OhioLINK–OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011

An OCLC Research Report by:
OhioLINK Collection Building Task Force
Julia Gammon, Head, Acquisitions Department, University of Akron
Edward T. O'Neill, Senior Research Scientist, OCLC Research

Download the report (.pdf: 2.5MB/37 pp.)

Download the appendix (.pdf: 74K/35 pp.)

This report highlights findings and describes data publicly available from the collaborative OhioLINK-OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis project, which joined OhioLINK circulation data with WorldCat bibliographic records to produce a base file of circulation records for nearly 30 million different books. 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 (linked above) 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 also is available under the Open Data Commons Attribution license (an open license) to download for study and research.

Related information:

Activity Page:
OhioLINK Collection and Circulation Analysis

Suggested Citation:
OhioLINK Collection Building Task Force, Julia Gammon and Edward T. O'Neill. 2011. OhioLINK–OCLC Collection and Circulation Analysis Project 2011. Dublin, OH: OCLC Research. https://doi.org/10.25333/C30341.