Designing Collection Experiences: Availability

Designing Collection Experiences:2. Availability

Roy Kenagyrjkenagy@netins.net

www.whatwouldranganathando.orgSeptember 17 & October 1, 2013

Waterloo Public Library

Measurement

Exercise

What are some collection performance measures?

Input

Output

Outcome

“The most important figures that one needs for management are unknown or unknowable… but successful management must nevertheless take account of them.”

W. Edwards Deming. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, Mass.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, 1986, p. 121, crediting Lloyd S. Nelson.

The mission of librarians is to help create transformative meaning in the lives of readers and the conversations of communities.

The Many Collections Hypothesis

Charlie Robinson Baltimore CountyPublic Library

“Give ‘em what they want, when they want it.”

Availability

Availability: Are the texts that the reader would prefer to select presented when the reader would prefer to select them?

Reader Library

Texts

CollectionIn

UseShelved

Collection

OtherText

Experiences

OtherLibrary

Experiences

Ratio

Rod Pierce. "Definition of Ratio." Math Is Fun. Ed. Rod Pierce. August 24, 2013. http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/ratio.html

1,500 items in use

8,500 items shelved

1. What is the ratio of items in use to items in the collection?

2. What is the ratio of items on the shelf to items in the collection?

10,000 items in the collection

Availability Surveys

Measuring reader satisfaction

Availability survey ratio:just ask the readers…

𝐴𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦=𝐼𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑

𝐼𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟

Van House, Nancy A., Mary Jo Lynch, Charles R. McClure, Douglas L. Zweizig, and Eleanor Jo Rodger. Output Measures for Public Libraries: A Manual of Standardized Procedures. 2nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1987.

“The principle categories of dissatisfaction”Paul B. Kantor "Availability Analysis," Journal of the American Society for Information Science 27, no. 5 (September-October 1976) 311-19.

F=109FrustrationSuccess

Exercise

What are some sources of library and reader error in availability studies?

Library Error & Reader Error

Library Error Reader Error

Bill Price and David Jaffe. The Best Service Is No Service: How to Liberate Your Customers From Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

Rhizomes

Unlike the graphic arts, drawing, or photography, unlike tracings, the rhizome pertains to a map that must be produced, constructed, a map that is always detachable, connectable, reversible, modifiable, and has multiple entranceways and exits and its own lines of flight. It is tracings that must be put on the map, not the opposite.

Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, translated and with a forward by Brian Massumi. Capitalism and Schizophrenia, 2. Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press, 1987, p. 20.

Rhizomes Mj

Holdings Mjavailability Mj

Shelf Mjavailability Mj

Holdings Mjavailability Mj

Relative Use Mj

Brief Tests Mj

Relative use

The relation between the holdings ratio and circulation ratio of a rhizome. An indicator that a rhizome may be over-sized or under-sized.

Relative use

F. Wilfred Lancaster,. If You Want to Evaluate Your Library . . . 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1993.

Gregory R. Mostyn. "The Use of Supply-Demand Equality in Evaluating Collection Adequacy," California Librarian 35 (April 1974) 16-23.

Holdings ratio

Circulation ratio

Collection Holdings Ratio

Circulation Ratio Relative Use

Youth .25 .50 2.00

Adult .75 .50 .67

Relative use

Collection Holdings Circulation HoldingsRatio

Circulation Ratio Relative Use

Youth 8,000 19,500 0.24 0.35 1.4

Adult 20,000 21,000 0.61 0.37 0.6

Media 5,000 16,000 0.15 0.28 1.9

Total 33,000 56,500

Other applications of relative use

• Interlibrary loan• Holds• Missing or not returned• Withdrawn for damage or wear

Holdings Mjavailability Mj

Relative Use Mj

Brief Tests Mj

Brief Test Holdings Availability

White, Howard D. Brief Tests of Collection Strength: A Methodology for All Types of Libraries. Westport, CT Greenwood, 1995.

Brief Test Holdings Availability

Measures of MjCentral Mj

Tendency Mj

Mean Mj

Median Mj

Rod Pierce. "How to Calculate the Mean Value" Math Is Fun. Ed. Rod Pierce. April 21, 2013. http://www.mathsisfun.com/mean.html

Rod Pierce. "Definition of Median" Math Is Fun. Ed. Rod Pierce. Aug 23, 2013.

http://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/median.html

Picture book holdings in Iowa libraries

The Language of the Levels

Conspectus0. Out of scope1. Minimal2. Basic information3. Instructional support4. Research5. Comprehensive

Not Conspectus• Happiness• Glee• Eternal joy• The cat’s pajamas

Takeaway from “Brief Tests” holdings measure

Validate checklists by looking in a union catalog (WorldCat, Iowa Locator, etc.) to find the distribution of holdings for each title. More holdings means a title that will appeal to more readers.

Shelf Mjavailability Mj

Random Mj

Reader- Mjweighted Mj

Random Availability

Random sample from shelf list

1,500 items in use

8,500 items shelved

Snapshot

Snapshot: A snapshot is a download of status data about the items in a collection at a specific instant in time. Because status data cycle slowly over loan periods, snapshots provide stable indicators of long-term relationships and trends.

Circulation Period Daily change1 week 0.14

2 weeks 0.073 weeks 0.054 weeks 0.04

Exercise

Explain why it is misleading to use a Random Availability snapshot of a collection as an indicator of the availability that the reader actually experiences.

Reader-Weighted Availability

Shelf Mjavailability Mj

Random Mj

Reader- Mjweighted Mj

Collection Adult 500s Adult 900s Board Books DVDs Beginning Readers

Adult Fiction0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

0

0.930.95

0.65

0.47

0.89

0.94

0.00

0.94 0.95

0.40

0.27

0.57

0.82

RandomReader-Weighted

Comparison between random and reader-weighted availabilityData from Grimes Public Library, September 2004

Reader- Mjweighted Mj

Availability Mj

Sample from MjCollection in Use Mj

Estimate from MjDemand tables Mj

Reader-Weighted Availability: Sample from collection in use

Roger Edward Stelk and F. Wilfred Lancaster. "The Use of Shelflist Samples in Studies of Book Availability," Collection Management 13, no. 4 (1990) 19-24.

1,500 items in use

8,500 items shelved

Random Sample

Reader-Weighted Sample

List ofall itemsin usewith itemnumber

Snapshot

1,500 items in

use

8,500 items

shelved

1,500 items in

use

Reader-Weighted Availability

500 items in use now

1,000 items not in use now

June 15 sample July 30 sample

Reader-Weighted Sample

Collection development calendar

Reader-Weighted Availability:Shelf Sample

Reader-Weighted Availability: Sample from the collection in use

Data are from the Des Moines Public Library.

Reader-Weighted Availability:Sample from the collection in use

Collection

Collection in UseNo. of items in sample Availability

% Change

Out 2/22/99

On Shelf 4/27/99 1999 1997

Young Adult 970 608 .63 n.a. n.a.

YS Nonfiction 2,611 2,069 .78 .69 9%

YS Fiction 1,148 902 .79 .77 2%

Picture Books 5,745 3,196 .56 .46 10%

J Paperbacks 1,008 616 .61 .46 15%

Audio discs 4,461 1,988 .45 .48 -3%

Reader- Mjweighted Mj

Availability Mj

Sample from MjCollection in Use Mj

Estimate from MjDemand tables Mj

Estimates from Demand Tables

Philip M. Morse. "Demand for Library Materials: An Exercise in Probability Analysis," Collection Management, 1, no. 3-4 (Fall-Winter 1976), 47-78.

Turnover

Turnover is the mean annual circulation per item of a rhizome.

Turnover

Use original circulations if possible

For all calculations involving circulation, use original circulations if possible, rather than original circulations plus renewals.

1. Collection

2.Number of Items

3.Original

Circulation4.

Turnover

5-6. Loan

Period

7.Demand per itemTable

8.Total

Demand

Picture Books 3,843 16,199  4.2 3 weeks    

Board Books 407 2,536  6.2 3 weeks    

Videos 1,127 10,949  9.7 1 week    

DVDs 805 13,015  16.2 1 week    

Audiobooks - tapes 1,005 2,327  2.3 3 weeks    

Audiobooks - CDs 438 971 2.2 3 weeks    

Exercise: Reader-Weighted Availability, Estimate from Demand Tables: Turnover, Demand Per Item, Total Demand

Core assumption: The mean amount of time an item is out per checkout is equal to the standard length of

loan for the item’s rhizome.

Readers visit the library on a regular schedule that is in synch with the library’s checkout periods.

Distribution of length of loansAmes Public Library 1988-89

Mean length of loan, Ames Public Library: 17.6 days

Add 3 days for reshelving: 21 days

Time since last arrival

Stanley J. Slote. Weeding Library Collections: Library Weeding Methods. 4th ed. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1997.

Mean Annual Days Out

𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑡=1×21=21𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑡=13×21=273

Annual time on shelf

Time on shelf = 365 – 21 = 344

Time on shelf = 365 – 273 = 92

Mean time between arrivals

= 344

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑠=𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛 h𝑠 𝑒𝑙𝑓𝑇𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟

= 7

Turnover/Time between arrivals/Annual Circulations:

Individual Items

TurnoverTime

between arrivals

Weekly circulation

Seat-of-the-pants annual

circulation

1 344 1/52 = .0192 1

13 7 1 52

Mean demand increases exponentially in relation to turnover.

Exponential increase: The rate of increase gets higher as turnover gets higher (curves upward), rather than staying the same (straight line).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Turnover

Me

an

De

ma

nd

Pe

r It

em

4 weeks

< 1 week1 week2 weeks3 weeks

Mean demand per item by turnoverFor standard library loan periods – groups of items

Demand tables

I have built a demand table for each standard length of loan. Use the table to look up the turnover for a rhizome and the corresponding mean demand per item. Round down if a turnover is not listed.

1. Collection

2.Number of Items

3.Original

Circulation4.

Turnover

5-6. Loan

Period

7.Demand per itemTable

8.Total

Demand

Picture Books 3,843 16,199  4.2 3 weeks 7.6   

Board Books 407 2,536  6.2 3 weeks 15.8   

Videos 1,127 10,949  9.7 1 week 19.2   

DVDs 805 13,015  16.2 1 week 60.5   

Audiobooks - tapes 1,005 2,327  2.3 3 weeks 3.1   

Audiobooks - CDs 438 971 2.2 3 weeks 3.0   

Exercise: Reader-Weighted Availability, Estimate from Demand Tables: Turnover, Demand Per Item, Total Demand

Estimate total demand for a rhizome (total potential circulations)

Multiply the Demand per Item times the Number of Items.

Total demand for a rhizome (from table)

1. Collection

2.Number of Items

3.Original

Circulation4.

Turnover

5-6. Loan

Period

7.Demand per itemTable

8.Total

Demand

Picture Books 3,843 16,199  4.2 3 weeks 7.6  29,207 

Board Books 407 2,536  6.2 3 weeks 15.8  6,431 

Videos 1,127 10,949  9.7 1 week 19.2  21,638 

DVDs 805 13,015  16.2 1 week 60.5  48,703 

Audiobooks - tapes 1,005 2,327  2.3 3 weeks 3.1  3,116 

Audiobooks - CDs 438 971 2.2 3 weeks 3.0  1,314 

Exercise: Reader-Weighted Availability, Estimate from Demand Tables: Turnover, Demand Per Item, Total Demand

Calculate Reader-Weighted Availability

Divide Original Circulation by Total Demand.

Reader-weighted availability using table

1.Collection

3.Original

Circulation

8.Total Demand(above)

 Reader-

WeightedAvailability

Picture Books 16,199 29,207  .55 

Board Books 2,536 6,431  .39 

Videos 10,949 21,638  .51 

DVDs 13,015 48,703  .27 

Audiobooks - tapes 2,327 3,116  .75 

Audiobooks - CDs 971 1,314  .74 

Reader-Weighted Availability, Estimate from Demand Tables: Reader-Weighted Availability

Shelf Availability - Items

Duplication

Duplication Mj

Traditional Mjduplication Mjpractices Mj

Applying Mjarrival times Mj

Exercise

List the duplication practices that you have used or are aware of.

Duplication Practices

• Number of holds• Past experience with an

author or title – gut feelings – gross circulation

• Best seller lists – 2 copies if it’s on the list

• Book to movie tie-ins• High risk books• Interlibrary loans as early

indicator

• Buzz• Popular author list –

automatically yours• Popular series – at least as

many as we bought of the last volume

• Suggestions for purchase – number of people

• How it’s used – popular use/academic use

• Press runs

Applying arrival times

Always MjAvailable Mj

Lists Mj

Applying Mjarrival times Mj

Time since Mjlast arrival Mj

Return on MjInvestment Mj

Using the Mjduplication Mj

tables Mj

Annual Mjreplacement Mj

lists Mj

Time since Mjlast arrival Mj

Random Mjarrivals Mj

Exponential Mjincrease in Mj

copies Mjrequired Mj

Tool crib Mjformula Mj

7-Day Median Arrival TimeCirculations

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Weeks

Random arrival times with circulation periods

2 3 5 3 2 2 3 4 3 1 2 2

Random arrivals are approximated by the normal curve

S.D. = Standard Deviation

The Tool Crib Formula

Robert S. Grant. "Predicting the Need for Multiple Copies of Books," Journal of Library Automation 4, no. 2 (June 1971) 64-71.

Leffler, William L. "A Statistical Method for Circulation Analysis." College and Research Libraries 25 (November 1964): 488-490.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑠= 1+ 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 × 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒

Mobil Travel Guide Study

Each additional added copy results in fewer additional circulations.

Return on MjInvestment Mj

Circulations Mjper item Mj

Browsability Mj

Mid-list titles Mj

Duplication tables for one through four week loan periods are available at:www.whatwouldranganathando.org

Always MjAvailable Mj

Lists Mj

Applying Mjarrival times Mj

Time since Mjlast arrival Mj

Return on MjInvestment Mj

Using the Mjduplication Mj

tables Mj

Annual Mjreplacement Mj

lists Mj

Always Available Lists

Brian Smith. "The Always (Almost Always) Available Book System." U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*D Librarian, no. 5 (Fall 1972) 3.

Annual Replacement Lists

Holdings MjAvailability Mj

vs. MjShelf Mj

Availability Mj

Policy Mj

Audience MjSize Mj

Just-in-case Mjvs. Mj

Just-in-time Mj

Library MjCommunity Mj

Reader MjCommunity Mj(Rhizomes) Mj

Availability: Are the texts that the reader would prefer to select presented when the reader would prefer to select them?