Network & Cluster Analysis of Departmental Libraries Used by Faculty at a Large University Library JoAnn Jacoby Associate Professor of Library Administration and Anthropology & Sociology Subject Specialist Spiers Estate, South Africa August th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries & Information Services

Major research library – big collections (10 million vols.) & great librarians Decentralized library system (~40 libraries) Pressures catalyzing change User expectations multiplying & increasingly diverse Setting: University of Illinois Library

Purpose Map connections between departmental libraries from the users’ perspective Gain insight into the use of the ~40 libraries by faculty across disciplines Evaluate how the library’s structure might be changed to better serve faculty

Methods Mined data from survey of all faculty, academic professionals & staff, 2006 Responses to “Indicate your primary library/ (ies)” were used to create network maps and cluster trees –Respondents could choose as many libraries as they pleased

Response Rate *Distributed by a campus-mediated “massmail,” the survey was sent to 12,399 (not 13103) individuals because the headcount at the time was less than the annual maximum. The response rate was therefore slightly higher than shown.

Social Network Analysis Seeks to reveal the patterning of people's interaction (Roger Brown 1965) –Web of social connections key to understanding individuals, groups & societies Studies patterns in the relations social actors have with particular others (Grannis 2005) –Actors can be people, firms, nations, etc. –Relations = whether actors go to war, have sex, use a particular library, etc.

Methods Sociomatrix = Data for each relation presented in a two-way matrix, where the rows & columns refer to the actors making up the pairs. –Format used by most network analysis software –Adjacency matrix = type of sociomatrix used for dichotomous data (presence or absence of affiliation)

Methods Setting up the matrix

Methods Two-mode affiliation network 1st mode = 1350 faculty & staff respondents 2nd mode = 47 libraries “Connections among members of one of the modes are based on linkages established through the second mode” Affiliations and Overlapping Subgroups. In Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Wasserman & Faust (1994). Cambridge University Press.

Methods Setting up the adjacency matrix- Quantifies the ties for the relation in question

Network map of connections among all libraries. Lines were drawn when >5 respondents reported using both libraries. Selected nodes are shown in color.

Software Packages International Network for Social Analysis (INSA), “Computer Programs for Social Network Analysis” –Comprehensive list of programs for data conversion, network analysis, data collection & project management

The INSA website -- a great resource

Pajek Free, well-documented, Windows software

TouchGraph Commercial source for software & consulting

BibApp Maps researchers & citations  'Institutional Bibliography'

Drawn by Hand in Adobe Illustrator (>20 only shown here)

Size classes by number of connections - Used natural breaks - Basis for circle size

Results Network maps were generated showing the connections among: –individual faculty maps –specific departmental libraries –groupings of related departmental libraries

Individual Respondents

Pink – Cinema Studies, Assistant Professor Indigo - Physics, Professor Green - Agricultural Science (ACES), Academic Professional Light Blue - Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, Associate Professor

Specific Libraries

City Planning & Landscape Architecture Library

Modern Languages, English, Classics & Latin American

Health Science Library

Broad Disciplinary Groupings

All Divisions coded by color

Life Sciences Area StudiesArts & Humanities Physical Sciences & Engineering

Social Sciences Allied Special Collections Central Public Services

Mean Number of Libraries Used by Division

Cluster analysis of all libraries Confirms some patterns in the network maps, but is of limited utility in identifying potential mergers

Correlations with other indicators of activity level

Relationships between Number of Primary Library Designations, Circulation & Web Transactions

So what? Faculty don’t come in to the library anymore…. …if they can get what they need online …..right?

Comments: Library as Place I mostly use the library via online access…It's especially great when working at home or doing field research abroad Remote delivery of materials is a great service…as my duties make it challenging to get onto central campus to find a book. Your questions imply that we actually go to the library and want to interact with librarians

Effect of Online Library Resources by Status

Mode of Library Use by Status

Comments: Library as Place Person to person assistance can be key, especially when beginning new projects or trying to navigate through new search tools…. It would be easier to find print journals and books if the library was open more hours… The system of departmental libraries makes it very difficult for an interdisciplinary researcher to find and collect books s/he needs.

Research into Practice ongoing decisions regarding the consolidation of library service points revealing areas of potential collaboration –e.g., the author collaborated with the Applied Health Sciences Library (alx) to create a health information portal after seeing evidence of a strong shared constituency

Conclusions Network maps and cluster trees: reveal connections and patterns in complex systems provide a data visualization tool that can help inform library decision- making

Conclusions Could be applied to other types of data: –co-locate/bundle suites of services frequently used or highly valued by certain groups of library users –create browsing collections (virtual or tangible) based on “people who checked this out, also checked out”

Questions?