data for curriculum related titles. Some GreenGlass circulation data was erroneous. Additionally, curriculum related books that circulated were on GreenGlass's zero use list. The study's results helped retain pertinent titles and highlighted the inadequacy of relying exclusively on circulation data to weed monographs.

Academic Map Library Weeding

“…The latter is a strong consideration in maps, though retaining even a poorly cared-for item may be necessary in cases of rarity. Circulation reports are a fraught discussion among books (Hendley, 2019); among maps, it is virtually useless, as Weihs and Howarth (1995) note that 41.2% of map collections are uncatalogued (p. 190), and even among those that are catalogued, only a subset are circulating. Folkner and Aagard note that less than 40% of their respondents measure usage of USGS topographic maps, often by counting maps left out (p. 72).…”