Hand-held computers
check out library usage

This study may be the first where technology traditionally used in industrial and commercial applications is used to serve the general public

In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, public library usage has been documented by using portable data terminals to scan bar code labels corresponding to specific types of in-library services. This study maybe the first where technology traditionally used in industrial and commercial applications is used to serve the general public.

The nationwide study utilizing hand-held computer terminals and bar code scanning equipment to measure public library usage was recently concluded. The results of this survey may have a dramatic impact on future funding, staffing and operations. For library systems facing budget shortfalls, the findings may even determine whether specific library branches remain open or are closed.

The study tracked in-library usage of materials and library assistance, activities that would be difficult or impossible to quantify by traditional methods, such as recording the number of books checked out.

"What we're finding already is that these libraries are being used in many ways that are not traditionally measured' says project co-director Dean Jue. "They may have only 5,000 books checked out during the year, but they are being used very heavily in other ways." Early results from approximately half of the participating libraries showed nearly 36,000 records of in-library material usage, and almost 14,000 in-stances of library assistance during the third-quarter sampling period. Librarians recorded usage one day per week each week to create their sampling data.

Accurate counting using PDTs

Library systems—typically a main library and one or more branches serving a geographic area and supported by a common administration—traditionally judge usage based on number of materials circulated. Facilities with low usage are targeted for closure. In this study, librarians tracked what users actually did while at the library, and how librarians helped them.

To ensure accuracy and consistency across all sites, participating libraries used Apex II portable data terminals (PDTs) with integrated bar code scanners from Compsee. Using the PDTs and bar-coded answer sheets facilitated accurate counting. Researchers in the GeoLib program at FSU and personnel from the Colorado Department of Education began the nationwide research project in 1996. The U.S. Department of Education funded the project.

"Public libraries are one of the most important resources for adult lifelong learning, especially in areas having high concentration of low-income individuals who have fewer options for education, and less access to information services' says researcher Christine Koontz of Florida State University, Tallahassee.

Circulation counts like drive-up

Previous research has indicated that libraries serving these populations often have lower circulation counts but higher counts of other library use categories.

"Unfortunately, the only library usage collected in a methodical fashion is circulation data because in-library use is difficult to count and collect;' Koontz adds.

Jue likens the distortion of data to an incomplete measurement of McDonalds' hamburger sales. "Up to now, they've been counting just the hamburgers sold through the drive-up, not the ones being sold and eaten inside. Librarians are telling us that at the end of the day they're exhausted, but all they can say is, 'I checked out 50 books."'

The survey measured in-library material use, library use in general and librarian assistance. The last includes traditional reference transactions and non-traditional tasks such as conducting mock job interviews, editing r�sum�s, language translations, literacy turoring and test preparations.

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