GIS in the management of library pick‐up books

The management of library “pick‐up books” – a phrase that refers to books pulled off the shelves by readers, discarded in the library after use, and picked up by library assistants for reshelving – is an issue for many collection managers. This research attempts to use geographic information system (GIS) software as a tool to monitor the use of such books so that their distributions by book shelf‐ranges can be displayed visually. With GIS, library floor layouts are drawn as maps. This research produces some explanations of the habits of library patrons browsing shelved materials, and makes suggestions to librarians on the expansion of library collections and the rearrangement potential for library space.