A quantitative method for measuring library user journal needs: a pilot study using CD plus MEDLINE usage statistics.
OBJECTIVE: To develop a quantitative method for measuring library user journal needs based on an analysis of bibliographic search results. DESIGN: Retrospective bibliometric comparison of citation selections generated by users in the library. MEASURES: Number of times each journal was identified by library users during multiple bibliographic search sessions. RESULTS: Library users identified 4907 journal titles. The top 200 journal titles accounted for 55% of the library user journal needs. Of the 1380 unique titles identified, 652 were selected once. CONCLUSION: Our pilot study demonstrated that analysis of bibliographic search results can be used to identify library user journal needs. Such a method could also be used to estimate user requirements for online, full-text scientific journals.