The evaluation and improvement of book availability in an academic library

Jacobs, Neil

doi:10.1080/13614539509516721

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In order to convert this to the number of library items consulted, project staff once more used unobtrusive direct observation combined with a study of the literature to determine that a user will on average consult three items per visit (Jacobs, 1995 andTuck, 1995). Consequently, the number of at-shelf users was multiplied by three, and the product added to the number of items resulting from the trolley counts to give the total number of library items used in the library during the sample period.…”

Section: The Use Of Direct Observation To Measure At-shelf Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an inclusive methodology for the measurement of in house use

Wynne

Clarke

2000

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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Introduces the background to the EQLIPSE (Evaluation and Quality in Library Performance: System for Europe) project and the work done in compiling a core set of performance indicators for evaluating libraries. Describes the collection of inhouse library use data at the University of Central Lancashire Library test site, where EQLIPSE staff gathered data as part of the data collection exercise to test the feasibility of the indicators and to accumulate data in the EQLIPSE system. Some of the difficulties encountered in the process are noted along with the measures taken to address them. In addition to measuring actual use, attempts were also made to establish whether users habitually reshelve items they consult, both when at the shelf and when working at study spaces. Unobtrusive direct observation eventually formed the mainstay of the methods used to measure this. Results suggest that users consulting items at the shelf would change every 10 minutes on average and that the number of users would fall or rise gradually during the two hours between counts. Future developments to the EQLIPSE methodology are discussed.

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Section: The Use Of Direct Observation To Measure At-shelf Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an inclusive methodology for the measurement of in house use

Wynne

Clarke

2000

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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“…Overall availability rose from 62.5 percent to 71.7 percent, but the largest single reason for the unavailabil ity of books continued to be that they were on loan. 22 Although the literature amply demon strates the magnitude and persistence of the book availability problem, as well as its occasional remediation (by purchasing multiple copies, adjusting loan periods, and so on), little attention has been paid to the impact of recall policy, practice, and performance in this service area. The rea son is simple: Almost all the major stud ies have focused on the question of im mediate availability, rather than on the cu mulative availability rate for materials measured over time.…”

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confidence: 99%

Book Availability Revisited: Turnaround Time for Recalls versus Interlibrary Loans

Gregory

Pedersen

2003

CRL

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Librarians typically view interlibrary loan (ILL) as a means of providing access to items not owned by the local institution. However, they are less likely to explore ILL’s potential in providing timely access to items locally owned, but temporarily unavailable, particularly in the case of monographs in circulation. In a two-part study, the authors test the assumption that, on average, locally owned books that a patron finds unavailable (due to checkout) can be obtained more quickly via recall than via ILL. Phase 1 of this study establishes an average turnaround time for circulation recalls in a large academic library for comparison with well-established turnaround times for ILL borrowing transactions. In Phase 2, a more rigorous paired study of recalls and ILL compares the ability of each system to handle identical requests in real time. Results demonstrate that, under some circumstances, ILL provides a reasonable alternative to the internal recall process. The findings also underscore the need for more holistic, interservice models for improving not just access, but also the timeliness of access, to monograph collections.

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Students' Perceptions of the Library Service at the University of Sussex: Practical Quantitative and Qualitative Research in an Academic Library

Jacobs

1996

Journal of Documentation

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This paper describes quantitative and qualitative research undertaken at the University of Sussex Library. The research was concerned to investigate the behaviour and motivations that led Library users to give puzzling responses in a user survey into book availability. The responses concerned the Library's Reserve Collection of key course texts. Hence the paper firstly sets out to describe the user survey, and then goes on to give an account of the qualitative research methodology employed to look beyond the survey results. This methodology involved semi‐structured interviews with students and tutors, which were analysed with the help of the software package QSR NUD*1st. The research uncovered interesting and useful information relating to the way Library users approach the Library service, a summary of which is included in the paper. The research methodology was found to be a valuable addition to the information gathering strategies of Library management, revealing patterns of user attitudes that are difficult if not impossible to access using traditional survey techniques alone.

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The evaluation and improvement of book availability in an academic library

Cited by 4 publications

References 9 publications

Towards an inclusive methodology for the measurement of in house use

Towards an inclusive methodology for the measurement of in house use

Book Availability Revisited: Turnaround Time for Recalls versus Interlibrary Loans

Students' Perceptions of the Library Service at the University of Sussex: Practical Quantitative and Qualitative Research in an Academic Library

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