Collection Development and a Long-Term Periodical Use Study: Methodology and Implications

Abstract

This article describes how data on periodical use statistics, collected since 1998, were gathered and stored at Hunter Library, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina. It considers the significance of the data and its use for collection development purposes. Since Hunter Library does not circulate periodicals, the data collection is based on reshelving statistics using INNOPAC (the shared integrated library catalog). The data gathered, such as subscription price, bibliographic information, and usage count, were moved into a Microsoft Access database and then used to create a wide range of reports. Over the period of the study (1998–2000) there was an overall decrease in the use of periodicals that accelerated in the course of the study, many titles were used intermittently, and a large number of titles had remarkably low usage. Serials Review 2002; 28:38–44.