1. ReCAP Data Part 5: Request Rate
Zack Lane
ReCAP Coordinator
July 2011
ReCAP
Columbia University

2. Request Rate Request rate is a measure of collection usage
It is the percentage of ReCAP collections requested during a twelve-month period
Provides staff one way to gauge overall use of offsite collections
Request rate is one factor used to structure ReCAP facility staffing model
Patron access to offsite collections is excellent: dynamic with few failures
ReCAP
Columbia University

3. Request Rate CUL target request rate is 2.00% per year
This figure was based on data from other, comparable institutions
Initial purpose of ReCAP was to shelve low- use collections
Remember: the terms request and retrieval are used interchangeably in most ReCAP documentation
ReCAP tracks retrievals; CUL tracks requests
ReCAP
Columbia University

4. What is the CUL Request Rate?
2.10% as of July 2011
Does not include some staff or Google Book Project retrievals
Does not include Columbia Law Library
ReCAP
Columbia University

5. Request Rate Data Request rate can calculated for each department
Data can be further divided by collections within a department (CLIO location)
Current rates at left
ReCAP
Columbia University

6. Request Rate by Publication Date
Calculated for monographs with known publication dates between 1850 and 2010
Volume of pre-1850 holdings is small in comparison and considered outliers
Average rate : 1.74%
Average rate : 6.73%
Increased rate attributed to policy of sending new acquisitions directly to ReCAP
ReCAP
Columbia University

7. ReCAP
Columbia University

8. ReCAP
Columbia University

9. Request Rate Comments Initially intended for “low-use” collections
Shelving model and space needs have changed over time
Depends of successful access model
Patron access to ReCAP collections is excellent: dynamic with few failures
ReCAP has overcome initial skepticism from patrons and staff
Orders of magnitude
Cost: billing model based on activity units
ReCAP
Columbia University

10. More Data Available
More information about data sets can be found on the ReCAP Data Center website
Primary data categories include: accession, retrieval, delivery and circulation
Tailored data sets and analysis will be provided to staff via the ReCAP Coordinator
Please see the main ReCAP website for general information about CUL procedures and systems
ReCAP
Columbia Univeristy