Implementation and testing of a decision support system for public library materials acquisition budgeting
John R. Ottensmann, Michael E. Gleeson · Journal of the American Society for Information Science · 1993
A decision support system has been developed to assist in public library materials acquisition budgeting and other library management decisionmaking. The system utilizes data generated by a computerized circulation system and employs linear programming for the budget allocation to maximize circulation within the constraints of other objectives established by librarians. The system was tested by librarians from the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, who used it to develop alternative materials acquisition budgets, which they reported as being preferred to the existing budgets prepared previously. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.