Assesing university libraries through data mining

Library collection development is a process that allows having the appropriate bibliographic material to meeting the needs of their users’ community. In this process, one of the main restrictions is the reduction of budget allocation. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the bibliographic collection based on quantitative indicators in order to know the characteristics and informative needs of the community. A quantitative assessment is a tool that makes easier for the librarian to take decisions for the acquisition or disposal of bibliographic material. As a proposal, this work used a datamining model to analyze the indicators related to: (1) number of volumes by thematic subclass, (2) number of uses by thematic subclass, and (3) number of volumes in use by thematic subclass. A statistical study validated the model with loan transactions, both at home and in the reading room registered in one of the libraries of the Autonomous University of Yucatan during the period that went from May 2011 to June 2017.