Hello, everyone--

I am posting this for two colleagues. Thank you in advance for any
help.
--------------

We currently gather journal usage statistics for our print collection
manually by counting tally marks which staff make when re-shelving
both bound and unbound journals.   We do this four times a year
during a 2-week period each time.  The data collected is very useful
for making cancellation decisions, but as this is very labor intensive,
we are hoping to automate the process.

We would like to hear from any libraries that have automated this
process.   We are particularly interested in knowing:

How do you do it?  (Using barcodes? scanners? etc.)

Do you do this for bound journals?  Unbound journals? Both?

How many times a year do you do it?

Do you collect data for each title for each year, or by spans of
years (e.g. 1980-1990)?  If so, which spans of years do you use,
and why?

What equipment and software do you use?

What are the pros and cons of your automated method?

If you prefer to talk over the phone, please contact Dale Prince at
410-706-7995.   If you wish to respond via email, you can direct your
replies to Dale Prince at jprin001@umaryland.edu, or to Beth
Jacoby at bjacoby@hshsl.umaryland.edu.

Thank you! Jane Murray

*******************************
Jane Murray
Assistant Director for Resources Management
Health Sciences and Human Services Library
University of Maryland
601 West Lombard St.
Baltimore, MD 21201-1512

voice:410-706-7378
fax: 410-706-8860
email: jmurray@hshsl.umaryland.edu