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1 --- Problem Statement

Crucial to any library are fundamental questions like

• What are our resources?
• How much are they used?

A conspectus study might reply "This is what we have and that is how it compares to certain standards." Alternatively, an analysis of Inter-Library Loans says "We do not have these sources, yet our clients want them." Neither process explains which of our resources are used, or how much.

It is also important to consider the age of any volume, and how that effects its popularity. Inner-city libraries with limited space may elect to put older items into off-site storage; but the space gained weighs against the cost and delay of recalling wanted books out of storage.

This project will examine some suitable end-products of post-graduate research (selected, passed 1996 University of Auckland M.A. theses) and ask

• What information sources were acknowledged as being used?
• And how often?
• Which do we hold?
• How much of what was used was held by the library?
• How does the actual usage match a theoretical model?
• Can we construct a profile of the age of used, printed resources?