Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the current status of the books acquired by direct loan for requested books of public libraries in Busan and to evaluate the usefulness of this collection by analyzing direct loan request and borrowing data. To facilitate the research, data on the collection and circulation, book purchase costs, and direct loan applications and approvals were gathered. The usefulness of the collection was evaluated by circulation analysis, as well as collection turnover rates and use factor analysis. The findings of the study revealed that librarian-selected books and direct loan books differed significantly in the number of books and circulation. In particular, the proportion of unborrowed books among the direct loan books was higher than that of the librarian-selected books. In addition, the analysis of collection turnover rates and use factor showed that the direct loan books were used more actively than the librarian-selected books. However, the correlation analysis indicated that the budget for the direct loan for requested books service and the number of books had little effect on the collection turnover rates and use factor. This suggests the need to establish clear guidelines for the selection, budgeting, and execution of the direct loan for requested books.