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Monograph Overlap and the NLA Collection: an Update (2)

  • Methods
  • Overlap
    • Table 1: Overlap of National Library holdings with other libraries
    • Table 2: Distribution of sample titles
  • Unique Titles
    • Table 3: Place of origin of titles uniquely held by the NLA, of titles held by the NLA and also by other libraries, and titles not held by the NLA
    • Table 4: Subject (by Dewey century) of titles uniquely held by the NLA, of titles held by the NLA and also by other libraries, and titles not held by the National Library of Australia
    • Table 5: National Library unique titles by means of acquisition
  • Conclusions
  • Appendix 1: Titles Held Uniquely by the National Library: First Sample
  • Appendix 2: Titles Held Uniquely by the National Library: Second Sample

Method

A second sample was derived of English-language, overseas published monographs on the national bibliographic database which were added between 1 and 10 March 1993. This produced a list of 592 titles, some of which were discarded [1] leaving a total of 579. Titles were checked against holdings of the Australian National University and coded in the same way as the first sample to show place of origin, holdings and Dewey number.

Overlap

Of the 1,055 titles comprising samples 1 and 2, 359 (34.0%) are held by the National Library, confirming the results of the first study. Of these, 77 (21.4%) are held uniquely. This figure is lower than that found in the first survey, and probably demonstrates the effect of an older sample, for which more libraries have since had time to add holdings.

Table 1 shows the extent to which Library holdings are duplicated by other libraries. As in the previous survey, the figures continue to suggest that Library holdings are most likely to be duplicated by university libraries rather than by other library sectors. The library in the ACT most likely to duplicate Library holdings continues to be that of the Australian National University.

Table 1: Overlap of National Library Holdings with Other Libraries

Titles held by National Library          359                   
Titles held by no other library           77         21.4%     
Titles held also by:                                           
 ANU                                      95         26.5%     
 APLS                                     25          7.0%     
 ADFA                                     30          8.4%     
 AUC                                      11          3.1%     
 one or more state libraries1            107         29.8%     
 one or more university libraries1        94         70.5%     
 at least one other library1             133         37.0%     
1.  Not included above                                         

Table 2 confirms the finding that overall there is a higher level of duplication than was found in the first survey, both for titles held by the Library and not held by the Library. Titles held by the Library are held, on average, by 5.0 libraries compared with 6.9 on average for titles not held by the Library [2]. The maximum number of copies of any one title in the first survey was 39, in the second survey it was 75 [3].

Table 2: Distribution of Sample Title

Number of titles    Titles not    Titles held     Grand Total   
held by other       held by NLA   by NLA                     
libraries                                                    

        0                 0             77              77        
        1               144             55             199       
        2               101             53             154       
        3                69             36             105       
        4                54             21              75        
        5                42             26              68        
        6                38             14              52        
        7                28             13              41        
        8                25             17              42        
        9                20             10              30        
    10-14                79             28             107       
    15-20                43              8              15        
    21-30                27              8              35        
    31-39                15              4              19        

Average number of       6.9            5.0             6.2       
holdings                                                    
Total number of titles  685            370            1055       

Of the total sample of 1055 titles, 221 (20.9%) are held by only one library. This figure is slightly lower than the previous survey, but is nevertheless a substantial portion.

Unique Titles

The 77 unique titles held by the Library continue to demonstrate most of the characteristics observed in the previous survey. There is an over-representation among the unique titles of works from Asia, New Zealand and the Pacific, and an under-representation of materials from the USA, as shown in Table 3. It is interesting that titles published in Europe are more likely to be held by the Library, but that those held by the Library are also more likely to be duplicated by other libraries.

Table 3: Place of origin of titles uniquely held by the NLA, of titles held by the NLA and also by other libraries, and titles not held by the NLA

Place           Titles not       Titles held by    Titles held    Grand   
                held by NLA      NLA and other     uniquely by    Total   
                                 libraries         NLA                         

USA             361   52.7%      165      56.5%     34   44.2%    560    
UK              266   38.8%       56      19.2%     16   20.8%    338    
Canada           14    2.0%       13       4.5%      1    1.3%     28    
Europe           26    3.8%       27       9.2%      3    3.9%     56    
South America     0    0.0%        2       0.7%      0    0.0%      2     
Asia             10    1.5%       17       5.8%     15   19.5%     42    
NZ, Pacific       6    0.9%        9       3.1%      8   10.4%     23    
Africa            2    0.3%        3       1.0%      0    0.0%      5     
Grand Total     685  100.0%      292     100.0%     77  100.0%   1054   

In terms of subject, it is apparent from Table 4 that the Library has more holdings in the social sciences (300s) than do other libraries. However, there is no difference between duplicated and unique Library titles in this regard. The Library has fewer titles in literature (800s) than other libraries, an indication of its lack of interest in popular fiction.

The slight over-representation of titles in the pure sciences (500s) and history (900s) is a product of a skewed sample which contained a set of titles from the Japanese National Laboratory for High Energy Physics and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There is also an over-representation in the 00-99 range which includes librarianship, computing and the book trade, an emphasis on which would be expected in a major library.

Table 4: Subject (by Dewey century) of titles uniquely held by the NLA, of titles held by the NLA and also by other libraries, and titles not held by the NLA

Dewey      Titles not     Titles held by    Titles held    Grand   
range      held by NLA    NLA and other     uniquely by    Total   
                          libraries         NLA                         

 00- 99     27    3.9%     18       6.1%      4    5.2%     49    
100-199     12    1.8%      7       2.4%      0    0.0%     19    
200-299     26    3.8%     11       3.8%      1    1.3%     38    
300-399    174   25.4%    147      50.2%     38   49.4%    359    
400-499      4    0.6%      4       1.4%      0    0.0%      8     
500-599     48    7.0%     15       5.1%     14   18.2%     77    
600-699     94   13.7%     33      11.3%      4    5.2%    131    
700-799     38    5.5      15       5.1%      2    2.6%     55    
800-899    208   30.4%     14       4.8%      1    1.3%    223    
900-999     54    7.9%     29       9.9%     13   16.9%     96    

Grand      685  100.0%    293     100.0%     77  100.0%   1055   
Total                                                                      

An analysis of the means of acquisition of unique titles is shown in Table 5. Most of the titles come through Gift and Exchange programs. These, plus US Government Publications, made up two-thirds of the uniquely held titles. Three bodies in particular made up the majority of the 32 unique titles found in the second sample; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (8), the Japanese National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (8) and the World Bank (5).

Table 5: National Library unique titles by means of acquisition

Means of acquisition                 Number            Per cent      

Standing orders                        13                17%         
US Government Publications             20                26%         
Blanket orders                         10                13%         
Gift and exchange                      31                40%         
Thai Acquisition Program                3                 4%         

Total                                  77               100%        

Conclusions

My previous report stated a number of tentative conclusions which can be revised in the light of additional information. In summary:

  • About one-fifth of all titles held by the Library are uniquely held.
  • About one-fifth of titles held by all libraries are uniquely held.
  • Each title on the NBD is held by an average of 6-7 libraries.
  • The library most likely to duplicate the holdings of the Library is that of the Australian National University.
  • Universities in general are more likely than other libraries to duplicate the holdings of the Library.
  • The Library has relative strengths in the social sciences.
  • The Library receives relatively more titles from countries other than the US and the UK than other libraries, in particular titles from Asia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
  • Blanket orders produce the most heavily duplicated holdings.
  • Gift and exchange items and US government publications produce a relatively high proportion of unique holdings.

Margaret Henty
29 September 1994


Appendix 1: Titles Held Uniquely by the National Library: First Sample

Back to first principles: US strategic forces in the emerging environments / David A Shlapak, David E Thaler. Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 1993.

Experiments in variable-resolution combat modeling / Richard J Hillestad, John G Owen, Donald Blumenthal. Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 1993.

Consideration of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 : hearings and markup before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives ... Washington. US GPO 1993.

Competition policy in the telecommunications industry: a comprehensive approach: hearing before the Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law ....Washington. US GPO 1992.

Importance and status of the Superconducting Super Collider : joint hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ... Washington. US GPO 1992.

Alaska Peninsula Wilderness Designation Act and Kenai Native Equity Act: hearing before the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Offshore Energy Resources ... Washington. US GPO 1992.

Sanctions against Libya: hearing and markup before the Committee on Foreign Affairs ... Washington. US GPO 1988.

Air Force Space Launch Policy and Plans: hearing before the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and Nuclear Deterrence ... Washington. US GPO 1988.

Crisis in American math, science and engineering education : hearing of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

Honoring winners of the 1989 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching : hearing before the Subcommittee on Science Research and Technology ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

Budgetary treatment of Postal Service Fund: hearing before the Legislation and National Security Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

Transportation trust funds : hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

Operation of the Home Loan Guaranty Program and the National Cemetery System in the state of Georgia: hearing before the Subcommittee on Housing and Memorial Affairs ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

Americans with disabilities: telecommunications relay services: hearing before the Sub-committee on ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

CenTrust Bank, state savings bank: hearing before the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs ... Washington. US GPO 1990.

Clinical laboratories: hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce .. Washington. US GPO 1992.

Implementation of recommendations of JTAC: hearings before the ... Washington. US GPO 1992.

Recommendations for reform of the federal employees health benefits program (FEHBP): hearing before the Committee on ... Washington. US GPO 1992.

Implementation of the Endangered Species Act for Native Hawaiian wildlife and plants: hearings before the Ad Hoc Committee ... Washington. US GPO 1992.

State and local perspectives on welfare reform: rhetoric, reality and opportunities: hearings before the Domestic Task Force ... Washington. US GPO 1992.

A village in New Guinea: the reality of life with VSO / Ted Lawson. Stevenage, UK, SPA, 1993.

Traditional and non-traditional lenders' role in economic development: joint hearing before the Subcommittee ... Washington. US GPO 1993.

Update on the heroin control strategy and domestic heroin consumption: hearing before the Select Committee ... Washington. US GPO 1993.

The Drive-Thru Museum: a journey across the everyday USA / Andy Souter. London. Impact, 1993.

Jupiter landing / Peter Maxwell Davies. Longman 1991.

Passport to Arabia / Mike Gerrard and Thomas McCarthy. Serpent's Tale, 1993.

Basket makers: meaning and form in native American baskets / Linda Mowat et al. Oxford, Pitt Rivers Museum, 1992.

Researching the disability working allowance self-assessment form / David Silke. London, HMSO, 1993.

Trends of science in Japan. Tokyo, Science Councill (sic) of Japan, 1990.

On the quality of synthetic speech: evaluation and improvements / Josephus Hubertus Eggen. Eindhoven ? s.n. 1992?

Gold Coast Queensland Australia: southern Gold Coast littoral sand supply / JA Roelvink and RJ Murray. Delft, Delft Hydraulics, 1992-.

Black business in the new south: a social history of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Durham, Duke University Press, 1993.

A review of familial abuse allegations of adults with developmental disabilities / State of New York, Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled, 1992.

A theoretical investigation of the founder-flush theory of speciation / Hamish G Spencer. Hamilton, NZ, University of Waikato, 1990.

1989 New Zealand Oil Exploration Conference : proceedings . Wellington, NZ, Ministry of Commerce, 1990.

New Zealand in the global marketplace: a strategic overview and corporate plan, 1992/93. New Zealand Trade Development Board, .

Review of the Commerce Act 1986. New Zealand, Ministry of Commerce. 1992.

Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 1992: stock assessments and yield estimates. Wellington, NZ, MAF Fisheries, 1992.

Report {of the} Workshop of Project Coordinators for Strengthening District Health Systems / convened by the Regional Office for the Western Pacific of the World Health Organisation, Manila, 7-11 January 1991. Manila, WHO, 1991.

Politikens moraliska rum: en studie i FA Hayeks politiska filosofi / Mats Lunstrom. Uppsala, 1991.

George Wallace, Richard Nixon and the transformation of American politics / Dan T Carter. Waco, Texas, Markham Press Fund, 1992.

A focussed ethnographic study of acute respiratory infection in northern Thailand / Preecha Upayokin. Nakhon, Thailand, Mahidol University, 1991.

Final report of the 5th ASTINFO Consultative Meeting: Hyatt Central Plaza, Bangkok, Thailand 10-13 October 1987. Bangkok, ASTINFO, 1987.

Critical essays on Samuel Beckett / Lance St John Butler. Scolar Press, Vermont, Ashgate Publishing, 1993.

Lakota Recollections of the Custer fight: new sources of Indian-military history / Richard G Hardorff. Spokane, WA, AH Clarke, 1991.

Appendix 2: Titles held uniquely by the National Library: second sample

Proceedings of KEK Workshop on Rare Kaon Decay Physics December 10-11, 1991 Kek, Tsukuba, Japan / edited by T. Shinkawa, S. Sugimoto. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1992.

Quadrupole modes in linearized beam-beam interaction in e+ e_ colliding rings / S. Matsumoto and K. Hirata. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1992.

Estimation of the longitudinal impedance of the ATF damping ring / M. Takao. T. Higo, and KLF Bane. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1992.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Neutrons in Biology at KENS (1990) KEK Tsukuba, Japan, September 29, 1990 / edited by N. Niimur, M Furasaka. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1991.

Proceedings of the First EGS4 User's Group Meeting in Japan KEK, Japan 1990. 7. 22-23 / edited by Hideo Hirayama, Yoshihito Namito and Syuichi Ban. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1991.

Single bunch beam breakup in Linacs and BNS damping / Takenori Toyomasu. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1991.

Renormalization group in different fields of theoretical physics / DV Shirkov. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1992.

Analysis of the prebuncher for the KEK 40-MeV proton linac / Takao Kato. Ibaraki-ken, Japan: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, 1991.

Caesar, Christ and Constantine: a history of the early church in Rome / Desmond O'Grady. Huntington, Ind. Our Sunday Visitor, c1991.

Drink cultura: Chicanismo / Jose Antonio Burciaga. 1st. Santa Barbara, Joshua Odell Editions, Capra Press, 1993.

Reform of regulation of agricultural compounds. Wellington, NZ, MAF Policy, 1992.

The Government's role in promoting international links in science and technology: implementation of a new strategy for the future. Wellington, NZ. Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, 1992.

Colloquium on Genetic Algorithms for control and systems engineering / organised by Professional Group C7 (Computer Aided Control Engineering). London, Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried or commemorated in Zaire, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, the Gambia, Madeira, Cape Verde, St Helena and Ascension Island and Sierra Leone. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in cemeteries in Burma. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in ... Gallipoli. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in the Gaza War Cemetery. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in ... Greece. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in cemeteries or churchyards in Northern Ireland. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in cemeteries or Churchyards near the East Coast of Kent. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

The war dead of the Commonwealth: the register of those who fell in the First World War and are buried in cemeteries and Churchyards in the Administrative County of East Sussex. Amended version. Maidenhead: The Commission, 1992.

Review of results of routine radiation protection surveys of radiography-only diagnostic x-ray machines, February 1987-May 1991 / BDP Williamson. Christchurch, NZ. National Radiation Laboratory, 1991.

Ethnicity, education and earnings in Bolivia and Guatemala / by George Psacharopulos. Washington, DC. Technical Dept. Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank, 1992.

World Fossil Fuel Subsidies and global carbon emission / Bjorn Larsen and Anwar Shah. Washington, DC. Office of the Vice President, Development Economics, the World Bank, 1992.

Openness and economic performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from time series cross-country analysis / Kazi M Martin. Washington, DC. Country Economics Dept, the World Bank, 1992.

Financial liberalization and adjustment in Chile and New Zealand / Paul D McNelis, Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel. Washington, DC. Country Economics Dept, the World Bank, 1992.

Controlling tropical deforestation: an analysis of alternative policies / Robert T Deacon. Washington, DC. Country Economics Dept, the World Bank, 1992.

Pacific Rim Bio-Based Composites Symposium, Rotorua, New Zealand 9-13 November 1992 / compiled by DV Plackett and EA Dunnigham. Rotorua, NZ: New Zealand Forest Research Institute, 1992.

Thailand in today world. Bangkok, Thailand: Armed Forces Information Office, Supreme Command Headquarters, 1990.

The Light of Nature and the law of God: anti-slavery in Ontario 1833-1877 / Allen P. Stouffer. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press 1992.

Colloquium on Practical Solutions to Industrial Robot Communications / organised by Professional Group C15 (Robotics) on Thursday 7 May 1992. London, Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1992.

Commercial bank liquidity management, discretionary reserve behavior, and the allocation of credit, 1863-1913 / JM Carter. New York, Garland, 1992.


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Last updated 15 March 1996