An Analysis of “Request It” Print Delivery Service in the Alma Library Management System and Its Impact on Physical Browsing in a Midsized Private Academic Library

Abstract

The ability to browse a circulating library collection has been shown to be an important component of access and discovery for library patrons. While we are unable to definitively identify all times when patrons browse collections, we can examine when there is a higher likelihood they are not. Faculty from University Libraries at the University of Denver engaged in a study examining what types of books were most likely to have a checkout transaction that originated from a patron request in the library catalog. By examining this data, they were able to determine which disciplines (Education, American History, Social Science, Fine Art, and Law) were more likely to request books than other disciplines, and in which subjects browsing was less likely to occur.

Keywords:

• Browsing
• collections
• requesting