Levine-Clark, Michael, “Analyzing and Describing Collections Use: Strategies for Managing a Library Move,” LYRASIS Ideas and Insights – Using Data: Facts, Figures, and the Future of Libraries, Webinar, May 4, 2012.

1. ANALYZING AND DESCRIBING
COLLECTIONS USE:
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING A
LIBRARY MOVE
LYRASIS Ideas and Insights
Using Data: Facts, Figures, and the Future of Libraries
May 4, 2012
Michael Levine-Clark
University of Denver
michael.levine-clark@du.edu

2. Background

3. Timeline
• Penrose Library, 1972
• Planning for new library, 2002-2008
• Authorization for project, 2010
• New vision – smaller collection footprint,
spring 2011
• Break ground – July 2011
• Project completion – March 2013

4. Collection Locations Pre-Renovation
• Penrose Library
• Built in 1972
• PASCAL
• Shared storage facility with University of Colorado
• Campus storage
• Music Library

5. Collection Size – Linear Feet
PASCAL, 27,3
Mary
97
Reed, 3,187
Penrose, 108,5
02

6. Collection Locations Post-Renovation
• Academic Commons
• (The renovated, renamed Penrose Library)
• Hampden Center
• High-density storage
• 10 miles from campus
• 2-hour delivery

7. The Initial Plan
• Renovated library
• 75% of monographs
• Excluding monographs with 0 circulations (post-1997) published before
• 1950 (humanities)
• 1980-2000 (social sciences, science, technology)
• 10% of serials (mostly image-heavy)
• New storage facility
• 25% of monographs
• 90% of serials
• 100% of government documents
• 100% of microforms

8. Nancy Allen, Dean & Director, Penrose Library
The Big Picture
Pre-renovation After completion
Upper level Upper level
• 25000 sf of books • Seating and staff areas
• Perimeter seating
Main level Main level
• All services and seating • Seating and service
points
Lower level Lower level
• 25000 sf of books • 15K – 20K sf Collections
• Some seating • Seating

10. Nancy Allen, Dean & Director, Penrose Library
The Big Picture
Pre-renovation After completion
Upper level Upper level
• 25000 sf of books • Seating and staff areas
• Perimeter seating
Main level Main level
• All services and seating • Seating and service
points
Lower level Lower level
• 25000 sf of books • 15K – 20K sf Collections
• Some seating • Seating

11. Library Recommendation
• Core collections:
• Imprint date of 2003 and later in most disciplines and excepting
those available as e-books.
• Books of all publication dates that have been checked out 5 or
more times since 1997
• 2900 LF of the art and art history books and journals
• Totals 19,900 LF
• Assumptions:
• Need recognizable rules
• Provide collections for all disciplines
• Take usage into account
• Require minimal maintenance

12. A Faculty Committee
• Charge: to make a data-driven decision
about the right mix of seating and
collections on the lower level of the
renovated library.
• Representatives from (mostly) humanities
and social sciences.

13. The questions:
• What is the purpose of an on-campus collection?
• What criteria should be used to shape an on-
campus collection?
• Why should it be larger than 20% of the
monographs proposed by the Chancellor and
Board?
• Which data should be considered in supporting
recommendations?

14. COLLECTIONS DATA

15. Collection Size – Volumes/Items
Microforms, 1, Books, 1,186,2
367,533 11
Gov
Docs, 604,702 Journals, 252,
Spec Coll 512
Books, 35,407

16. Penrose Collection – Linear Feet
3,883 3,695
2,251
2,163
Books
17,591 Journals
Gov Docs
Spec Coll Books
Spec Coll Boxes
78,919 Microforms

17. Digital Collection Size
Other
eResources, 3
0,189
Gov
Docs, 594,431
eBooks, 1,060,
043
eJournals
(titles), 95,570

18. Collections Budget, FY 2010
Expense Type Expenditure Percentage
Databases/Journal Packages $1,965,042.00
eJournals $842,737.00
Print/Electronic Journals $130,043.00
Total Electronic $2,937,822.00 89.2%
Subscriptions
Total Subscriptions $3,294,652.00
One-Time Electronic $721,896.00
Purchases
Total Electronic Spending $3,659,718.00 67.3%
Print Monographs $883,167.00
Special Collections $343,013.00
Videos $59,626.00
Total Collections Budget $5,439,134.00

19. Volumes Added
FY 06 FY 07 FY 08 FY 09 FY 10
Volumes 27,442 29,240 26,406 24,804 21,356
Added
Vols 11,035 9,201 1,915 988 1,327
Withdrawn
Net Increase 16,407 20,039 24,491 23,816 20,029

20. Types of Use, FY 2010
• Circulation 125,886
• ILL Borrowing 4,094
• Prospector Borrowing 14,675
• Total Checkouts to DU 144,655
• ILL Lending 4,015
• Prospector Lending 26,339
• Total Resource Sharing 30,354
• Reshelving 15,758

21. Circulation of Monographs
• Circulation of entire collection, 1997-present
• Total Items 906,186
• % Circulated 44.8%
• Avg Circ/Title 1.22
• % Circulated FY 10, FY 11 2.6%

22. Circulation, Books Cataloged 2000-2004
(n=126,953)
4+ Circ, 19%
0 Circ, 40%
3 Circ, 8%
2 Circ, 13%
1 Circ, 21%

23. Circulation, Books Published
1950(n=4,036)
3 Circ, 2% 4+ Circ, 3%
2 Circ, 6%
1 Circ, 19%
0 Circ, 71%

24. Highest Circulation by LC Class (1997-Present)
LC Class Items % Avg % Circ
Circulated Circ/Title FY10, FY11
R (Medicine) 25,565 59.6% 2.17 2.8%
B (Philos, Psych, 65,275 55.3% 1.65 3.9%
Religion)
N (Fine Arts) 35,103 54.7% 1.48 3.2%
L (Education) 28,487 52.8% 1.48 3.1%
K (Law) 7,254 52.3% 1.64 2.7%
E (History - 32,734 50.6% 1.34 2.6%
Americas)
G (Geog, Anthro, 26,035 50.5% 1.50 4.0%
Rec)
S (Agriculture) 4,309 49.8% 1.18 3.6%
U (Military Science) 6,715 48.5% 1.20 3.3%
H (Social Sciences) 161,244 47.9% 1.50 2.6%
F (History – 21,130 45.1% 1.09 2.7%
Americas)

25. Lowest Circulation by LC Class (1997-Present)
LC Class Items % Avg % Circ FY10,
Circulated Circ/Title FY11
A (General Works) 15,538 12.4% 0.30 0.7%
Z (Bibliography, Lib & 21,978 26.0% 0.76 1.1%
Info Sci, Info
Resources)
M (Music) 912 32.2% 0.74 0.9%
V (Naval Sciences) 1,058 37.0% 0.66 1.3%
Q (Science) 80,876 37.0% 0.81 1.7%
C (Aux Sciences of 6,311 39.6% 1.06 2.9%
Hist)
P (Lang & Lit) 206,636 40.9% 0.97 2.1%
T (Technology) 40,321 43.0% 1.01 2.5%
D (History – World) 80,024 43.7% 1.08 2.5%
J (Political Science) 38,681 43.9% 1.32 3.3%

26. 70,054 titles lent in 2010, by publication
date
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%

27. On-Site Collection Goals?
• A good starting point for undergraduate research papers
• Serendipitous discovery (browsing) that will result in some
material
• Immediate access for people who can’t wait at all to get
something
• Something for everyone across disciplines, supporting
teaching
• Something for heaviest users: AHSS
• Material to support research when only browsing works

28. Initial Library Recommendation
• Core collections:
• Imprint date of 2003 and later in most disciplines and excepting
those available as e-books.
• Books of all publication dates that have been checked out 5 or
more times since 1997
• 2900 LF of the art and art history books and journals
• Totals 19,900 LF

29. Expanded View of High Use

30. THE SURVEY

31. FQ2: why do you visit the print collection?
• Two dominant browsing patterns for faculty:
• A known item search, then see additional material on the shelf
• Go directly to “your” shelf location to browse for materials
• In addition, it is common (48%) for faculty members to
visit in order to look up something specific in a specific
title.

32. SQ1: Why do students go to the stacks?
• 14% do not use the print collection, and 6% always use
Request It
• 67% browse for a course assignment
• 44% browse for creative inspiration
• 74% are going after a specific book
• 41% need to look up a fact or passage in a book
• 13% described other reasons
• Look for one book and find a lot of others
• Reading for pleasure
• Personal reading
• Practicing language skills
• To relax

33. FQ4: collection use for research
• 65% of respondents say books are primary research
resources.
• 68% use books to find specific information
• 66% use books to update or refresh knowledge and 80%
use books to expand knowledge
• Comments illustrate very high levels of concern about
these modes of inquiry becoming so inconvenient that
inquiry itself will be disrupted, reduced, or
even impossible.

34. Percent
Number of circulated Linear
Respondents Topic/Collection LC class number(s) since 97 Feet
143 Total Respondents
4 Psychology BF, RC 68% 1200
1 Parapsychology BF1403.2-1999 68%
1 Christianity, the Bible BR-BX 45% 1143
All B's (Religion, Philosophy, Ethics,
1 etc.) All B's 55% 4975
DA, DB, DC, DD, DE, DF,
DG, DH, DJ, DJK, DL, DP,
2 History of Europe DQ, DR, DX 44% 3042
1 History of Asia DS 45% 2213
2 History of the US F1-F975, E151-889 45% 4353
8 General History, all history C, CB, D's, E, F 47% 11,800
G1-922, GA, GB, GC, GE,
1 Geography GF 46% 575
1 Economics HB, HC 43% 2319
Business, Commerce, Labor,
13 Industry HD, HE, HF, HG, HJ 38% 6147
14 General Sociology HM, HN, HQ, HS, Ht, HX 53% 3305
4 Class, race, and communities E184-185, HT 45% 700
1 Criminology including Terrorism HV 66% 1384
1 Political Science theory JA, JC 56% 683
3 Political science by location JJ, JK, JL, JN, JQ, JS 33% 1430
6 All political sciences All Js 44% 2958
2 Law JX, JZ, All K's 39% 1341
6 All education All L's 53% 2041
2 Music All Ms 32% 76
9 Art All Ns 55% 2913
1 Linguistics, philology P 57% 523
1 French language PC2001-3761, PQ1-3999 38% 2505
English language and British English
2 literature PE, PR 41% 4576
2 American literature PS 43% 4971
1 East Asian languages and literature PL501-3208 41% 294
5 Writing, Authorship PN101-245.2 47%
5 Film, Television, the Theatre PN1560-3307.2 47%
17 All language , literatures All Ps 41% 17816
3 Math QA 39% 2937
1 Chemistry QD 28% 914
QE, QH, QK, QL, QM, QP,
8 Natural Sciences QR, R's 36% 2657
1 General, all sciences All Q's, R's, S's 37% 10,210
1 Medicine, public heath, anatomy QP, R, RA, RB, RC, RD, RE 49% 2305
1 Photography TR 53% 217
4 Cookbooks TX641.2-840 46% 531
Z662-1000.5, ZA, CD941-
1 Libraries Science 4280 73% 2000

35. How many Linear Feet for assignments?
• 73,000 LF
• Clearly, all books in each call number would not be
needed, but that’s how we counted.
• We did not include responses such as “all collections” or
“all literature.”
• We added up linear feet for topics specified by
respondents.
• All areas of the collection are used in teaching.

36. FQ6: What (specifically) should be
returned to the new library?
• Responses range from “everything” to “all literary
criticism” to works by a specific author.
• Many responses show the extent to which teaching and
research is interdisciplinary: gender studies, race
studies, multicultural therapy, history of literacy, or
church/art/social history.
• We did not include some responses such as “all
collections” or “all literature.”
• 70,041 Linear Feet, or 92% of the tallied collection.
Again, all parts of the collection are valued by faculty.

37. FQ7: when is a 3-hour delivery OK (i.e.
what can be stored?)
• Some respondents said there is nothing for which a 3
hour delivery time is OK; it diminishes browsing.
• 49% said we could store anything that had never been
checked out.
• 49% said low use books were OK to store.
• 60% approve storing the paper version of an e-book.
• 34% thought we could store the book if the catalog record
includes a table of contents online.

38. Key concepts from comments
• For some students and faculty little concern about storing
collections.
HOWEVER
• The vast majority of respondents, both students and
faculty, very unhappy, worried, angry, upset, or concerned
about the decision to store most of the book collections.
• Few worry about turnaround time; most regret loss of
browsing.

39. Key concepts
• Some collection uses CANNOT be done by requesting
known items. Examples from the survey are:
• Image/photo/illustration searching within books (hence our
recommendation that we return the art books)
• Assessment of degree of difficulty of non-English Language fiction
• Choosing older volumes on the basis of presentation (font, format)

40. THE DISCUSSION

41. What would a subject collection
look like?
Discipline Titles Linear Feet % of Collection
Arts & Humanities 439,466 37,290 49.1%
Cookbooks 7,432 531 0.7%
Business 36,340 3,028 4.0%
General 14,873 963 1.3%
Mathematics 23,497 2,937 3.9%
Education 50,465 3,509 4.6%
Natural Sciences 89,738 7,474 9.8%
Engineering, Computer Science 29,850 2,723 3.6%
Social Sciences 214,376 17,446 23.0%
Totals 906,037 75,901

42. Expansion to 30% - Which 6700 feet?
1. Titles in all subjects with 3 (3,366 LF) and 4 (1,840 LF)
uses published before 2003 = about 5,206 LF
2. Including publication dates back to 2000 = 4,500 LF
3. Pub dates back to 2000 and 4+ uses = 6,340 LF
• Which data support including 30% ?

43. For 40%, Which 10,700 LF?
• 40% is 31,600 LF; if the library core collections is
included, there is 10,700 LF for more material
• What criteria / data support 40%?
1. Titles in all subjects with 3 (3,366 LF) and 4 (1,840 LF)
uses published before 2003 = about 5,206 LF
2. Including all publication dates back to 2000 = 4,500 LF
3. 1 + 2 = about 9,700 LF, less when overlap between the
two criteria is subtracted.
4. Cookbooks in open stacks = 531 LF

44. 50% Scenario
• Would accommodate 39,500 LF
• Subtracting the core collection of 19,900 leaves 19,600
for flexible collections.
• Seating loss (compared to the 30% scenario) is about 120
seats.
• Which 19,600 LF?
• What data support this scenario?

45. Recommendation
• Books published since 1983, excluding e-
books, duplicates, older editions
32,000 LF
• Books published before 1983, checked out 2 or more
times 4,419 LF
• Heavily-illustrated materials, excluding the above two
categories 3,000 LF
• Total size of on-site collection 39,419 LF
• Percentage 50%

46. Penrose Library
1972 2012

47. THOUGHTS ABOUT DATA

48. Lessons Learned
• Pick your data carefully
• Be proactive
• Provide context

49. THANK YOU
Michael Levine-Clark
michael.levine-clark@du.edu