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Dissertation Information for Debora Shaw

NAME:
- Debora Shaw

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (1983)

ADVISORS:
- Marcy Murphy

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- David Kaser
- Herbert S. White
- Clinton I. Chase
- Charles Davis

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: OVERLAP OF MONOGRAPHS IN PUBLIC AND ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN INDIANA

Abstract: Overlap occurs among library collections when two or more libraries own copies of the same book. Collection overlap is important, for example, as libraries cooperate to build bibliographic databases and improve access to library materials.

This study examines overlap among twenty public libraries and twenty academic libraries in Indiana. It hypothesizes four possible predictors of overlap: library type, collection size, publication date, and subject. A further hypothesis is that overlap among currently cataloged titles is greater than among collections as a whole.

To measure total collection overlap, proportional random samples were taken from the shelf lists of each library. The resulting 3,073 titles were searched in the largest twenty-six libraries to determine which other libraries owned the sampled books. Also, six months' cataloging transactions by the twenty-three OCLC-users were checked to determine how many books were cataloged by two or more of the libraries during the period.

Both the total collection sample and the OCLC sample reveal a highly positively skewed distribution when number of books is plotted against number of libraries owning the book. Most books are owned by relatively few libraries. The OCLC sample was more highly skewed than the total collection sample, suggesting among other things that current acquisitions and cataloging may differ from existing collections, or that a six-month sample is an insufficient base from which to extrapolate the extent of collection overlap.

The possible predictors of overlap were assessed, using chi square tests. In most cases the extent of overlap correlates with library type, collection size, publication date, and subject. These predictors are generally less reliable for books sampled from smaller libraries, implying that these collections contain unique or rarely held items.

MPACT Scores for Debora Shaw

A = 11
C = 14
A+C = 25
T = 11
G = 1
W = 11
TD = 11
TA = 0
calculated 2014-02-09 16:50:16

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