Sampling in‐library book use

A. K. Jain

Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1972, vol. 23, issue 3, 150-155

Abstract: Although a large number of book usage studies have been conducted in the past, very little is known about in‐library (unrecorded) use. This may be due to the lack of a “good” method of sampling in‐library use. Here, a plan for sampling in‐library use is presented which attempts to avoid the pitfalls of the earlier methods. According to this plan, the library is divided into a certain number of areas, and a sample of monographs within each area is selected for study. Inspection rounds are then made on each of the days of the survey period. The sequence in which different areas of the library are surveyed is determined at random for every round. During each round an investigator goes through the book shelves and determines which sample monographs are away from their positions on shelves. This plan yields an unbiased estimate of a proposed index of in‐library use for any specified group of books. A hypothetical example is provided to explain the proposed plan.

Date: 1972
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jamest:v:23:y:1972:i:3:p:150-155

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