Library Collection & User Analysis

Analyzed 3.9 million circulation records and 122,000 collection items for San Marcos Public Library, revealing COVID-19’s dramatic impact on service usage and identifying collection acquisition gaps that informed strategic planning.

Project Overview

Working in close collaboration with San Marcos Public Library staff to understand their information needs, I analyzed 10 years of collection, circulation, and patron data with particular focus on understanding how COVID-19 impacted library services. The project transformed raw circulation data into actionable insights about collection performance, patron behavior, and service utilization.

Data Analyzed:

• 3.9 million circulation transactions
• 122,000 collection items across multiple formats
• Patron demographics and usage patterns
• Pre-pandemic and COVID-era service data (with emphasis on 2019-2021)

Key Findings:

COVID-19 Service Impact:

• Hold pickups and same-day holds increased 4-6x during pandemic restrictions, revealing crucial shift in patron behavior
• Demonstrated library’s adaptation to contactless service models

Collection Performance Analysis:

• DVDs and children’s books showed highest circulation rates relative to collection size
• Identified acquisition/circulation mismatch: library excelled at adding adult non-fiction titles but these showed lower circulation compared to collection growth
• Periodicals significantly underutilized - high acquisition rates but low circulation, suggesting opportunity to reallocate budget

Patron Demographics:

• Age-based breakdowns revealed usage patterns across different patron segments
• Insights into which demographics engaged with different collection types

Technical Approach:

• Cleaned and structured decade of circulation data in Excel and Tableau
• Built interactive dashboards enabling librarians to filter by collection type, date range, and patron demographics
• Designed visualizations for both executive stakeholder reporting and operational collection management
• Applied performance analysis techniques to compare acquisition rates against circulation patterns

The dashboards provided library leadership with data-driven insights to inform acquisitions strategy, collection development priorities, and service planning in the post-pandemic environment.