Characteristics of reader account status as indicators for predicting the use of printed resources in academic libraries

Abstract

A statistical analysis was made of the status of readers’ accounts at the libraries of eight universities and colleges in Poznań, Poland. The following indices characterising the status of the accounts were considered: the ratio of the number of accounts with borrowed items to the number of accounts without; average, median, modal and maximum number of borrowed items per account; and average standard deviation. It was also determined what percentage of borrowed items corresponded to the most active 20% of all registered readers (to determine the validity of the 80/20 rule). The study was carried out for the accounts of academic and teaching staff and for those of students, in selected faculties. The results were interpreted with regard to the prediction of the level of use of printed resources in academic libraries.