July 3, 2003

Dr. Pam Dennis

Library Director

Lambuth University

Jackson, TN 38301

Dear Pam:

I have had the opportunity to read your "Effect of Copyright Date on Patron Borrowing Patterns and Implications for maintaining a Patron-Useful/Directed Collection"

I felt that the report was important to all librarians interested in collection management.

The students who checked out books were influenced by the copyright date of the material despite their comments on the survey.  The majority of the books circulated during the two studies were copyrighted in the last 25 years.  Whether the students were attracted by the look of the newer books or whether most of the books that they were looking for were more current in the collection, the fact remains that the newer books circulated more.

Another point of the report was that students are checking out materials for academic purposes and not recreational reading.  This has ramifications also.  And finally, the fact that faculty are less likely to check out books than students also has implications for acquisitions of materials.

There are several points from the report that I can use:

 ·        Weeding out older books which are not classics or seminal in a discipline will not harm the usability of the collection.

·        Purchase of current fiction, popular non-fiction, etc. will not increase circulation.

·        Buying books specifically for faculty to use might not be a wise thing, especially in light of budget cuts.

I think collection managers might do well in using a local bookstore to purchase materials and get them on the shelves in a hurry.  These current materials, chosen to meet the needs of a particular discipline, might get checked out more.

This report was very thorough and includes a very useful bibliography.

Scott Cohen
Library Director
Jackson State Community College
2046 North Parkway
Jackson, TN  38301
731-425-2615 (phone)
731-425-2625 (fax)
scohen@jscc.edu

July 2, 2003

Technical Services

Luther L. Gobbel Library

Lambuth University

705 Lambuth Blvd.

Jackson, TN 38301

Pam Dennis, Library Director

Luther L. Gobbel Library

Lambuth University

705 Lambuth Blvd.

Jackson, TN 38301

Dear Pam:

I read with interest your final project. It was thorough and presented a review of the literature and data useful to librarians concerned with collection development and user attitudes toward the library collection.

I was surprised by the lack of studies of the actual and perceived correlation of copyright date and the borrowing patterns of patrons. You stated, Only two studies dealt specifically with copyright date, and both used perceived data rather than actual comments by the borrowers. Therefore, your study, even with its limited scope and population, presented interesting results.

Additionally, I was struck by the fact that patrons did not think copyright date influenced their choice of books, but that it evidently did in deed have an influence. As you stated, The surveys indicated that borrowers did not perceive copyright to be a factor in checking out books. (Only 10 (4%) stated that it was a factor.)   Thus, while students perceived that copyright had no effect on their borrowing patterns, these figures indicate that it was a significant factor in both studies.

Your discussion of other reasons why newer materials may have been selected for check out was plausible, stating, Students may have been influenced by book cover, color, and pictures that would have given a fresher appearance, and they may not have recognized that currency was the influencing factor. I would be interested in a study that explored your original hypothesis and alternative explanations.

Again, the focus of your project and the content was beneficial to those of us who believe in the importance of collection development and in understanding user attitudes toward the library collection.

Sincerely,

Mitzi Brown, Technical Services Librarian and System Administrator