Dear Colleagues,
You've done it again! My question has been answered. Some asked that I share the info received,so here it is. I'm grateful to have the ARL & CARL standard as well as the way the basic ideas are applied in the individual libraries. Thank you!
1. It depends entirely on how the reporting library defines it. If you really want to give yourself a headache :-) use ARL's definition:
Question 1. Volumes in Library. Use the ANSI/NISO Z39.7-2004 definition for volume as follows:
"a single physical unit of any printed, typewritten, handwritten, mimeographed, or processed work, distinguished from other units by a separate binding, encasement, portfolio, or other clear distinction, which has been cataloged, classified, and made ready for use, and which is typically the unit used to charge circulation transactions.
Either a serial volume is bound, or it comprises the serial issues that would be bound together if the library bound all serials."
Include duplicates and bound volumes of periodicals. For purposes of this questionnaire, unclassified bound serials arranged in alphabetical order are considered classified. Exclude microforms, maps, nonprint materials, and uncataloged items. If any of these items cannot be excluded, please provide an explanatory footnote.
Include government document volumes that are accessible through the library's catalogs regardless of whether they are separately shelved. "Classified" includes documents arranged by Superintendent of Documents, CODOC, or similar numbers. "Cataloged" includes documents for which records are provided by the library or downloaded from other sources into the library's card or online catalogs. Documents should, to the extent possible, be counted as they would if they were in bound volumes (e.g., 12 issues of an annual serial would be one or two volumes). Title and piece counts should not be considered the same as volume counts. If a volume count has not been kept, it may be estimated through sampling a representative group of title records and determining the corresponding number of volumes, then extrapolating to the rest of the collection. As an alternative, an estimate may be made using the following formulae:
52 documents pieces per foot
10 "traditional" volumes per foot
5.2 documents pieces per volume
Include e-book units, as long as these e-books are owned or leased and have been cataloged by your library. Include electronic books purchased through vendors such as NetLibraryŽ or Books 24x7, and e-books that come as part of aggregate services. Include individual titles of e-book sets that are treated as individual reference sources. Include locally digitized electronic books and electronic theses and dissertations. Provide a footnote explaining how many e-books you are reporting, preferably by specifying the products and the number of titles in a note.
Include volumes purchased collectively where the cost is shared at the time of purchase.
If either formulas or sampling are used for deriving your count, please indicate in a footnote.
2. When we report our stats at the University of______, "volumes" means the number of actual, physical items.
A three-volume set would be three volumes.
A bound periodical (of 6 issues) would be one volume.
3. Here is the excerpt from the national survey of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL)
Question 1. - Print volumes
Use the ANSI/NISO Z39.7-2004 definition of print volume as follows:
"A single physical unit of any printed, typewritten, handwritten, mimeographed, or processed work, distinguished from other units by a separate binding, encasement, portfolio, or other clear distinction, which has been cataloged, classified, and made ready for use, and which is typically the unit used to charge circulation transactions. Either a serial volume is bound, or it comprises the serial issues that would be bound together if the library bound all serials."
Include duplicates and bound volumes of serials. For purposes of this questionnaire, unclassified bound serials arranged in alphabetical order are considered classified. Exclude microforms, maps, non-print materials, and un-catalogued items. If any of these items cannot be excluded, please provide an explanatory note in the "Footnotes" section of the questionnaire.
Include government document volumes that are accessible through the institution's catalogue regardless of whether they are separately shelved "Classified" includes documents arranged by the Superintendent of Documents (LC) CODOC, Dewey, or similar numbers. "Catalogued" includes documents for which records are provided by the institution or downloaded from other sources into the library's card or online catalogues. Documents should, to the extent possible, be counted as they would if they were in bound volumes (e.g., 12 issues of an annual serial would be one or two volumes). Titles and piece counts should not be considered the same as volume count. If a volume count has not been kept, it may be estimated through sampling a representative group of title records and determining the corresponding number of volumes, then extrapolating to the rest of the collection. As an alternative, an estimate may be made using the following formulae:
* 52 document pieces per foot or (174 document pieces per linear meter)
* 10 "traditional" volumes per foot or (34 "traditional" volumes per linear meter)
* 5.2 document pieces per volume
If either formulae or samples are used for deriving your count, please indicate in a note in the "Footnotes" section of the questionnaire.
4. I have always considered that to be the number of items on the shelves. If a title (counted as 1 if you're doing a title count) has three books associated with it, it's counted as 3 volumes.
5. Usually it is an individually bound monograph or serial volume (or their electronic equivalent). Current unbound issues of periodicals don't count. Some reports want separate print & electronic counts. Volumes are not the same as the number of titles. Electronic journal volumes are not normally included in volumes count (too impossible to keep track of), instead a rough count of electronic serial titles & subscription databases might be reported. 'Non-print' formats are usually counted & reported separately (e.g., number of fiche & reels for microforms, numbers of CD-ROMs, DVDs, LPs, cassettes, photographs, slides, drawings, ephemera, maps, etc.)
6. We literally define it by each item. If we have a 10-volume set, that 10 volumes. If we have 500 back issues of Art in America, that's 500 volumes.
7. I can't back up my comments with a source, but I think I'm using a common definition when I give this response. A volume count is literal. If you have a set on LeCorbusier that is 32 volumes, you have one title and 32 volumes. You also count each bound volume of a periodical, even if it represents only a portion of a year, as one volume.
8. I do 50% or more of a given title. Watch as you count periodicals they change their number of issues per year from time to time.
9. For us it's literally a physical volume count, not a title count. It's used for storage planning purposes and output measurement (incl. collections usage).
10. When I count "volumes" for monograph stats it's the count of every physical item received as different from the "titles" received. (One title could have 4 volumes).
-----Original Message-----
From: ART LIBRARIES SOCIETY DISCUSSION LIST [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brodhead, Heather
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 3:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARLIS-L] Definition of "Volumes"
Dear Collective Wisdom,
When a library reports it owns "____ number of volumes", how does one define "volumes" in this context?
Heather Brodhead
Librarian
Constance & George Fearing Library
Santa Barbara Museum of Art www.sbma.net
1130 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 884-6451
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