I Have These Statistics - Now What: Getting Started on the Path of Collection Analysis

During the afternoon session, I attended a presentation about library statistics, with speaker Kathryn King, Adult Materials Selector, Fort Worth Library, Forth Worth, Texas. She discussed the reasons why we should do analysis, including allocating material funds, staffing, shelving and determining if a collection meets patrons' needs. There are many types of statistics such as circulation, holdings, age of the collection and inhouse use. When analyzing a collection, it is important to decide exactly how old is too old? Kathryn stated that 70% or more of a collection should have a copyright date of 5 years or newer. Date critical areas are medical, legal, financial, computer and travel; if books in this area are too old, they may contain misinformation and lead patrons to make wrong choices.

Kathryn discussed a concept called relative use, which is: % of circulation divided by % of holdings. When relative use = 1, stay the course. When relative use > 1, patrons want more books and you should expand the collection. When relative use < 1, the shelves are overstocked and you need to weed and update. Knowing your library's relative use number allows you to make an action plan, so you can incorporate your analysis into your current workflow. It helps you set purchasing and/or weeding goals. It also makes it easier to ask outside funding groups for help because you have a specific, measurable goal.