Abstract: ABSTRACT This column examines the 80/20 rule, also termed a Pareto distribution, and explains these terms' historical origins. The column focuses on this pattern in the use of print serials, downloads from electronic databases, and citations to journals. The rule's relationship to Bradford's Law is explored, and some of the research pertaining to the 80/20 rule is reviewed. The pattern's utility for defining the core collection and serials collection management is discussed, whereas a number of limitations are pointed out. Some questions for further research are suggested. It is concluded that the 80/20 ratio (80% of use is derived from 20% of the titles), when found as an approximate pattern, is a valid method for determining the core concept in journal collection management. KEYWORDS: 80/20 RulePareto Distributionperiodical usage patternscore journalsjournal collection management I thank my graduate assistant in Indiana University's School of Library and Information Science, Suzanne Switzer, for her assistance with this column in a variety of ways, including helping search the literature for specific examples of library usage patterns, helping compile the tables, and verifying citations. Notes 1. Thomas E. Nisonger, "Journals in the Core Collection: Definition, Identification, and Applications," Serials Librarian, 51, nos. 3–4 (2007): 51–73. 2. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, "Vilfredo Pareto," available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilfredo_Pareto (accessed March 21, 2007). 3. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, "Pareto Principle: (redirected from 80/20 rule)," available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle (accessed March 21, 2007). 4. J. M. Juran, "Universals in Management Planning and Controlling," Management Review, 43 (November 1954): 748–761. 5. Walt Crawford, "Exceptional Institutions: Libraries and the Pareto Principle," American Libraries, 32 (June/July 2001): 72–74. 6. Chris Anderson, "The Long Tail," Wired, 12, no. 10 (October 2004), available at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html (accessed March 21, 2007) and The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More (New York: Hyperion Press, 2006). 7. Katherine Mossman, "Serving the Niche," Library Journal, 131 (July 2006): 38–40. 8. Lorcan Dempsey, "Libraries and the Long Tail: Some Thoughts about Libraries in a Network Age," D-Lib Magazine, 12 (April 2006), available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april06/dempsey/04dempsey.html (accessed March 21, 2007). 9. Amy Brunvand, "Missing Information and the Long Tail: How Distributed Collection Development Assures the Continued Relevance of Libraries," Against the Grain, 18 (September 2006): 34, 36. 10. Richard L. Trueswell, "Some Behavioral Patterns of Library Users: The 80/20 Rule," Wilson Library Bulletin, 43 (January 1969): 458–461. 11. Rebecca L. Slayton, "The Vital Few or the Trivial Many?" Journal of Dentistry for Children, 71 (September–December 2004): 187. 12. Linda D. Preston, "Pareto Principle Guides a Federal Library," Southeastern Librarian, 43 (Winter 1994): 90, who cites Andrew Berner, Time Management in the Small Library (Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1988), 50. 13. Ibid., who cites Robert Kirk Mueller, Board Life: Realities of Being a Corporate Director (New York: AMACOM, 1974), 151. 14. Richard Koch, The 80-20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less (New York: Doubleday Publishing, 1999). 15. Preston, "Pareto Principle Guides a Federal Library." 16. Trueswell, "Some Behavioral Patterns of Library Users." 17. Ibid. According to the Web of Science this article has been cited 77 times, as of March 7, 2007. 18. Ibid. 19. Thomas P. Fleming and Frederick G. Kilgour, "Moderately and Heavily Used Biomedical Journals," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 52 (January 1964): 234–241. 20. Diane Schmidt, Elizabeth B. Davis, and Ruby Jahr, "Biology Journal Use at an Academic Library: A Comparison of Use Studies," Serials Review, 20 (Summer 1994): 45–64, who cite Joan E. Parsons, "An Analysis of the John N. Couch Biology Library—Botany Section Journal Use Study from 1982 through 1988," Master's Thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1989. 21. Martin Gordon, "Periodical Use at a Small College Library," Serials Librarian, 6 (Summer 1982): 63–73. 22. Marisa Scigliano, "Serial Use in a Small Academic Library: Determining Cost Effectiveness," Serials Review, 26 (April 2000): 43–52. 23. Pongracz Sennyey, Gillian D. Ellern, and Nancy Newsome, "Collection Development and a Long-Term Periodical Use Study: Methodology and Implications," Serials Review, 28 (Spring 2002): 38–44. 24. Julia A. Gammon and Phyllis O'Connor, "An Analysis of the Results of Two Periodical Use Studies: How Usage in the 1990s Compares to Usage in the 1970s," Serials Review, 22 (Winter 1996): 35–53. The authors did not report data on dispersion of use among titles for the 1970s. 25. R. H. A. Wessels, "Optimizing the Size of Journal Collections in Libraries," Interlending & Document Supply, 23, no. 3 (1995): 18–21. 26. Robert J. Veenstra, "A One-Year Journal Use Study in a Veterinary Medical Library," Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 190 (March 15, 1987): 623–626. 27. Charles Eckman, "Journal Review in an Environmental Design Library," Collection Management, 10, nos. 1–2 (1988): 69–84. 28. John A. Whisler, "Periodicals Circulation Statistics at a Mid-Sized Academic Library: Implications for Collection Management," Resource Sharing & Information Networks, 5, nos. 1–2 (1989): 1–361. Although the institution is not explicitly identified, it was apparently Eastern Illinois University because Whisler was Head of Periodicals Public Services there at the time the study was conducted. 29. Tina E. Chrzastowski, "Journal Collection Cost-Effectiveness in an Academic Chemistry Library: Results of a Cost/Use Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign," Collection Management, 14, nos. 1–2 (1991): 85–98. 30. Schmidt, Davis, and Jahr, "Biology Journal Use at an Academic Library." 31. Tina E. Chrzastowski and Brian M. Olesko, "Chemistry Journal Use and Cost: Results of a Longitudinal Study," Library Resources & Technical Services, 41 (April 1997): 101–111. 32. J. B. Hill, Cherie Madarash-Hill, and Nancy Hayes, "Monitoring Serials Use in a Science and Technology Library: Results of a Ten Year Study," Science & Technology Libraries, 18, no. 1 (1999): 89–103. 33. Margaret A. Goldblatt, "Current Legal Periodicals: A Use Study," Law Library Journal, 78 (Winter 1986): 55–72. 34. Maiken Naylor, "Assessing Current Periodical Use at a Science and Engineering Library: A dBase III+ Application," Serials Review, 16 (Winter 1990): 7–19. 35. Cheryl R. Dee, Jocelyn A. Rankin, and Carol A. Burns, "Using Scientific Evidence to Improve Hospital Library Services: Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association Journal Usage Study," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 86 (July 1998): 301–306. 36. Pamela Tibbetts, "A Method for Estimating the In-House Use of the Periodical Collection in the University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 62 (January 1974): 37–48. 37. Joy Tillotson, Joan Cherry, and Marshall Clinton, "Internet Use through the University of Toronto Library: Demographics, Destinations, and Users' Reactions," Information Technology and Libraries, 14 (September 1995): 190–198. 38. Ian R. Young, "The Use of a General Periodicals Bibliographic Database Transaction Log as a Serials Collection Management Tool," Serials Review, 18 (Winter 1992): 49–60. 39. Meghan Lafferty, "A Comparison of Subscribed and Non-Subscribed Titles in the Springer Link Electronic Journal Package," Master's Paper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004. 40. Steve Black and Amy Sisson, "Bradford's Distribution, the 80/20 Rule, and Patterns of Full-Text Database Use," Against the Grain, 15 (December 2003–January 2004): 20, 22, 24. 41. Allan Davis, "Database Usage and Title Analysis on a CD-ROM Workstation," Serials Review, 19 (Fall 1993): 85–94. 42. Deborah D. Blecic, Joan B. Fiscella, and Stephen E. Wiberley, Jr., "The Measurement of Use of Web-Based Information Resources: An Early Look at Vendor-Supplied Data," College & Research Libraries, 62 (September 2001): 434–453. 43. Philip M. Davis, "Patterns in Electronic Journal Usage: Challenging the Composition of Geographic Consortia," College & Research Libraries, 63 (November 2002): 484–497. 44. David Ball, "What's the 'Big Deal,' and Why is it a Bad Deal for Universities?" Interlending & Document Supply, 32, no. 2 (2004): 117–125, who cites a presentation by Chuck Hamaker at the 2003 Association of Subscription Agents conference. 45. Davis, "Database Usage and Title Analysis on a CD-ROM Workstation." 46. Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason, Juan F. Riveros, Maria S. Bonn, and Wendy P. Lougee, "A Report on the PEAK Experiment: Usage and Economic Behavior," D-Lib Magazine, 5 (July–August 1999), available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july99/mackie-mason/07mackie-mason.html (accessed March 21, 2007). 47. Blecic, Fiscella, and Wiberley, "The Measurement of Use of Web-Based Information Resources." 48. James A. Stemper and Janice M. Jaguszewski, "Usage Statistics for Electronic Journals: An Analysis of Local and Vendor Counts," Collection Management, 28, no. 4 (2003): 3–22. 49. Carol Pitts Diedrichs, "E-Journals: The OhioLINK Experience," Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services, 25 (Summer 2001): 191–210. 50. Thomas J. Sanville, "A Method out of the Madness: OhioLINK's Collaborative Response to the Serials Crisis: Four Years Later—Progress Report," Serials, 14 (July 2001): 163–177. 51. David Kohl, "Consortial Licensing vs. Tradition: Breaking Up is Hard to Do," Learned Publishing, 16 (January 2003): 47–53. 52. David F. Kohl and Tom Sanville, "More Bang for the Buck: Increasing the Effectiveness of Library Expenditures Through Cooperation," Library Trends, 54 (Winter 2006): 394–410. The chart on page 405 indicates that 30% of titles provided slightly more than 80% of use. 53. Jeffrey N. Gatten and Tom Sanville, "An Orderly Retreat from the Big Deal: Is it Possible for Consortia?" D-Lib Magazine, 10 (October 2004), available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october04/gatten/10gatten.html (accessed March 21, 2007). 54. Cristobal Urbano, Lluis M. Anglada, Angel Borrego, et al., "The Use of Consortially Purchased Electronic Journals by the CBUC (2000-2003)," D-Lib Magazine, 10 (June 2004), available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june04/anglada/06anglada.html (accessed March 21, 2007). 55. Paul Evans and John Peters, "Analysis of the Dispersal of Use for Journals in Emerald Management Xtra (EMX)," Interlending & Document Supply, 33, no. 3 (2005): 155–157. 56. Ibid., 157. 57. Kohl and Sanville, "More Bang for the Buck," 405. 58. Urbano, Anglada, Borrego, et al., "The Use of Consortially Purchased Electronic Journals by the CBUC (2000–2003)," 16. 59. Allison J. Head, " Demystifying Intranet Design: 5 Guidelines for Building Usuable Sites," Online, 24 (July/August 2000): 38. 60. Katherine W. McCain and James E. Bobick, "Patterns of Journal Use in a Departmental Library: A Citation Analysis," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 32 (July 1981): 257–267. 61. Yasar Tonta and Umut Al, " Scatter and Obsolescence of Journals Cited in Theses and Dissertations of Librarianship," Library & Information Science Research, 28 (Summer 2006): 281–296. 62. George R. Chambers and James S. Healey, "Journal Citations in Master's Theses: One Measurement of a Journal Collection," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24 (September–October 1973): 397–401. 63. Schmidt, Davis, and Jahr, "Biology Journal Use at an Academic Library." 64. Margaret Sylvia and Marcella Lesher, "What Journals Do Psychology Graduate Students Need? A Citation Analysis of Thesis References," College & Research Libraries, 56 (July 1995): 313–318. 65. Philip M. Davis, "Where to Spend our E-Journal Money? Defining a University Library's Core Collection Through Citation Analysis," portal: Libraries and the Academy, 2, no. 1 (2002): 155–166. The percentage is my calculation from the raw data. 66. C. Keith Waugh, "The Core Periodicals in Career and Technical Education," Journal of Career and Technical Education, 20 (Spring 2004), available at: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v20n2/waugh.html (accessed March 21, 2007). 67. Larry Hardesty and Gail Oltmanns, "How Many Psychology Journals Are Enough? A Study of the Use of Psychology Journals by Undergraduates," Serials Librarian, 16, nos. 1–2 (1989): 133–153. 68. Joy Thomas, "Graduate Student Use of Journals: A Bibliometric Study of Psychology Theses," Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 12, no. 1 (1993): 1–7. 69. Stephen J. Bensman, "Urquhart's Law; Probability and the Management of Scientific and Technical Journal Collections: Part 3. The Law's Final Formulation and Implications for Library Systems," Science & Technology Libraries, 26, no. 2 (2005): 33–69, who cites a presentation by Donald J. Urquhart at the 1958 International Conference on Scientific Information. 70. Yasar Tonta and Yurdagül Ünal, "Scatter of Journals and Literature Obsolescence Reflected in Document Delivery Requests," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 56 (January 1, 2005): 84–94. 71. S. R. Ranganathan, "Librametry and Its Scope," JISSI: The International Journal of Scientometrics and Informetrics, 1 (March 1995): 15–21. 72. S. C. Bradford, "Sources of Information on Specific Subjects," Journal of Information Science, 10, no. 4 (1985): 178. Reprinted from Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal, 137 (January 26, 1934): 85–86. 73. Black and Sisson, "Bradford's Distribution, the 80/20 Rule, and Patterns of Full-Text Database Use." 74. Tonta and Al, " Scatter and Obsolescence of Journals Cited in Theses and Dissertations of Librarianship." 75. Quentin L. Burrell, "The 80/20 Rule: Library Lore or Statistical Law?" Journal of Documentation, 41 (March 1985): 24–39. 76. Black and Sisson, "Bradford's Distribution, the 80/20 Rule, and Patterns of Full-Text Database Use." 77. William A. Britten, "A Use Statistic for Collection Management: The 80/20 Rule Revisited," Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, 14, no. 2 (1990): 183–189. 78. Wessels, "Optimizing the Size of Journal Collections in Libraries." 79. Jacqueline D. Bastille and Carole J. Mankin, "A Simple Objective Method for Determining a Dynamic Journal Collection," Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 68 (October 1980): 357–366. 80. Dee, Rankin, and Burns, "Using Scientific Evidence to Improve Hospital Library Services," 304. 81. Sheila A. Intner, "The Meaning of Core Collections," Technicalities, 13 (July 1993): 4. 82. Richard W. Trueswell, "Determining the Optimal Number of Volumes for a Library's Core Collection," Libri, 16, no. 1 (1966): 49–60. 83. Nisonger, "Journals in the Core Collection." 84. Waugh, "The Core Periodicals in Career and Technical Education." 85. Nisonger, "Journals in the Core Collection." 86. Anderson, "The Long Tail." 87. Mossman, "Serving the Niche," 39. 88. Brunvand, "Missing Information and the Long Tail," 36. 89. Michael Buckland, "What Will Collection Developers Do?" Information Technology and Libraries, 14 (September 1995): 155–159. 90. Burrell, "The 80/20 Rule," 24. 91. Paul Metz, "Bibliometrics: Library Use and Citation Studies," in Academic Libraries: Research Perspectives, edited by Mary Jo Lynch and Arthur P. Young, 143–161 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1990): 151 has used the optimist/pessimist dichotomy for Bradford's Law. 92. Trueswell, "Some Behavioral Patterns of Library Users," 458. 93. Trueswell, "Determining the Optimal Number of Volumes for a Library's Core Collection." 94. Terry Martin, "In Defense of Remote Storage: Revised October 19, 2005," available at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/martin/defending_remote.htm (accessed March 21, 2007).
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-07-03
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 75
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