An Investigation of the Use of Weeding and Displays as Methods to Increase the Stock Turnover Rate in Small Public Libraries
Roy, Loriene
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69494
Description
Title
An Investigation of the Use of Weeding and Displays as Methods to Increase the Stock Turnover Rate in Small Public Libraries
Author(s)
Roy, Loriene
Issue Date
1987
Department of Study
Library Science
Discipline
Library Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Library Science
Abstract
An experiment was conducted in eight small public libraries in Illinois to test several techniques to increase adult circulation of books, a variation of stock turnover rate (STR) referred to as STR A/B.
Three research hypotheses were proposed. First, weeding the collection will significantly increase STR A/B reducing total holdings and increasing circulation. Second, introducing multiple displays will not significantly increase STR A/B unless weeding is also used since displays displace circulation from other areas of the collection to the displayed items. Finally, the greatest increase in STR A/B will occur when both treatments are employed simultaneously.
To test these hypotheses, one pair of libraries was weeded; 11 percent of the adult circulating book collection was placed in temporary storage. Two libraries introduced four to five displays of adult circulating books simultaneously. Both weeding and displays were organized in two libraries. The remaining two libraries served as controls and neither weeded nor used displays. The effect on STR A/B was monitored by recording library circulation and changes in library holdings.
Weeding as a single treatment resulted in an average increase in STR A/B of 9 percent. Weeding and displays together increased STR A/B 23 percent. However, analysis of variance tests indicated that differences in STR A/B among the four groups of libraries were not significant. These findings indicate that none of the experimental treatments effectively increased STR A/B. The joint use of weeding and arranging book displays did significantly increase circulation and, thus, has the potential for increasing STR A/B. Paired t-tests indicated that circulation of particular books increased when the books were placed on display but book displays in themselves did not increase total circulation.
Libraries that desire to increase the STR in their adult collection should, first, contemplate the usefulness of STR in in-house evaluation of performance. Libraries would do well to then (1) replicate and cross-validate these results by applying more stringent and continual weeding along with multiple displays and (2) explore other approaches to increasing STR.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
