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11 – 20 of over 14000
Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Helen Heinrich and Eric Willis

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ongoing life cycle of the world's first library Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) at the Oviatt Library at the California…

2579

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ongoing life cycle of the world's first library Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) at the Oviatt Library at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Born from the pilot project at the California State University Chancellor's Office, CSUN's ASRS was inaugurated in 1991 and cost over $2,000,000 to implement. It survived a devastating 6.8 Northridge earthquake and protected the collection housed within. Almost 20 years later the CSUN ASRS underwent a major renovation of hardware. With the changing concept of library as space and the construction of Learning Commons at the Oviatt, the demand for ASRS capacity is higher than ever.

Design/methodology/approach

In addition to the history and overview, the paper explores the major aspects of ASRS administration: specifications of storage layout and arrangement of the materials, collection policy for storing materials, communication of retrieval requests and ASRS interface and compatibility with successive Integrated Library Systems.

Findings

The first ASRS served as proof of concept that a library collection does not lose its effectiveness when low-circulating materials are removed from the open stacks. Furthermore, with the changing concept of library as space and the construction of Learning Commons at the Oviatt, the provision of the nimble, just-in-time collection becomes paramount, and the demand for ASRS increases exponentially.

Practical implications

Administrators and librarians who consider investing in ASRS will learn about the principles of storage organization, imperatives and challenges of its conception and long-term management on the example of CSUN.

Originality/value

The paper carries unique qualities as it describes the formation and evolution of the world's first library ASRS. The visionary undertaking not only withstood the test of time and nature, it continues to play a pivotal role in Oviatt Library's adaption to the new generation of users’ demands and expectations.

Details

Library Management, vol. 35 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2008

Elizabeth Henry, Rachel Longstaff and Doris Van Kampen

The intent of this article is to illustrate outcomes and results of a collection analysis done by a smaller academic library.

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Abstract

Purpose

The intent of this article is to illustrate outcomes and results of a collection analysis done by a smaller academic library.

Design/methodology/approach

The collection was evaluated using an online analysis tool combined with a physical inventory of the collection.

Findings

Peer group comparisons revealed some of the problems with this particular collection were also widespread among the comparison libraries. The value of the e‐book collection to patrons was clear: not only did e‐books provide resources to remote students; they help compensate for shortfalls in the print collection.

Practical implications

The catalog more accurately reflects what is on the shelf and also what is reported to OCLC. Access to the collection has been improved and enhanced. Steps were taken to refocus the library's collection development procedures and management. The changes made have led to increased faculty involvement in selection and a more balanced, more comprehensive collection management plan.

Originality/value

For any library considering whether they can or should do an analysis, the article illustrates that the benefits are well worth the time and expense. The analysis had a positive impact on collection development and management.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Katherine F. Mason

The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of a layered model for describing student activity that librarians can use to inform collection management decisions. It…

1407

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of a layered model for describing student activity that librarians can use to inform collection management decisions. It proposes using student activity in the classroom and the library, physically and virtually, to increase understanding of student curricular and research needs. The model can be used as a tool to facilitate conversations and can be adapted for use in large and small projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used a theoretical approach using Mathematics Department as an example, with supporting evidence from existing studies and research. As a theoretical paper, data are discussed in the framework of what information you might use.

Findings

Experimentation suggests that the framework of student activity provides a meaningful assessment of collection contents that can be used to inform collection development activities. Implementation of the model in response to a specific research question may build evidence towards the assertion that patterns of academic activity and library use should be used to improve collection offerings.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is required to determine which criteria are most appropriate for inclusion in specific collection development activities and which questions are best suited for modeling.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for developing student “personas” that can be used in collection building and beyond.

Social implications

The framework introduced can be used by libraries of any size or type to develop a layered model of student, or more generally user, activity.

Originality/value

This paper adds a flexible, responsive process to the body of collection assessment methods.

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Victor T. Oliva

For most college and university libraries, deselection of monographs should be an essential component of collection development. Few of these libraries have unlimited space for…

2477

Abstract

Purpose

For most college and university libraries, deselection of monographs should be an essential component of collection development. Few of these libraries have unlimited space for book stack expansion. This research study aims to cover the reasons why this should be undertaken and how it can be accomplished in the humanities and social sciences. At the main campus of Adelphi University Libraries, a conservative approach was used to identify and carefully review monograph titles that were published more than 50 years ago, and, in most cases, this resulted in their deselection without significantly affecting the collection. For some of these titles, the author determined that they might be worth replacing with available e-books and the author did so.

Design/methodology/approach

A brief overview is provided to delineate why deselection is important, and how it can be accomplished. A literature review was prepared. It included a review of deselection at small-, medium- and large-sized college and university libraries. The pros and cons of print versus e-books for collection development were reviewed, including four case studies. The feasibility of replacing print reference titles with e-books was also covered. A review of the monograph weeding project at the Adelphi University Library in the humanities and social sciences is provided. Conclusions and a projection of next steps are also included.

Findings

An overwhelming majority of the monograph titles reviewed were deselected without adversely affecting the overall quality of the collection. A small number of available e-book editions were selected to replace some of these deselected titles.

Research limitations/implications

All of the titles deselected were published more than 50 years ago. All of these titles were in the social sciences and humanities. The deselection review was limited to philosophy, religion, history, political science, sociology, education and psychology. There were limitations on the amount of time available to review titles in most of these fields, and as a result, only a small percentage of the titles in our collection could be reviewed.

Practical implications

The library has very serious space constraints, which has made it difficult to provide the needed study space for members of the Adelphi University community. Some sections of the book collection are jam packed, with no room for expansion. Deselecting older less used titles and eliminating some sections of book shelves help address both of these problems. Replacing some of these print titles with e-books contributes as well. This deselection project has reduced the holdings of monograph print titles significantly. In the future, the author hopes to rely less on print titles and more on e-books for collection development.

Social implications

In most fields, college and university students would be better served for their research by more recently published titles. Older, less used titles, as well as those not used at all, should be deselected to make room for more useful and up-to-date titles. As more and more titles become readily available as e-books, the collections of print titles can be reduced. Being able to use e-books even when the library is closed is a great advantage. It should also be noted that these titles can be used by more than one user simultaneously.

Originality/value

In conducting the literature search, the author discovered that there were a large number of titles on deselecting print titles. There was also considerable research on e-book collection development. However, there were few that linked these two important topics. In this research article and case study, the author hopes to have made a significant contribution to linking them together.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2009

Kristi Jensen

The purpose of this paper is to describe how online survey tools can be utilized to gather input and feedback from faculty related to monographic collection decisions to evaluate…

1720

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how online survey tools can be utilized to gather input and feedback from faculty related to monographic collection decisions to evaluate current and guide future decision making.

Design/methodology/approach

The use of an online survey tool for a particular collection development project is described and results of the survey are analyzed.

Findings

It is found that online survey tools are an easy and valuable tool for gathering direct feedback from faculty and provide opportunities to engage faculty in conversations about a wide range of scholarly communications issues.

Research limitations/implications

Online survey tools provide one means of evaluating collection development decisions that should be utilized in conjunction with other methodologies, e.g. circulation studies. Online survey tools can be utilized to allow faculty to recommend items for immediate purchase but could also be used to study faculty reactions to purchases that have already been made.

Originality/value

The process and procedure outlined could be used by collection development librarians to evaluate current and historic collection development decisions.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2007

Denise Brush

The purpose of this article is to describe the quantitative evaluation of an engineering monograph approval plan using circulation analysis.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to describe the quantitative evaluation of an engineering monograph approval plan using circulation analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The circulation frequency of titles purchased under the approval plan was analyzed, and compared with the circulation frequency of all engineering books during the same time period, purchased both individually and through the plan.

Findings

It was found that 23 percent of the approval plan books circulated, compared with 6 percent of engineering books as a whole. There was considerable variation in circulation frequency between engineering disciplines, but approval plan books circulated much more frequently in all subject areas.

Research limitations/implications

This study assesses circulation only during the most recent complete year, which means that the approval plan books are all new books. However, more than half of the books in the engineering collection are less than ten years old, so age is unlikely to be the only reason for the much higher circulation of approval books.

Practical implications

Since this evaluation concludes that the approval plan does have value for Rowan University's users, such a plan might be worth considering by other academic libraries looking for a better way to obtain new engineering monographs which serve user needs.

Originality/value

While the circulation data described in this study reflect the unique needs of the Rowan University user community, they can serve as a useful benchmark for engineering librarians who want to assess the usage of their monograph collections. The study also has value for academic librarians who are evaluating an approval plan from YBP or another vendor.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 December 2019

Guogang Wang

Marx’s monetary theory is an important part of Marxist economics and an irreplaceable milestone in the intellectual history of the monetary theory. The purpose of this paper is to…

24415

Abstract

Purpose

Marx’s monetary theory is an important part of Marxist economics and an irreplaceable milestone in the intellectual history of the monetary theory. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the main content of Marx’s monetary theory from three aspects: the source and nature of money, the function of money and the historical significance of money.

Design/methodology/approach

Moreover, this paper also gives an extended understanding of Marx’s monetary theory from four perspectives: the endogenous credit mechanism of money, the functions of money and demands for money, the financial function of money and the economic and social functions of money.

Findings

Lastly, the present paper discusses the practical significance of Marx’s monetary theory from three perspectives, namely, the inspection of “Bitcoin” from the nature and function of money, the definition of demands and the division of supplies at the monetary level, and the prevention of systemic financial risks and the focus of financial supervision.

Originality/value

Marx’s monetary theory is an important part of Marxist economics and an irreplaceable milestone in the intellectual history of the monetary theory. However, for a long time, the contribution of Marx has rarely been mentioned in the intellectual history of monetary theory. Even the book, Political Economy (On Capitalism), has been only summarily concerned with the source and function of money in Marx’s monetary theory, rather than revealing Marx’s outstanding contribution in the monetary theory and the financial connotation of Marx’s monetary theory, and expounding its practical significance.

Details

China Political Economy, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-1652

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2012

Joyce Chapman and David Woodbury

The purpose of this paper is to encourage administrators of device‐lending programs to leverage existing quantitative data for management purposes by integrating analysis of…

1905

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to encourage administrators of device‐lending programs to leverage existing quantitative data for management purposes by integrating analysis of quantitative data into the day‐to‐day workflow.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a case study of NCSU Libraries' efforts to analyze and visualize transactional data to aid in the on‐going management of a device‐lending program.

Findings

Analysis and visualization of qualitative data related to technology lending revealed patterns in lending over the course of the semester, day, and week that had previously gone unrecognized. With more concrete data about trends in wait times, capacity lending, and circulation volume, staff are now able to make more informed purchasing decisions, modify systems and workflows to better meet user needs, and begin to explore new ideas for services and staffing models.

Practical implications

The concepts and processes described here can be replicated by other libraries that wish to leverage transactional data analysis and data visualization to aid in management of a device‐lending program.

Originality/value

Although much literature exists on the implementation and qualitative evaluation of device‐lending programs, this paper is the first to provide librarians with ideas for leveraging analysis of transactional data to improve management of a device‐lending program.

Article
Publication date: 29 August 2022

Xiaoxiao Zhang, Guoliang Shi and Qiupan Jin

The purpose is to explore the essential reasons for the differences between book awakening phenomena, to develop the critical factors in awakening the slumbering collections and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to explore the essential reasons for the differences between book awakening phenomena, to develop the critical factors in awakening the slumbering collections and to provide a reliable basis for maximizing book value and optimizing collection allocation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employs the integrated learning algorithm XGBoost to measure driving factors. In the process of book circulation, the characteristics of collections and readers are worthy of attention. Therefore, this study also carries out feature selection and model construction from the two dimensions of books and readers.

Findings

The results show that reader features have a stronger impetus for the collection awakening phenomenon than collection features. Among reader features, education level, gender and major subject are the main factors, which are followed closely by the activity level; among collection features, publication date and price are the main driving factors. The indicators of book popularity are not significant, whose effect on the phenomenon of collection awakening is almost negligible.

Originality/value

This study aims to augment the theory of zero circulation from the theoretical level and, for the first time, seeks to define the phenomenon of collection awakening. This study attempts to present novel ideas for research in the field of libraries and to provide references for optimizing collection and maximizing the value of books.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 75 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 October 2020

Diego Rojas, Juan Estrada, Kim P. Huynh and David T. Jacho-Chávez

The efficient distribution of bank notes is a first-order responsibility of central banks. The authors study the distribution patterns of bank notes with an administrative dataset…

Abstract

The efficient distribution of bank notes is a first-order responsibility of central banks. The authors study the distribution patterns of bank notes with an administrative dataset from the Bank of Canada’s Currency Inventory Management Strategy. The single note inspection procedure generates a sample of 900 million bank notes in which the authors can trace the length of the stay of a bank note in the market. The authors define the duration of the bank note circulation cycle as beginning on the date the bank note is first shipped by the Bank of Canada to a financial institution and ending when it is returned to the Bank of Canada. In addition, the authors provide information regarding where the bank note is shipped and later received, as well as the physical fitness of the bank note upon return to the Bank of Canada’s distribution centers. K–prototype clustering classifies bank notes into types. A hazard model estimates the duration of bank note circulation cycles based on their clusters and characteristics. An adaptive elastic net provides an algorithm for dimension reduction. It is found that while the distribution of the duration is affected by fitness measures, their effects are negligible when compared with the influence exerted by the clusters related to bank note denominations.

Details

The Econometrics of Networks
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-576-9

Keywords

11 – 20 of over 14000