Simulating circulation‐use characteristic curves using circulation data
Richard W. Trueswell, Stephen John Turner · Journal of the American Society for Information Science · 1979
Abstract The statistics of time since the last due date for books in a library collection can be analyzed using the last‐circulation method. The method works toward identifying those books in a library's stack collection that determine any given percentage of the current circulation. The application of the method traditionally requires a random sample from the stack collection but this requirement can be eliminated whenever records on circulation volume are available. The effectiveness of the method is improved significantly by consideration of the number of books in the stacks that have been acquired but not circulated. A theoretical foundation is provided showing the basic components and requirements, of the more efficient technique. This theory is then applied in an example that manipulates data collected from a university library.