A Study of Overlap and Duplication Among Children's Collections in Public and Elementary School Libraries

Overlap (when two libraries own the same title) and duplication (when one library has more than one copy of a book) in children's collections were measured in two elementary school libraries and the public library in each of four Illinois communities (population approximately 30,000). Two hundred book titles were randomly selected from the shelf lists of the libraries and lists were compiled of magazines, science filmstrips, and fiction sound recordings. The relationship between collection size and overlap is linear and positively correlated. There is less overlap between two school libraries than between a school and a public library. As titles are listed in more selection aids, those titles are included in more library collections. Although there is little duplication, those titles included in the collections of more than one library are more likely to be duplicated. The patterns of overlap and duplication detected for books are also present in the audiovisual materials studied. Librarian's perceptions of the library collections, as shown by responses on a questionnaire, usually agree with the patterns detected for those collections. Collection development does not seem to be a carefully planned process. More similarities than differences were discovered between school and public library children's collections. The method developed in this study to measure overlap and duplication could be used by individual communities to aid in collection development and self-study.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Library Science

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Doll, Carol Ann

• Library Science

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8108492

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/66362