McKeldin Library Atlas Usage Dashboard

Abstract

McKeldin Library's map collection includes over 750 bound atlases, spanning a wide variety of topics and geographic locations. Because these materials cannot be checked out by patrons, tracking their usage and deriving detailed analytics is inherently difficult. In response to this, we implemented a "no reshelving" rule that indicates patrons to leave any materials they use out, allowing for usage to be tracked in a spreadsheet when staff shelf these materials. Using this data, which has been collected since 2015, we created an interactive, web-based dashboard application to explore and communicate various usage metrics, including geographic location and atlas category. These metrics can be used in future acquisition and collection management decisions.