Computer Simulation of the Circulation Subsystem of a Library

W. M. Shaw

Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1975, vol. 26, issue 5, 271-279

Abstract: An existing model of the circulation subsystem of a library has been modified to explicitly include renewals and to describe a semester loan policy. An extensive amount of experimental data have been obtained by recording the history of all books which circulated from Sears Library at Case Western Reserve University during the fall semester, 1973. These data, which characterize various aspects of user behavior, in combination with a numerical statement of the loan policy of the library serve as input parameters for the model which simulates the events that occur in the circulation subsystem. The results of the simulation provide information about the availability of books and the delay associated with recalls. These results have been compared to experimental observation. The agreement between the predicted values and the experimental observation is good. Thus the validity of the model is demonstrated, and the model is used to simulate various alternative loan policies. The effect of these alternatives on book availability is also given.

Date: 1975
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jamest:v:26:y:1975:i:5:p:271-279

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