Impact of automation on preservation decisions

As a former collections management officer, I used to use book cards and
slips to help make preservation/deacquisition decisions too. When our
library automated with Dynix, I asked for printed management reports on
circulation--this gave me some general information on the subject areas
that were circulating. I could also get reports on the circulation
history of particular volumes. This was almost as good as the book
cards; it didn't tell me who borrowed, but at least I had a record of
how many times the volume went out since the circulation system went up.
Note that this information was volume-specific; if I wanted to know
about the popularity of a title, I had to pull the circulation records
for all copies and add them up. Depending on what automation system you
get, you can probably get very good management reports that will help
you make preservation decisions. Usually the standard reports can be
customized to be even more useful in your particular situation. Good
luck!

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:88
                   Distributed: Monday, June 6, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-7-88-004
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