All circulating physical items in the collection. These are materials in a fixed, physical format available for use outside the library. This includes Print Materials (450), Audio – physical units (452), Video – physical units (454), and Other Circulating Physical Items (459).
Report the number of units, including duplicates. Items packaged together as a unit (such as a set of cookie cutters) and checked out as a unit are counted as one physical unit.
Justification:
• Data element 553 Physical Item Circulation (PHYSCIR) accounts for, “The total annual circulation of all physical library materials of all types,” but there is no corresponding data element for total physical items in the collection.
• The addition of this data element provides for a more accurate reflection of the physical holdings of public libraries in the US, especially as increasing numbers of libraries are reporting shifting funds from physical print items into other collections.
• The three data elements I am proposing (Other Circulating Physical Items 459, Total Physical Items in Collection 460, Circulation of Other Physical Items 557) should be considered together, as they do not make sense to implement individually.
States already collecting:
Connecticut, Iowa, Arkansas, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, Mississippi
Proposed Definition:
Total Physical Items in Collection 460
All circulating physical items in the collection. These are materials in a fixed, physical format available for use outside the library. This includes Print Materials (450), Audio – physical units (452), Video – physical units (454), and Other Circulating Physical Items (459). Report the number of units, including duplicates. Items packaged together as a unit (such as a set of cookie cutters) and checked out as a unit are counted as one physical unit.
Justification:
• Data element 553 Physical Item Circulation (PHYSCIR) accounts for, “The total annual circulation of all physical library materials of all types,” but there is no corresponding data element for total physical items in the collection. • The addition of this data element provides for a more accurate reflection of the physical holdings of public libraries in the US, especially as increasing numbers of libraries are reporting shifting funds from physical print items into other collections. • The three data elements I am proposing (Other Circulating Physical Items 459, Total Physical Items in Collection 460, Circulation of Other Physical Items 557) should be considered together, as they do not make sense to implement individually.
States already collecting: Connecticut, Iowa, Arkansas, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, Mississippi