OCLC Research Report Released: OhioLINK-OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011

Submitted by admin on September 22, 2011 - 11:08

OhioLINK-OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011

This new report describes a collaborative project between OCLC and OhioLINK that examined circulation in academic libraries, and includes an overview of data publicly available from the activity. The size of the combined collection and the number and diversity of participating institutions make this by far the largest and most comprehensive study of academic library circulation ever undertaken.

The goal of the study, which was limited to books and manuscripts, was to better understand the usage and collecting patterns within OhioLINK libraries.

The report provides:

  • an overview of the study and its outputs, including its purpose, goal, and distinctive aspects; how the data was gathered; and the location, form, and overview of derived data;
  • a description of how the data was analyzed, presented, and made available, both at the institutional level and for the collection of participating OhioLINK libraries;
  • uses for the data, conclusions, and a glossary; and
  • an external appendix that provides a rich set of supporting materials related to the development and conduct of the study.

In addition to the data-analysis files described in the report, the base data file of circulation records for nearly 30 million OhioLINK books and related WorldCat bibliographic data also is being made publicly available under the Open Data Commons Attribution license (an open license) to download for study and research.

More information

OhioLINK–OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011 (report)

OhioLINK Collection and Circulation Analysis (activity page)

OhioLINK Collection and Circulation Analysis—Circulation Data