Descriptive Statistical Techniques for Librarians

This updated and expanded edition is a practical handbook for librarians working in all types and sizes of libraries. It helps practitioners develop and manipulate descriptive statistical information to evaluate library services, track and control limited resources, and analyse data to support overall library goals. As a statistics guide for all kinds of libraries, the book features an increased number, type and variety of statistical examples based on actual situations, making it all the more essential for librarians faced with monthly or year-end reports and evaluation summaries. For students, new problem exercises are structured around these relevant examples, and step-by-step solutions to each problem are given in the appendix. An added feature is a new section on available statistical software packages that minimize calculations and save users valuable time. With its real-life library applications, practical examples and exercise, and new learning objectives and key terms, this edition should meet the needs of library science students. Practical examples and explanations help professional practitioners proceed through data analysis with confidence.