The Application of Operations Research in Library Management: A Case Study of In‐library Book Use

Intellectual access to recorded information has been a major preoccupation of librarians and various methods have been used to evaluate library programmes. Statistical methods have been used recently in library evaluation and management. Managing the physical availability of books can contribute to greater effectiveness in dealing with such matters as library space, book acquisition, cost effectiveness in budgeting, staffing assignments and other aspects of library service that would make the book readily available to the user. This study uses quantitative analysis to determine in‐library book use at the University of Calabar. It was found that many people use the library for various reasons, especially during examination periods, other than for reading library books. These range from reading recommended texts to leisure reading. More use is made of the library materials for research purposes where there are current journals.