1. Using data to fill an “ARC”
Cora Gleeson University of Limerick
Due to historical reasons the Glucksman Library has been fortunate to have a significant bookfund.
To put this in context we place 20,000+ orders on an annual basis.
All orders have until recently been copy-catalogued and had class numbers and suffixes assigned in-house

2. ARC Automated Reserve Collection: automated storage retrieval system
1 crane, 3789 bins – c. 500,000 items
Increase storage
Downsize shelving
Enhance student spaces
Return offsite material
A number of major library projects required the use of library collection data

3. Background Print Book Collection Review Project
ARC Implementation Project
Library Re-sequencing Project
A number of major library projects required the use of library collection data

4. Print Book Collection Review Project
Objective
Ensure that the Glucksman Library print book collection is vital, useful and relevant to current teaching and curricular needs
Outcomes
Listing of material in stock in each of the subject areas to aid ongoing retention and de-selection decisions
Collection management processes established across library departments
Data-driven future collection management decisions
Establish standards for retention and deselection
Print Book Collection Review initiated in 2015 with the following objectives and outcome. Other, more far reaching outcomes included the establishment of formal collection management processes across library departments. Provision of datasets of library material in each subject area. The inclusion of data in future collection management decision and the establishments of standards – which we’d never done.

5. Print Book Collection Review Project Creating a Dataset
Data Extraction Parameters
All Monographs
Out of Scope for the Project:
Periodicals E-books Recent Acquisitions Material in special sequences: HSM, Tourism, Law
Reference
Special Collections
The sheer volume of titles we were hoping to cover meant that we couldn’t use the existing management information tool. Instead we had to work with the LMS supplier to write a script to extract the data we wanted. We had to establish project parameters: all monographs with particular emphasis on multiple copies, previous editions of titles already in stock. Not included; periodicals, e-books and comparisions with ebooks, newly purchased titles and titles in specially designated sequences.

6. What Data? Data extraction from LMS – SQL and Spreadsheets
310,000 items in stock
Bibliographic details – title, author, publisher
Usage: no of loans, renewals
Newer editions, other copies
Review and verify the data
At the time we were working with Capita as our LMS suppliers. I was lucky in one sense as I had a knowledge of our database architecture and in particular SQL.
Formulate the SQL query with Capita programmers. Even with this our initial Capita file has over lines. Limited in what we could do

7. Data Verification and Quality
Shelf read of main library and store in stock items
Verify data on system vs actual physical item
Correct data – call numbers, volumes
Understand the data: last transaction date was not last loan date number of loans included renewals
Second extraction of data
Multiple copies of textbooks deselected in addition to some copies of previous editions of books
Missing items list updated and analysed
To ensure the quality of the data we did a shelf read of the library stock in main shelves and in the store
There were some problems with the data which was corrected –display of volumes and shelf numbers
Noted that the last transaction date was not the last loan date but were unable to change this

8. ARC Implementation Project
Objective
To plan and implement the Automated Storage Retrieval System in the new Library building.
Re-purpose data from the Print Book Collection Project
Lesser-used items
New LSP – Alma – merge new data with old
Initial load 0 loans “in the library” more than 15 years: 10,000 items
Second load – 10 or less loans, in the library more than 10 years: 30,000+

9. Library Re-Sequencing Project
Objective
To enable a straight Dewey sequence for material shelved in the existing library
Law and Medicine moved to the new library building
Shelf count to determine number of books on the shelves in the existing building – 30 books per shelf!
Scenario planning using repurposed datasets to determine how many items to remove to enable a straight sequence
Create a new dataset of Alma and Alto usage data to inform future decisions on sequences

10. For the Future THANK YOU
Continued use of datasets to inform collection development policies
Identify gaps in the collection using approval plans to purchase updated and newly published material in specific areas
Update Medical Collection
The ARC in action:
THANK YOU
Commitment to improving and developing services.