Holland, Maurita Peterson

Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository

66 College & Research Libraries January 1983 Machine-Readable Files for Serials Management: An Optimizing Program and Use Data Maurita Peterson Holland The unending battle to balance the seri-als budget within the larger information resources budget has provoked much thought (and many faculty members!). All too frequently the subjective measure of serials "value" is applied by librarians or faculty. This is done either by the librarian and serials personnel subjectively ranking the relative (perceived) worth of titles (value = rank) or surveying students and faculty, allowing them to make subjective evaluations of titles. There are, however, also some objective measures of value that may be employed. These include measur-ing value by the proportion of time a title spends off the shelf (sample shelves at random times, continue sampling until a sufficient database is established), by sur-veying students and faculty, inquiring which titles they use and how frequently, or by tallying the frequency with which a title is used (i.e., uses/year). In an earlier article1 a formula was presented, based on use and patron access time, which mea-sures the effect of serials budget reduc-tions on public service. The files of data created in order to apply that formula can also be used for other kinds of objective se-rials budget analyses. Here we will de-scribe such analyses and present their ap-plication in a large engineering collection. SERIALS CLASSIFICATION AND DATA COLLECTION Most serials collections can be classified as shown in figure 1. In an ongoing data collection process for all serials, use both within the library and through circulation is tallied as the items are reshelved. For each of the components of the serials col-lection, we then create machine-readable files which provide management informa-tion. Data elements are: title, years of sub-scription if a non-current title, language if non-English, unbound and bound use, call number, cost. The classification of serials, also consid-ered data files, with description of file con-tents and action, is given below: Non-Current Titles (dead or canceled): Action-collect data, sort by usage, con-sider resubscribing to those with high us-age, storing those with low use. Current, Non-Free Titles: Action-collect data, (1) sort by" density," obtain an opti-mallist of titles for budget (2) sort by sub-ject, then by use or ''density'' within each area. Current Free Titles: Action-collect data, sort by usage, cut those with minimal us-age if space is a consideration. Recently Acquired Titles: Action-collect data for a few years before considering as "current, non-free" titles, make subjec-tive cuts as felt necessary. "Sacred Cows" (titles which the library "must" have): Action-don't touch "sa-cred cows.'' Because current, non-free titles are the prime target for serials reductions, we will consider action both on the optimal list and the use sort by subject. OPTIMAL LIST Using a heuristic device that generates feasible solution to a special type of inte-ger programming problem known as the "knapsack" problem, we perform the fol-lowing: 1. Establish a value for each item (title) Maurita Peterson Holland is head, Technology Libraries, and lecturer, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The author gratefully acknowledges the expert programming help of John Ryder and Douglas Holbrook, seniors at the UM College of Engineering. Current free titles Dead or cancelled Research Notes 67 Current, non-free titles FIGURE 1 Serials Collection Classification in the problem (value is defined here as the average number of unbound uses per year per title). 2. Divide this value by the cost for each title, giving value/dollar/title = density: value density = __ _ cost 3. Sort the collection of current, non-free titles in descending order using the density obtained above. By generating a list of titles, sorted by density, it is possible to obtain an optimal list of titles for any de-sired budget. Such a list might appear as follows: Title GGG MMM BBB Density 27 22 .5 To obtain an optimal list, one reads down the list until reaching the appropri-ate budget. The titles above that point comprise the optimal list. Applying this procedure to our own data, we created a machine-readable file of all serials titles in our collection which have received one or more uses in the last five years (1, 700 titles) and sorted on the current, non-free files. (See figure 2.) Fifty percent of our use was met by 114 of the 1,092 titles in the current, non-free title including several titles new during the past five years. (Interface Age, two years; Petroleum Engineering International, three years . . . ) Observations The optimal list ranks the low-cost, high-use volumes near the top of the list. In engineering, this includes titles the re-search faculty may prefer not to have sup-port such as Creative Computing, Motor Trend, Byte, Aviation Week and Space Tech-nology, etc. If these titles are important for non-research use in the library, they could be defined as "sacred cows" and thus re-moved from the file; more typically, how-ever, the "sacred cows" are those titles representing scholarly proceedings and transactions from professional societies. More than half of the titles which were in the lowest 10 percent of use were new dur-ing the last one to four years. It is possible that a combination of low faculty/student awareness of the title, and an indexing lag or lack thereof, accounts for their low use. Therefore, we decided to exempt most new subscriptions from cancellation for five years. USE BY SUBJECT A list of titles is generated by engineer-ing discipline. Each list is subarranged by use, based on 1976-81 use data; the earli-68 College & Research Libraries January 1983 TITLE CALL NO. DENSITY BUDGET SERVICE% Civil Engineering TAl 19.85 $7.00 1.07% ACM QA76 12.66 $10.00 1.36% Interface Age QA75 12.50 $22.00 1.82% Engin. News Record TA 1 12.47 $45.00 4.04% Petroleum Engin. Int'l TN860 11.66 $51.00 4.36% Warme und Stoffuber QC251 0.02 $40,162.00 95.55% Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engin. TA710 0.02 $40,437.00 95.60% Rail International TP2 0.02 $40,508.00 .95.60% Polymer Science USSR TP986 0.02 $40,888.00 95.67% FIGURE2 Example of File Aver. bd. and unbound use* CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Chemical and Engineering News 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TPl 306 208/89 150/115 $8.00 $40.00 Chemical Engineering Progress 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TPl 230 109/97 100/129 $75.00 $100.00 Hydrocarbon Processing 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TP692 228 57/129 69/158 $4.00 $7.00 AICHe Journal 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TPl 210 82/137 22/119 $75.00 $100.00 Management Science 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price HD28 202 58/142 30/62 $32.00 $50.00 CIVIL ENGINEERING Engineering News Record. 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TA 1 500 389/123 330/177 $12.00 $23.00 Civil Engineering (ASCE) 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976Price 1981 Price TA 1 232 142/57 112/73 $7.00 $7.00 American Concrete Institute. Journal . 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TA680 150 57/78 16/68 $11.00 $25.00 ASCE Structural Division Journal 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976Price 1981 Price TA 1 138 28/106 6/127 $7.00 $15.00 Journal of Materials Science. 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price TA401 114 105/53 23/88 $191.00 $436.00 NAVAL ENGINEERING Yachting. 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price VM320 210 0/137 79/111 $10.00 $15.00 *This figure is calculated over five years data in file, not just on the two printed out. FIGURE 3 Example of File Research Notes 69 Shipping World & Shipbuilder. Reserve. 1975/76 UB/B 1980/81 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price VM1 156 60/70 101/78 $26.00 $58.00 Motor Ship. London. 1975/76 UB/B 1981 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price VM1 130 82/55 45/67 $16.00 $48.00 Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering International. 1975/76 UB/B 1981 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price VM1 116 121/8 103/17 $14.00 $40.00 US Naval Institute. Proceedings. 1975/76 UB/B 1981 UB/B 1976 Price 1981 Price V1 112 92/15 47/47 $0.00 $0.00 FIGURE 3, CONTINUED Example of File est and most recent prices are printed out. (See figure 3.) This file is especially useful in discussion with faculty and in facilitat-ing departmental input on cancellation decisions. FURTHER USES The serials file in machine-readable form has many other uses. For example, the subject file aids in maintaining balance by discipline throughout the collection when cutting the serials budget. Public service uses are especially impor-tant. Our reference librarians·use the data to point out most-used titles in a particular subject discipline as students come in with the assignment to become familiar with lit-erature in their field. A new user educa-tion tool is created when the file is en-hanced by the addition of the indexing or abstracting tool for each title. Also in-cluded is information on which titles can be searched online through the use of DIALOG, Orbit, BRS, etc. Another en-hancement is the special issue informa-tion, such as "January issue includes product directory.'' SERIALS MANAGEMENT No single list or algorithm will resolve all problems in the complex effort to pro-vide the greatest number of patrons the most convenient access to the seriallitera-·ture they require within allotted budget. However, applying our public service for-mula of 1976 and creating the optimizing program and discipline use sort provides objective information that can aid judi-cious decision making. REFERENCE 1. Maurita Peterson Holland, ' ' Serials Cuts vs . Public Service : A Formula,' ' College & Research Libraries 37:543-48 (Nov. 1976). ' '· :?.~ :~ / Goethe The German Biographical Archive Edited by Bernhard Fabian and Willi Gorzny Fichte Rahe\ Levin An exhaustive compilation of 320,000 entries from over 250 of the most important German biographi-cal reference works of the 18th and 19th centuries-in a single alphabetical sequence. • Biographies of 200,000 statesmen, politi-cians, authors: musicians, artists, scientists, physicians, theologians, bookdealers, lawyers, mili-tary leaders, educators, scholars, actors and more • All entries reproduced in their entirety on 1,000 4" x 6" microfiche • Comprehensive printed bibliography of the reference works with a detailed index to the individuals In the 18th and 19th centuries German scholars compiled numerous biographical reference works still valuable for the wealth of information they provide. No library in the world holds more than 50% of the material contained in the Archive. The editors have painstakingly selected the refer-ence sources to provide geographical, historical and occupational details about the individuals in-cluded in the cumulated fiche edition. The enor-mous editorial contribution and the abundance of information now readily available make The Ger-man Biographical Archive an unparalleled research tool for the study of the history and culture of the German-speaking realm. The German Biographical Archive Schopenhauer To be published in 10 sections 1982-1984. First 2 sections available. Plan 1: Pre-payment Complete set.. ........................... OM 19,800/US $8,900* Plan II: Payment on receipt Each section ................. .............. OM 2,400/US $1,080* Prices apply to silver halide fiche; diazo fiche are available at lower prices. Please inquire for details. Order now, above prices valid until March 31, 1983; 15% increase after that date. Karl Ludwig Fernow Now complete-The Marburger Index Over 500,000 remarkable photographs of fine arts in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present from the collections of the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg and the Rheinisches Bildarchiv in Cologne. 5,000 silver fiche ............. ............... US $6,675* Index Photographique de l'Art en France More than 100,000 rare photographs of French art and architecture. A companion to The Marburger Index with exceptional coverage of sacred medieval architecture and sculpture. 1,000 silver fiche ................. ... ... ..... US $3,000* *Dollar prices are approximations based on prevail-ing exchange rates. For exact prices, please inquire. Exclusive agents in the U.S. & Canada: Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc. 1995 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10023 Clearwater Publishing Company of Canada 231 Hollyberry Trail, Willowdale, Ontario M2H 2P3 "''"'"""' ~ K.G. Saur Verla~ ,.. .. IMPORTANT TITLES IN LIBRARIANS HIP Reference Services and Library Education Essays in Honor of Frances Neel Cheney edited by Edwin 5. Gleaves, Vanderbilt University, and John Mark Tucker, Purdue University Provides detailed descriptions of state-of-the-art bibliographic instruction, networking, computer-assisted reference services, and current trends in the field. 320pp. ISBN 0-669-05320-1 $29.95 Maritime Boundary Delimitation An Annotated Bibliography Ted L. McDorman, Kenneth P. Beauchamp, and Douglas M. Johnston A Dalhousie Ocean Studies Programme Book The first in its field, this bibliography includes the entire range of English-language books, monographs, and articles published since World War II. ISBN 0-669-06146-8 January 1983 The Lexington Books Special Series in Libraries and Librarianship The Parliament of Great Britain: A Bibliography Robert U. Goehlert and Fenton 5. Martin, Indiana University A complete bibliography of the social, politi-cal, and economic histories of Great Britain and their relationships with the development of Parliament. Includes over 2200 citations. 240pp. ISBN 0-669-05700-2 $24.95 Prizewinning Books for Children Themes and Stereotypes in U.S. Prizewinning Prose Fiction for Children Jaqueline Schachter Weiss, Temple University This overview of children's fiction, divided into genres, discusses stereotypes and the kinds of themes children prefer. Appendix lists prizewinners by year and award . ISBN 0-669-06352-5 February1983 An Introduction to the World of Children's Books Margaret R. Marshall A Grafton Book Discusses trends in the area and provides a guide to evaluation, selection, and promotion in libraries. 190pp. code05806-8 $17.95 8 Lexington Books, D. C. Heath and Company 125 Spring Street, Lexington, MA 02173 (617) 862·6650 (212) 924·6460 HEATH Call our toll-free number, 800 428·8071 The Public Library in the 1980s The Problems of Choice Lawrence J. White, New York University Identifies the segments of the population who use the public library most, examines public opinion, and explores conventional and alter-native methods of funding, technological developments, service to special groups, and other challenges and policies. ISBN 0-669-06342-8 January 1983 The Feminization of librarianship in France A Silent Revolution Mary Niles Maack, University of Minnesota Utilizes the results of archival research and personal interviews to provide an in-depth history of the feminization of the French library profession. ISBN 0-669-06368-1 Spring1985 The Librarians' Glossary and Reference Book Of Terms Used in Librarianship, Documentation and the Book Crafts Fourth Revised Edition L. M. Harrod, National Library, Singapore A Grafton Book 904pp. code 05795-9 $49.95 

Machine-Readable Files for Serials Management: An Optimizing Program and Use Data

IDEALS @ Illinois

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/40522/crl_44_01_66_opt.pdf?sequence=2

Machine-Readable Files for Serials Management: An Optimizing Program and Use Data

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository

IDEALS @ Illinois