NISTIR 7205 

What are our Customers Reading? 

An Analysis of the Most Frequently Used 

Subjects of the NIST Research Library 

Book Collection Based on Circulation 

H ••• 'er, Ha,,'et 

u. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Technology Administration 

Nationalinstttute of Standards 

and Technology 

Information Services Division 

GalthersburC. MD 20899·8230 

May 2005 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Cal10s M. Gutierrez, Secretary 

TECHNOLOGY AOMIN~TRATK)N • 

Phillip J. Bond, Under Secretary for Technology 

NAnONAL INSmUTE OF STANDARDS 

AND TECHNOLOGY 

Hl1Itch G.. 5amerjl.n, Acting Director 
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Table of Contents 

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................v

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1

2. Methodology....................................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Source of Data.............................................................................................................................. 3

2.2 Use of Call Numbers .................................................................................................................... 3

2.3 Scoring for All Books .................................................................................................................... 4

2.4 Scoring for New Books................................................................................................................. 4

2.5 Qualifications to the Data ............................................................................................................. 4

3. Ranking of Classes and Subclasses (Tables 1 and 2) ...................................................................... 7

4. Ranking of Call Numbers (Tables 3 to 5).......................................................................................... 9

5. Most Popular Subclasses................................................................................................................. 11

5.1 Physics (QC) .............................................................................................................................. 11

5.2 Mathematics and Statistics (QA)................................................................................................ 11

5.3 Chemistry (QD)........................................................................................................................... 11

5.4 Engineering/Technology (T) ....................................................................................................... 11

6. Specific Subjects of Note ................................................................................................................. 13

6.1 Spectroscopy.............................................................................................................................. 13

6.2 Information Technology and Computer Science........................................................................ 13

6.3 Polymers..................................................................................................................................... 14

6.4 Strategic Focus Areas (SFAs).................................................................................................... 14

7. Emerging Topics of Interest ............................................................................................................. 15

8. Analysis of Most Circulated Individual Titles (Tables 6 and 7) ........................................................ 17

9. Relation to the NIST Research Library Customer Survey ............................................................... 19

10. Relation to the Core Journals List ................................................................................................... 21

11. Recommendations for the Library Approval Plan Profile................................................................. 23

12. Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 25

Appendix A. Data Tables ..................................................................................................................... 27

Table 1. LCC Classes Ranked by Score.......................................................................................... 27

Table 2. NIST Modified Subclasses Ranked by Score..................................................................... 28

Table 3. Top 100 Call Numbers for All Books Ranked by Score ..................................................... 29

Table 4. Top 50 Call Numbers for New Books (1999-2004) Ranked by Score ............................... 34

Table 5. Top Call Numbers Arranged by Call Number..................................................................... 37

Table 6. Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for All Books ....................................................................... 42

Table 7. Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for New Books (1999-2004) ............................................... 44
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Executive Summary 

This report analyzes circulation data for the NIST Research Library book collection to determine the 

most used subjects. Books are grouped into subjects using their call numbers, and subjects are 

ranked by usage at the broad class, subclass, and specific topic level. The most circulated individual 

titles are also given. Tables showing rankings are given in Appendix A. 

Research for this report was initiated in fiscal year 2003 as part of an Information Services Division 

(ISD) review of the book acquisitions processes of the NIST Research Library. The review showed 

that the Library received via its book approval plan almost twice as many books as it purchased. To 

tighten the approval plan profile to more closely match actual purchasing and reduce returns, Library 

staff determined to report on usage patterns in the book collection based on circulation statistics. It 

was hoped that the resulting report could be used to tighten the profile controlling automatic book 

delivery, and to serve as a general aid to the book selection process by giving Library staff one tool 

with which to predict the value of a purchase in terms of actual customer usage. 

Methodology 

Data in this study are based on a report from the Library’s integrated library system (ILS) capturing all 

titles in the book collection that had been used since the beginning of fiscal year 2002 (October 1, 

2001) through the date the ILS report was run (February 6, 2004), a 28-month period. The report 

provided total circulation transactions for each title. 

The subject of each book was determined using its call number. Library call numbers are created 

following the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system. LCC divides the universe of knowledge 

into twenty-one top-level classes using alphabetic characters. Classes are broken down into 

subclasses, divisions, and topics using an expanded alphanumeric notation. 

To create the tables for this report, titles were grouped using the LCC structure into successively 

more narrow categories, beginning with the top level LCC class, and working down through the 

subclasses to the specific call number level, denoting a specific topic. 

The ILS report included 12 594 titles that circulated during the period of the study. These titles, called 

All Books in this report, were grouped by call number into increasingly more specific categories and 

each category was scored according to the formula: 

ALL BOOKS SCORE = (CIRCULATION TRANSACTIONS x CIRCULATED VOLUMES) / 1000. 

The scoring system was devised to create a single number that gave weight to both total circulation 

transactions and total number of volumes circulated. 

The analysis was repeated separately for the subset of books published from 1999 to 2004, called 

New Books in this report. There were 1157 New Books used in the period of study. New Books were 

scored using a similar formula: 

NEW BOOKS SCORE = (CIRCULATED TRANSACTIONS x CIRCULATED VOLUMES) / 100. 

The total number of available books was also recorded for each call number using the ILS reporting 

capabilities. This number was converted to a usage percentage using the formula: 

USAGE RATE = (CIRCULATED VOLUMES / AVAILABLE VOLUMES) x 100 
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Data limitations include the necessity of setting a minimum number of circulated volumes threshold 

for qualifying call numbers for scoring. For All Books (Table 3), the scoring threshold was 24 volumes 

per call number. For New Books (Table 4), the threshold was 3 volumes per call number. 

Ranking of Classes and Subclasses (Tables 1 and 2) 

The most used top-level classes are Science (Q), Technology (T), and Medicine (R) (Table 1). These 

results are expected given the focus of NIST on Science and Technology. The most popular 

subclasses are Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, General Engineering, and Computer Science 

(Table 2). 

Ranking of Call Numbers (Tables 3 to 5) 

Tables 3 and 4 show call numbers ranked by score, with subject area and specific topic, both drawn 

from the LCC schedules. Table 3 covers All Books. Table 4 covers New Books (1999-2004). In Table 

4, topics shown in shade are topics that did not appear in Table 3 covering All Books. These should 

be considered emerging topics of interest to the NIST community in the period 1999-2004 (see 

below). 

Table 5 organizes call numbers from Tables 3 and 4 by subject. The table shows Programming, 

Software, Computer Systems and Special Computing, Probabilities, Statistics, Mathematical Analysis, 

Atomic Physics, Electricity, Analytical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry of Polymers, Physical and 

Theoretical Chemistry, Materials of Engineering, Telecommunication, and Electronics are the most 

frequently used subject areas in the book collection. 

Most Popular Subclasses 

At the specific call number level, in the number 1 ranked subclass, Physics, the most used topics are 

Spectroscopy, Solids and Solid State Physics, Particle Physics, Mathematical Physics, 

Semiconductor Physics, and Quantum Theory and Mechanics. 

For the number 2 ranked subclass, Mathematics and Statistics, the most used topics are 

Mathematical Statistics, Probabilities, Nonparametric Methods, Numerical Analysis, Regression and 

Correlations Analysis, and Multivariate Analysis. 

For the number 3 ranked subclass, Chemistry, the most used topics are Spectrum Analysis and 

Spectroscopy, Inorganic Elements, Polymers, Atomic and Molecular Theory and Structure, and 

Chromatographic Analysis. 

The Technology class accounts for five of the top ten subclasses in Table 2: General Engineering, 

Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Technology, and Telecommunications. 

The most used topics are Polymers as a Material of Engineering, Semiconductors, Microelectronics, 

Special Processes, Metallography, and Robotics. 

Specific Subjects of Note 

Several subjects deserve special mention for their notable high use. These are Spectroscopy, 

Information Technology and Computer Science, Polymers, and NIST Strategic Focus Area (SFA) 

topics. 

Spectroscopy was by far the most used subject in the collection when looking at All Books (Table 3, 

nos. 1 and 2), and was also important when looking at New Books (Table 4, nos. 9 and 23). 

Spectroscopy is a highly used subject area both in the discipline of Chemistry and in the discipline of 

Physics. 
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Information Technology and Computer Science account for multiple entries on the tables for All 

Books (Table 3), New Books (Table 4), and most circulated individual titles (Tables 6 and 7). Among 

the most popular topics are Operating Systems, Java, Hypertext Systems, Software Topics, 

Computer Topics, Database Management, Computer-aided Engineering, Programming Languages, 

Computer Graphics, Object-oriented Computing, C Programming Languages, Quantum Computing, 

Client/Server Computing, Database Design, and Visual Basic. Telecommunications also accounted 

for several popular topics including World Wide Web, Signal Processing, TCP/IP, and Active Server 

Pages. 

Polymers accounted for four out of seventeen top Chemistry call numbers (see Table 5, QD), and 

also occurred as popular topics in the disciplines of Physics, Medicine, Materials Science, and 

Chemical Engineering. This fits with the fact that during the period of study the Polymers Division 

within the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL) was the division with the highest 

circulation level among all divisions at NIST. 

NIST SFAs of Nanotechnology, and Healthcare/Biotechnology are readily apparent in the lists of high 

use topics. From Table 5, they are specifically addressed by the topics Biomedical Engineering, 

Biomedical Materials, Nanotechnology, Nanostructure Materials, Microelectronics, and 

Microelectromechanical Systems. Other popular topics with applications in SFA research include 

Surfaces, Quantum Mechanics, Solid State Physics, Spectroscopy, Semiconductors, Polymers, 

Scanning Microscopes, Biochemistry, Robotics, and Control Engineering. 

Emerging Topics of Interest 

Topics that rank among the most popular for New Books (Table 4) but which are not on the list for All 

Books (Table 3) are considered emerging topics of interest. These emerging topics are 

Nanostructure Materials, Nanotechnology, Bayesian Statistics, Signal Processing, 

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), TCP/IP, Active Server Pages, Biomedical Materials, 

Object-Oriented Computing, Quantum Computing, Client/Server Computing, Carbon as a Material in 

Engineering, Special Topics in Research, Special Types of Polymers, Database Design, and Visual 

Basic Programming. Almost all relate directly to the NIST SFAs of Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, 

and Information/Knowledge Management. 

Analysis of Most Circulated Individual Titles (Tables 6 and 7) 

Table 6, Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for All Books, shows individual titles with the greatest number 

of total circulation transactions (in-house uses and checkouts combined). Books with subjects shown 

in bold are on topics whose popularity is predicted by appearance on Table 5. Programming, in 

particular C/C++, accounts for the largest number of most circulated books. Many of the most 

circulated popular books are textbooks, including many older classics. 

Table 7, Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for New Books (1999-2004), shows individual books published 

in 1999 or later with the greatest number of total circulation transactions (in-house uses and 

checkouts combined). Books with subjects shown in bold are on topics whose popularity is predicted 

by appearance on Table 5. Again, Programming is the most represented area, including Visual 

Basic, Java, and Object-Oriented. 

Relation to the NIST Research Library Customer Survey 

The NIST Research Library customer survey conducted in 2001 supports the findings of this report 

that the book collection is valued and used. High use subjects in the customer survey were Physics, 

Engineering, Chemistry, Computers/Information Technology, Materials Science, and Mathematics. 

These are consistent with high use subjects identified in this report. High use types of resources in 

the customer survey included conference proceedings, textbooks, and technical books, all of which 

are generally part of the book collection and procured with the Library’s book budget. However, 
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satisfaction with technical books, textbooks and conference proceedings was relatively low. The 

survey report stated that these collections should be improved. 

In the customer survey, textbooks scored in the “very high use” category. This agrees with the 

findings of this report that show textbooks are the most circulated items in the Library. The Library 

should purchase textbooks that are rated favorably by Subject Specialists and which support NIST 

research. The Library should also be proactive in checking for the availability of new editions of 

textbooks that have proved popular in the past. 

Relation to the Core Journals List 

In 2002, the NIST Research Library developed a core journals list with input from each of the 

divisions in the NIST Laboratories. The core journals list is categorized by subjects most similar to 

those shown on Table 2, NIST Modified Subclasses Ranked by Score. Based on number of titles per 

category, core journals rank by subject as follows, from highest to lowest: Engineering, Physics, 

Chemistry, Materials Science, and Computer Science. As shown in Table 2, subclasses rank by 

circulation as follows, from highest to lowest: Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, General Engineering, 

and Computer Science. 

The two lists roughly correlate but show some differences. Some of these differences are attributable 

to different methods of categorization in the two lists. For instance, in this report Materials Science 

was not a separate category but fell under General Engineering. Mathematics stands out strongly as 

a high use category in this study, but only ranked sixth on the core journals list. Clearly, users turn to 

the Library book collection for information on Mathematics a great deal, but few divisions considered 

Mathematics as a “core” research area when it came to the journal collection. 

Recommendations for the Library Approval Plan Profile 

The Library’s approval plan profile controls by topic which books are sent to the Library for review 

automatically. The automatic delivery of books on the approval plan is an important part of the 

acquisition process. Through this method, books that are most pertinent to the research needs of the 

organization arrive without any proactive effort required by Library staff or Subject Specialists. 

However, in order for the approval plan to work as intended, the Library must have a book budget that 

roughly corresponds to the number of books that are sent on approval. When the Library’s book 

acquisitions drop below 500 titles per year, the approval plan becomes difficult to operate. For fiscal 

years 2004 and 2005, automatic delivery has been temporarily suspended due to budget constraints. 

In general, the NIST book approval plan profile is well tailored to the needs of the organization. When 

activated, automatic book delivery is currently concentrated in Physics, Chemistry, General 

Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Telecommunications. However, following the findings of 

this report, the profile should be refined by adding more coverage for popular areas in Mathematics 

and Computer Science, Biochemistry, and Biomedical Engineering. Book shipment should be 

reduced in the lesser-used areas of Physics, Chemistry, Technology and Engineering; the Library 

would continue to be notified of newly published works in these areas by receiving a slip describing 

the book in place of the physical volume. 

Conclusions 

Through the customer survey and through circulation patterns shown in this report, Library customers 

have stated that the book collection is an important and highly used resource. This report provides 

an outline of subject areas in which collection development will almost certainly result in resources 

that are highly used and generate substantial return on investment (ROI). These subjects include but 

are not limited to NIST SFAs. They also include many subjects of broad interest to the research 

community, such as spectroscopy, and of practical utility to bench scientists, such as computer 

programming. 
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The results of this report suggest that NIST staff use the book collection to learn about topics that 

support their research, such as programming, research methodology, and statistical analysis, as 

much if not more than to learn about their specific areas of expertise. Studies of information use by 

scientists have shown that journals, not books, are the single most important information resource for 

maintaining current awareness in the fields of science and engineering. At NIST, this study suggests 

that the book collection is more likely to be used to investigate fields in which the scientist is less 

familiar, but in which a situational need for more knowledge has occurred. Among the most popular 

books in the collection are a number of classic textbooks, supporting the thesis that the Library should 

view the book collection not only as a resource for subject experts, but also for non-experts coming in 

from outside a discipline to get an introduction to a new topic. 

In recent fiscal years, budget cuts to the Library have made collection development challenging. As 

the Library continues to operate with a limited book budget, it is paramount that titles purchased are 

effective and utilized. The Library can aim to achieve high usage of new acquisitions by close 

monitoring of circulation of existing resources by its customers. This study represents one attempt to 

do such monitoring. 

This report illuminates popular subject areas. High usage rates in many of these subjects, especially 

for new books, shows that the Library’s acquisition program has been successful. The Library has 

identified what its customers are reading and knows what it should be buying. The Library is ready to 

make sound purchasing decisions and to measure its performance. The Library book collection 

should continue to be funded to maintain and improve its current level of success and customer 

satisfaction. 
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1. Introduction 

This report analyzes circulation data for the NIST Research Library Book Collection in fiscal years 

2002, 2003, and part of 2004 to determine the most used subjects in the collection. Books are 

grouped into subjects using their call numbers (see section 2.2 for further discussion), and ranked by 

usage. In Appendix A, rankings are given by broad class and subclass (Tables 1 and 2), and by 

specific topic (Tables 3-5). Table 3 covers all books that circulated within the period of study. Table 4 

covers only those books published between 1999 and 2004 that circulated within the period of study. 

Table 5 shows the top call numbers arranged by subject rather than ranking. The most circulated 

individual titles are also given (Tables 6 and 7). 

This report was initiated in fiscal year 2003 when the Information Services Division (ISD), which 

includes the NIST Research Library, tasked two librarians to review the book acquisitions processes. 

This review included an assessment of the book approval plan with the Library’s current book vendor. 

According to the Library’s profile with the vendor, books in certain subjects are sent automatically 

without being specifically ordered. The review showed that the Library only purchased about half of 

these books. In addition, of all books purchased, only 15 % were originating from the automatic book 

shipments. The high rate of return placed cost and time burdens on the Library’s staff, as well as on 

the vendor’s. In looking for ways to tighten the profile to more closely match actual purchasing, an 

assessment of Library customers’ usage became an area of interest for investigation. Library staff 

therefore determined to report on usage patterns in the book collection based on circulation statistics. 

It was hoped that the resulting report could be used to tighten the profile with the vendor to include 

only those topics of very high interest to Library customers. It was also hoped that the resulting report 

could serve as a general aid to the book selection process by giving Library staff one tool with which 

to predict the value of a potential purchase in terms of actual customer usage. 
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2. Methodology 

2.1 Source of Data 

This study is based on a report from the circulation module of the Library’s integrated library system 

(ILS) produced on February 6, 2004. The report captured all titles that had been used since the 

beginning of fiscal year 2002 (October 1, 2001) through the date the ILS report was run (February 6, 

2004), a 28-month period. The report looked only at the book collection and excluded circulation of 

titles in the journal collection. For each title, the report included call number, date last used, number 

of in-house uses, number of checkouts, and total number of circulation transactions (in-house uses 

and checkouts combined). An in-house use is counted when a book is taken from the shelf by a 

customer and left in the Library; it is recorded in the ILS by Library staff before the item is reshelved. 

Although a book had to have been used within the 28-month period to appear on the report, the 

number of in-house uses and checkouts included all activity going back to the implementation of the 

automated circulation system in August 1991. The ILS does not support reporting on use for an 

individual item within a specified time period. Therefore, throughout this report, the reader should 

keep in mind that every book included had circulated at least once during fiscal years 2002-2004; 

however, total circulation transactions were calculated over the period 1991 to February 2004. 

2.2 Use of Call Numbers 

A call number is a mark of notation used to arrange books by subject. The first part of a call number is 

the class notation, which identifies the subject of the book. The second part is the book number, 

which uniquely identifies an item and is used to arrange books within a topic in a meaningful way, 

usually by author. For the purposes of this study, the term “call number” refers to the class notation 

only. The NIST Research Library uses Library of Congress Classification (LCC) to create call 

numbers. LCC divides the universe of knowledge into twenty-one top-level classes using alphabetic 

characters. Classes are broken down into subclasses and divisions using an expanded alphanumeric 

notation. 

For example, the top ranking call number on Table 3 is QD96, which represents: 

Q for Science (Class) 

QD for Chemistry (Subclass) 

QD71-QD142 for Analytical Chemistry (Subject Division) 

QD96 for Spectrum Analysis, Special Methods and Types (Topic) 

Some topics are further subdivided into more specific subtopics using a “Cutter” number (named after 

the system of subdivision’s creator, Charles A. Cutter), which is a second letter-number string 

following the base class number. For example, the top ranking call number on Table 4 is QA76.76 

.O63, which uses the Cutter number .O63 and represents: 

Q for Science (Class) 

QA for Mathematics (Subclass) 

QA71-QA90 for Instruments and Machines (Subject Division) 

QA76.76 for Computer Software, Special Topics (Topic) 

QA76.76 .O63 for Operating Systems (Subtopic shown by Cutter number) 

To create the tables for this report, titles were grouped using the LCC structure into successively 

more narrow categories, beginning with the top level LCC class, and working down through the 

subclasses to the specific call number level. 
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2.3 Scoring for All Books 

The ILS report included 12 594 books that circulated during the period of the study. There were 

216 083 circulation transactions for these materials (in-house uses and checkouts). These titles, 

called All Books in this report, were grouped by call number into increasingly more specific categories 

and each category was scored. The score was calculated by multiplying the total circulation 

transactions by the number of circulated volumes, then dividing by 1000: 

SCORE = (CIRCULATION TRANSACTIONS x CIRCULATED VOLUMES) / 1000. 

The scoring system was devised to create a single number that gave weight to both total circulation 

transactions and total number of volumes circulated. Thus, given two call numbers with equal 

numbers of transactions, the call number that had more circulated volumes would outscore the other. 

Where call numbers used Cutter numbers to denote subtopics, if the Cutter number qualified for 

scoring independently, the subtopic was scored separately. If the call number had Cutter numbers but 

none qualified for scoring independently, then the call number was scored as a whole without regard 

to Cutter numbers. As discussed in section 2.5, to qualify for scoring, a call number had to have 24 

or more titles circulated for All Books, or 3 or more titles circulated for New Books. 

The total number of available books was also recorded for each call number using the ILS reporting 

capabilities. This number was converted to a usage percentage using the formula: 

USAGE RATE = (CIRCULATED VOLUMES / AVAILABLE VOLUMES) x 100 

2.4 Scoring for New Books 

The analysis was repeated separately for the subset of books published from 1999 to 2004, called 

New Books in this report. Since these books could not have been used prior to 1999, this analysis 

was intended to isolate the most current and emerging interests of Library customers. Again 

categories were scored. The formula was the same as for All Books, except that, because numbers 

were smaller (there were roughly 10 times fewer books), the product of total circulation transactions 

and total circulated volumes was divided by 100 rather than by 1000: 

SCORE = (CIRCULATION TRANSACTIONS x CIRCULATED VOLUMES) / 100. 

There were 1157 New Books published in 1999 or later used in the 28-month period of study, with 

13 306 total circulation transactions. According to the ILS, there were approximately 2 000 books 

published in 1999 or later available for circulation when the usage data was collected. This suggests 

that many new books did not circulate, however, due to data limitations, only limited conclusions 

should be drawn from this. Not all new books were purchased; some were gifts. Also, the length of 

time each new book had been available varied; some had only been available for checkout a short 

period. A valid measure of usage of purchased new books requires a separate analysis using more 

targeted data. 

2.5 Qualifications to the Data 

Call numbers were only considered for inclusion in the Top 100 Call Numbers for All Books list (Table 

3) if 24 or more individual titles in that call number had circulated in the period of study. It was 

beyond the time resources available for this report to score every call number; therefore, a threshold 

had to be set. Because of the threshold, the analysis may favor those call numbers in which the 

collection was already strong. A call number of high interest in which the Library had not collected 

adequately may not have made it into the report because it did not meet the threshold of 24 items. 

The threshold for the Top 50 Call Numbers for New Books list (Table 4) was much more easily 

attainable at 3 items. Table 5, in which Top Call Numbers are arranged by subject, is intended to 
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reduce bias by looking beyond individual call numbers to broader subject ranges illuminating wider 

areas of high interest to customers. 

The ILS report provided total circulation transactions per volume but the system is unable to provide 

total number of users per volume. Therefore, this report could not take into account the fact that 

some titles attain a high number of transactions by being renewed multiple times by a singer user. 

For this report, each renewal counted as one transaction. 

To maintain the privacy of library users, the ILS does not keep a history of the activity of individual 

users. No records pertaining to any individual users were obtained or analyzed for this report. 
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3. Ranking of Classes and Subclasses (Tables 1 and 2) 

Table 1, LCC Classes Ranked by Score, shows that the Q class representing Science is by far the 

most popular class, followed by the T class, representing Technology. The class R, for Medicine, is a 

distant third. These results are expected given the focus of NIST on Science and Technology. 

For Table 2, NIST Modified Subclasses Ranked by Score, LCC classes were broken down into 

smaller subclasses, scored and ranked. Subclasses on Table 2 are modified from LCC in some 

cases based on local interests and usage. For instance, the subclasses Physics and Chemistry 

match the top-level breakdown of the LCC Q schedule: QC for Physics, QD for Chemistry. However, 

the subclass QA, titled Mathematics in LCC, was broken down into two parts, Mathematics and 

Computer Science, for this report since Computer Science traditionally has been treated as a 

separate subject area by the NIST Research Library. 

The results show the top five most popular subclasses are Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, General 

Engineering, and Computer Science. In Medicine, the most popular subclass is Bioengineering. In 

Social Sciences, the most popular subclass is Management. 

The high use of Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering is expected since these subjects clearly 

correspond to research specialties of the NIST Laboratories. Less expected is the high use of 

Computer Science and Information Technology related books, including books on programming 

languages and software. These are not only high use subjects, but account for many of the most 

popular individual titles as well. These results are less expected because the Information Technology 

Laboratory (ITL) ranks only fourth among Laboratories for use the book collection.1

 However, 

Computer Science and Information Technology are intrinsically part of all types of scientific research 

today. This accounts for the high usage of books on these subjects. 

Mathematics is a surprisingly highly used subclass because, unlike Physics or Chemistry, 

Mathematics is not a core research area associated with a particular NIST Laboratory, although ITL 

includes divisions for Mathematical and Computational Sciences and for Statistical Engineering. 

Factors contributing to the high usage of Mathematics include its relevancy and applicability to all 

types of research. Also, studies have shown that mathematicians use monographs and cite older 

materials more than scientists in other disciplines, which points to greater utilization of the book 

collection in the area of Mathematics.2

 

1 For fiscal year 2003, from data collected by NIST Research Library integrated library system, book circulation by NIST 

Laboratory ranked as follows based on number of checkouts: 1. MSEL (28%), 2. PL (20%), 3. CSTL (16%), 4. ITL (11%), 5. 

MEL (9%), 6. BFRL (7%), 7. EEEL (4%), 8. TS (1%),

2 Cecelia M. Brown, Information seeking behavior of scientists in the electronic information age: astronomers, chemists, 

mathematicians, and physicists, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. 50 (10), 929-943 (1999).
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4. Ranking of Call Numbers (Tables 3 to 5) 

To produce Table 3, Top 100 Call Numbers for All Books Ranked by Score, books from the 

circulation report were grouped by call number. Call numbers that had more than 24 individual 

volumes represented were selected for scoring. Call numbers are shown ranked by score, with 

subject area and specific topic, both drawn from the LCC schedules. 

Table 4, Top 50 Call Numbers for New Books (1999-2004) Ranked by Score, only considered books 

that had been published in 1999 or later. For Table 4, a call number only had to have 3 or more titles 

in order to qualify for scoring. In Table 4, topics shown in shade are topics that did not appear in 

Table 3 covering All Books. These should be considered emerging topics of interest to the NIST 

community in the period 1999-2004 (see section 7). 

Many subjects on Table 4 also showed very high usage rates, approaching or reaching 100%. 

Where this is true, it indicates that almost every book the Library owned on that subject was used. 

Table 5, Top Call Numbers Arranged by Call Number, organizes call numbers from Tables 3 and 4 by 

subject. Table 5 is intended to place high use call numbers within a broader context to reveal what 

subject areas are of greatest interest to customers. The table shows Programming, Software, 

Computer Systems and Special Computing, Probabilities, Statistics, Mathematical Analysis, Atomic 

Physics, Electricity, Analytical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry of Polymers, Physical and Theoretical 

Chemistry, Materials of Engineering, Telecommunication, and Electronics are among the most 

frequently used subject areas in the book collection. 
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5. Most Popular Subclasses 

5.1 Physics (QC) 

The call number subclass for Physics, QC, is the most used subclass in the book collection. Major 

subject areas of interest are Atomic Physics, Optics, and Electricity. From Table 3, Top Physics 

topics include (in rank number order): 

Spectroscopy / QC454 (no. 2) 

Solids and Solid State Physics / QC176, QC176.8 (nos. 4 and 17) 

Particle Physics / QC793.5 (no. 8) 

Mathematical Physics / QC20.7 (no. 18) 

Semiconductor Physics / QC611.6 (no. 19) 

Quantum Theory and Mechanics / QC174.12 (no. 21) 

5.2 Mathematics and Statistics (QA) 

Books in the QA class, covering Mathematics, show very high usage. Mathematics has higher 

circulation numbers than Chemistry, even excluding computer science books, which are also in QA, 

from the Mathematics category. From Table 3, Top Mathematics and Statistics topics include (in rank 

number order): 

Mathematical Statistics, General / QA276 (no. 6) 

Probabilities, General / QA273 (no. 7) 

Nonparametric Methods / QA279 (no. 24) 

Numerical Analysis / QA297 (no. 25) 

Regression and Correlations Analysis / QA278.2 (no. 27) 

Multivariate Analysis / QA278 (no. 30) 

5.3 Chemistry (QD)

The subclass QD for Chemistry is the third most used subclass after Physics and Mathematics. 

Major subject areas of interest are Analytical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physical and 

Theoretical Chemistry. From Table 3, Top Chemistry topics include (in rank number order): 

Spectrum Analysis, Spectroscopy QD96 (no. 1) 

Inorganic Elements / QD181 (no. 10) 

Polymers / QD381, QD381.9 (nos. 12 and 40) 

Atomic and Molecular Theory and Structure / QD461 (no. 16) 

Chromatographic Analysis / QD79.C4-.C8 (no. 31) 

5.4 Engineering/Technology (T) 

The class T accounts for five of the top ten subclasses in Table 2: General Engineering (TA), 

Electrical Engineering (TK pt.1), Mechanical Engineering (TJ), Chemical Technology (TP), and 

Telecommunications (TK pt. 2). Major subject areas of interest are Materials of Engineering, 

Engineering Mathematics, Robotics, and Electronics. From Table 3, top Technology and Engineering 

topics include (in rank number order): 

Polymers as a Material of Engineering / TA455 .P58 (no. 9) 

Semiconductors / TK7871.85 (no. 11) 

Microelectronics / TK7874 (no. 22) 

Special Processes / TP156 (no. 23) 

Metallography / TN690 (no. 33) 

Robotics / TJ211 (no. 34) 
12
13

6. Specific Subjects of Note 

6.1 Spectroscopy 

Spectroscopy was by far the most used subject in the collection when looking at All Books (Table 3). 

It was also important when looking at New Books (Table 4). The number 1 and number 2 ranked call 

numbers for All Books both dealt with spectroscopy. The call number QD96, in the subject area 

Analytical Chemistry, covers special types of spectroscopy including infrared, mass, and nuclear 

magnetic resonance. The call number QC454, in the area of Optics, covers different types of 

spectroscopy such as electron, laser, and molecular. Spectroscopy is a highly used subject area 

both from a Chemistry perspective and from a Physics perspective. 

6.2 Information Technology and Computer Science 

Information Technology and Computer Science account for the most used subjects in the collection 

when looking at New Books (Table 4). They are also very important when looking at All Books 

(Table 3). Two of the top five call numbers for All Books and four of the top five call numbers for New 

Books cover information technology and computer-related topics. These types of topics appear 

frequently throughout Tables 6 and 7, listing most circulated individual titles. C programming 

language books in particular are high-circulating items. From Table 4, the most popular call numbers 

include (in rank number order): 

Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, etc.) / QA76.76 .O63 (no. 1) 

Java / QA76.73 .J38 (no. 2) 

Hypertext Systems (HTML, XML, etc.) / QA76.76 .H94 (no. 3) 

Software Topics (Development, Testing, etc.) / QA76.76 (no. 8) 

Computer Topics (Security, Simulation, Natural Language, etc.) / QA76.9 .A25 (no. 10) 

Database Management / QA76.9 .D3 (no. 11) 

Computer-aided Engineering / TA345 (no. 14) 

Programming Languages, General / QA76.73 (no. 17) 

Computer Graphics / T385 (no. 31) 

Object-oriented Computing / QA76.9 .O35 (no. 35) 

C Programming Languages / QA76.73 .C15 (no. 36) 

Quantum Computing / QA76.889 (no. 40) 

Client/Server Computing / QA76.9 .C55 (no. 42) 

Database Design / QA76.9 .D26 (no. 49) 

Visual Basic / QA76.73 .B3 (no. 50) 

The field of Telecommunications also includes a number of popular IT-related call numbers including 

(in Table 4 rank number order): 

World Wide Web / TK5105.888 (no. 4) 

Signal Processing / TK5203.59 (no. 16) 

TCP/IP / TK5105.585 (no. 29) 

Active Server Pages / TK5105.8885 .A26 (no.30) 
14

6.3 Polymers 

Several high use call numbers deal with the subject of Polymers. This fits with the fact that during the 

period of study the Polymers Division within the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory 

(MSEL) was the division with the highest circulation level among all divisions at NIST.3

 Polymers as a 

topic are covered within several different disciplines, including Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, and 

Engineering. Most prominently in the class Chemistry (QD), Polymers account for 4 of the 17 top call 

numbers shown in Table 5, including (in call number order): 

 

Polymerization and Telomerization / QD281 .P6 

Polymers, General / QD381 

Special Topics (electric properties, solubility, surfaces, rheology, etc.) / QD381.9 

Special Types of Polymers (conductors, crystalline, water-soluble, etc.) / QD382 

Outside Chemistry, Polymers also occur as a facet in other disciplines. Polymers are included as 

subtopics in the following call numbers from Table 5 (in call number order): 

 

Atomic Physics - Matter and Antimatter / QC173.4 

Biomedical Engineering / R857 

Materials of Engineering / TA455 .P58 

Chemical Engineering / TP156) 

6.4 Strategic Focus Areas (SFAs) 

NIST SFAs of Nanotechnology, and Healthcare/Biotechnology are readily apparent in the lists of high 

use topics. From Table 5, they are specifically addressed by the following topics (in call number 

order): 

Biomedical Engineering (R857) 

Biomedical Materials (R857 .M3) 

Nanotechnology (T174.7) 

Nanostructure Materials (TA418.9 .N35) 

Microelectronics (TK7874) 

Microelectromechanical Systems (TK7875) 

Other popular topics with applications in SFA research include (from Table 5, in call number order): 

Surfaces (QC173.4 .S94) 

Quantum Mechanics (QC174.12, QC174.17) 

Solid State Physics (QC176, QC 176.8) 

Spectroscopy (QC454, QD96) 

Semiconductors (QC611, QC611.6, QC612 .S4, TK7871.85) 

Polymers (QD281 .P6, QD381, QD381.9, QD382) 

Scanning Microscopes (QH212 .S3x) 

Biochemistry (QP519.9) 

Robotics (TJ211) 

Control Engineering (TJ213) 

 

3 Based circulation data collected from the NIST Research Library ILS covering fiscal year 2003.
15

7. Emerging Topics of Interest 

Topics that rank among the most popular for New Books (Table 4) but which are not on the list for All 

Books (Table 3) are considered emerging topics of interest. These emerging topics, shown in shade 

on Table 4, include (in rank number order): 

Nanostructure Materials / TA418.9 .N35 (no. 5) 

Nanotechnology / T174.7 (no. 12) 

Bayesian Statistics / QA279.5 (no. 13) 

Signal Processing / TK5102.9 (no. 16) 

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) / TK7875 (no.18) 

TCP/IP / TK5105.585 (no.29) 

Active Server Pages / TK5105.8885 .A26 (no. 30) 

Biomedical Materials / R857 .M3 (no. 33) 

Object-Oriented Computing / QA76.9 .O35 (no. 35) 

Quantum Computing / QA76.889 (no.40) 

Client/Server Computing / QA76.9 .C55 (no.42) 

Carbon as a Material in Engineering / TA455 .C3 (no.43) 

Research, Special Topics (Methodology, Proposal Writing, etc.) / Q180.55 (no.46) 

Polymers, Special Types / QD382 (no. 47) 

Database Design / QA76.9 .D26 (no.49) 

Visual Basic Programming / QA76.73 .B3 (no.50) 

 

Almost all relate directly to the NIST SFAs of Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and 

Information/Knowledge Management. 
16
17

8. Analysis of Most Circulated Individual Titles (Tables 6 

and 7) 

Table 6, Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for All Books, shows individual books with the greatest number 

of total circulation transactions. Total transactions were counted from August 1991 onward, however 

every book circulated at least once between October 2001 and January 2004. Books with subjects 

shown in bold are on topics whose popularity is predicted by appearance on Table 5. Twenty-seven 

of thirty books are in subject areas appearing on Table 5. Twelve of thirty are on specific topics 

appearing on Table 5. Programming, in particular C/C++, accounts for the largest number of most 

circulated books. 

Even though all usage that was counted to produce Table 6 occurred from 1991 onwards, many of 

the books were published substantially before 1991. Many older books continue to circulate 

regularly. These are mostly textbooks. Among the titles that could be considered “classic” textbooks 

are Draper and Smith’s Applied Regression Analysis (Table 6, no. 2), Press’s Numerical Recipes: the 

Art of Scientific Computing (Table 6, no. 5), and Westcott’s pH Measurements (Table 6, no. 16). 

Each of these is currently owned by over 800 libraries in the U.S. according to the WorldCat database 

maintained by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). 

Table 7, Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for New Books (1999-2004), shows individual books published 

in 1999 or later with the greatest number of total circulation transactions. Books with subjects shown 

in bold are on topics whose popularity is predicted by appearance on Table 5. Twenty-eight of thirty 

books are in subjects appearing on Table 5. Fourteen of thirty are on specific topics appearing on 

Table 5. Programming is the most represented area, including Visual Basic, Java, and ObjectOriented. 
18
19

9. Relation to the NIST Research Library Customer Survey 

The fact that 12 594 individual titles circulated within the 28-month period of study proves that the 

book collection is a valuable resource in which NIST should continue to invest. The NIST Research 

Library customer survey conducted in 2001 also supports this conclusion. High use subjects reported 

in the survey were Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, Computers/Information Technology, Materials 

Science, and Mathematics. These are consistent with high use subjects identified in this report. High 

use types of resources in the survey included conference proceedings, textbooks, and technical 

books, all of which are generally part of the book collection and procured with the Library’s book 

budget. These were also reported to be of great value by 50% or more of respondents. However, 

satisfaction with technical books, textbooks and conference proceedings was relatively low. There 

were several comments about the importance of these collections, and about the need for more and 

newer textbooks. The survey report stated that these collections should be improved.4

 Customers 

liked the quality and scope of the Library collection, but felt there were not enough resources. 

In the customer survey, textbooks scored in the “very high use” category. This agrees with the 

findings of this report that shows textbooks are the most circulated items in the Library. The Library 

of Congress has defined textbook as “a work that presents a particular subject in an organized and 

simplified manner and is explicitly intended to be used for the purpose of learning that subject.”5

 The 

Library should purchase textbooks that are rated favorably by Subject Specialists and which support 

NIST research. The Library should also be proactive in checking for the availability of new editions of 

textbooks that have proved popular in the past. 

 

4 E.G. Abels and D.L. Barlow, NIST OIS Customer Survey Report, NIST Office of Information Services, 2002, sect. 6.3.2.

5 Library of Congress, Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings, The Library, Washington, D.C. (2002) p.H2187.
20
21

10. Relation to the Core Journals List 

In 2002, the NIST Research Library developed a core journals list with input from each of the 

divisions in the NIST Laboratories. This core journals list is categorized by subject. To compare to 

this report, the core journal list subjects are most similar to those shown on Table 2, NIST Modified 

Subclasses Ranked by Score. Based on number of titles per category, core journals rank by subject 

as follows: 

1. Engineering (190 of 650 titles) 

2. Physics (175 of 650) 

3. Chemistry (111 of 650) 

4. Materials Science (87 of 650) 

5. Computer Science (85 of 650) 

As shown in Table 2, subclasses rank by circulation as follows: 

1. Physics 

2. Mathematics 

3. Chemistry 

4. General Engineering 

5. Computer Science 

In relation to one another, the two lists roughly correlate but show some differences. Some of these 

differences are attributable to different methods of categorization in the two lists. Table 2 of this study 

used modified LCC subclasses to categorize materials. This method divided Engineering into a 

number of smaller categories: General Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical 

Engineering. The core journals list took all of these together, so it is not surprising that the Core 

Journals category Engineering would rank higher on that list since it was more inclusive than the LCC 

General Engineering category. 

Another difference is with Materials Science, which appears on the core journals list but not on the list 

from Table 2. This can also be attributed to the structure of LCC, which does not have a separate 

breakout subclass for Materials Science. Instead, Materials Science in LCC falls within the General 

Engineering category. 

One difference not attributable to different categorization schemas concerns Mathematics. 

Mathematics stands out strongly as a high use category in this study, but only ranked sixth on the 

core journals list. Clearly, users turn to the Library book collection for information on Mathematics a 

great deal, but it is likely that scientists other than mathematicians do this to support research in other 

areas, rather than as a subject of research itself. Therefore, it is not surprising that few divisions 

considered Mathematics as a “core” research area when it came to the journal collection. 
22
23

11. Recommendations for the Library Approval Plan Profile 

The NIST Research Library currently uses a book approval plan service. Like most plans, the NIST 

plan features two types of notification of newly published works: slip and book. For slip notification, 

the Library receives a brief bibliographic description of the book. Approximately 30 Subject 

Specialists from the NIST Laboratories review the slips and suggest books to order. For book 

notification, the Library receives the actual book automatically, on an “approval” basis, which means it 

can be returned if the Library chooses. The Library’s approval plan profile controls which topics are 

received as slips and which topics are received as books. The profile is structured according to LCC. 

Once the books are reviewed by Subject Specialists, librarians decide which titles to purchase, taking 

into account their knowledge of the NIST Laboratories and input from NIST Strategic Working 

Groups. 

The automatic delivery of books on the approval plan is an important part of the acquisition process. 

Through this method, books that are most pertinent to the research needs of the organization arrive 

without any proactive effort required by Library staff or Subject Specialists. However, in order for the 

approval plan to work as intended, the Library must have a book budget that roughly corresponds to 

the number of books that are sent on approval. When the Library’s book acquisitions drop below 500 

titles per year, the approval plan becomes difficult to operate. If the budget is too small it becomes a 

pointless exercise to receive books automatically only to return the great majority. In fiscal year 2004, 

the Library temporarily suspended automatic delivery due to budget constraints that limited purchases 

to approximately 350 titles. This suspension has continued into fiscal year 2005 due to lack of funds. 

In general, the NIST book approval plan profile is well tailored to the needs of the organization. When 

activated, book notification is currently concentrated in Physics, Chemistry, General Engineering, 

Mechanical Engineering, and Telecommunications. This report suggests the need for the following 

changes to the profile. When book notification is cancelled for a subject, coverage would continue as 

slip notification. 

QA: Mathematics and Computer Science. The Library’s profile is set to receive slip notification only 

across the board. The Library should add book notification coverage for Programming, Software, 

Computing, Mathematical Statistics, and Mathematical Analysis to cover the call numbers listed on 

the report. 

QC: Physics. The profile is set to receive book notification for almost the entire subclass. This 

analysis indicates that the Library should scale back book coverage to only cover the specific tight 

ranges on the report, and convert other ranges to slip notification coverage. Specifically, exclude 

book coverage for QC200s, covering Acoustics and Sound, and QC500s, covering Instruments and 

Apparatus of Electricity. Both ranges had no top call numbers. 

QD: Chemistry. The profile is set to receive book notification for the entire subclass. The Library 

should scale back book coverage to only cover the specific tight ranges on the report, and convert 

other ranges to slip coverage. Due to lack of high circulation, the Library should specifically exclude 

book coverage for QD600-QD899, covering Radiation Chemistry and Photochemistry. 

QP: Biochemistry. Add book notification coverage for QP519.9, Biochemistry Technique. Coverage 

is slip notification only. 

R: Medicine. Add book coverage for R857, Biomedical Engineering. Coverage is slip notification 

only. 

T: Technology and Engineering. The profile has a high rate of book coverage currently. In TH, 

cancel book notification coverage for TH2401-2495 on Roofs. In TJ, cancel book notification 

coverage for TJ940-1030 on Vacuum Technology. Cancel book notification for TK454.4 on 

Electromagnetics. Cancel book notification for numbers in TS on Manufactures. Otherwise keep 

most book notification coverage in TA (General Engineering), TJ (Mechanical Engineering), TK 

(Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications) and TP (Chemical Technology). 
24
25

12. Conclusions 

Through the customer survey and through circulation patterns as shown in this report, Library 

customers have stated that the book collection is an important and highly used resource. This report 

provides an outline of subject areas in which collection development will almost certainly result in 

resources that are highly used and generate substantial return on investment (ROI). These subjects 

include but are not limited to NIST SFAs. They also include many subjects of broad interest to the 

research community, such as spectroscopy, and of practical utility to bench scientists, such as 

computer programming. 

The results of this report suggest that NIST staff use the book collection to learn about topics that 

support their research, such as programming, research methodology, and statistical analysis, as 

much if not more than to learn about their specific areas of expertise. Studies of information use by 

scientists have shown that journals, not books, are the single most important information resource for 

maintaining current awareness in the fields of science and engineering.6

 At NIST, this study suggests 

that the book collection is more likely to be used to investigate fields in which the scientist is less 

familiar, but in which a situational need for more knowledge has occurred. Among the most popular 

books in the collection are a number of classic textbooks, supporting the thesis that the Library should 

view the book collection not only as a resource for subject experts, but also for non-experts coming in 

from outside a discipline to get an introduction to a new topic. In this situation, the customer is 

unlikely to know ahead of time the title of the book they need; therefore interlibrary loan, often cited as 

a partial remedy for shrinking book budgets, is an ineffective option for this customer. 

In recent fiscal years, budget cuts to the Library have made collection development challenging. As 

the Library continues to operate with a limited book budget, it is paramount that titles purchased are 

effective and utilized. The Library’s strategic plan for fiscal year 2005 includes developing a measure 

for new book circulation. In academic libraries, studies have shown that typically as many as 40 % of 

new books do not circulate within the first three to five years on the shelf.7

 If the Library exceeds this 

mark, it would be successful compared to many other institutions. But given that the NIST Research 

Library is focused on the present practical needs of the NIST scientific community, and not on the 

long term research needs of the typical academic community, the Library should aim for a circulation 

rate approaching the 100 % level. Table 4, Top 50 Call Numbers for New Books (1999-2004), shows 

that usage in many areas is very high, but a baseline for circulation of all new acquisitions has not yet 

been established. The Library can aim to achieve high usage of new acquisitions by close monitoring 

of circulation of existing resources by its customers. This study represents one attempt to do such 

monitoring. Repeating this study at frequent intervals would be difficult due to the large volume of 

data. However, similar smaller studies may be conducted more regularly based on periodic “snap 

shots” of circulation showing all materials on loan on a given day. The Library will explore this 

possibility in conjunction with the development of the measurement for new book circulation. 

This report illuminates popular subject areas. High usage rates in many of these subjects, especially 

for new books, shows that the Library’s acquisition program has been successful. Input from Subject 

Specialists and Strategic Working Groups has been effective. The Library has identified what its 

customers are reading and knows what it should be buying. The Library is ready to make sound 

purchasing decisions and to measure its performance. The Library book collection should continue to 

be funded to maintain and improve its current level of success and customer satisfaction. 

 

6 Susan Miller, Information-Seeking Behaviour of Academic Scientists in the Electronic Age: a Literature Review, Canadian 

Research Knowledge Network [web page], http://www.researchknowledge.ca/initiatives/evaluation/LitReview-SusanMiller.pdf

[June 2002].

7 Deborah Blecic, Monograph use at an academic health sciences library: the first three years of shelf life, Bull. Med. Libr. 

Assoc. 88 (2), 145-151 (2000). Larry Hardesty, Use of library materials at a small liberal arts college: a replication, Coll. 

Manage. 10 (3-4), 61-80 (1988). 
26
Table 1 27

Appendix A. Data Tables 

Table 1. LCC Classes Ranked by Score 

LCC Class Scorea

 Total 

Transactions

Total Volumes

1 Q Science 1 256 583.6 151 068 8318

2 T Technology 213 744.9 58 257 3669

3 R Medicine 503.1 2795 180

4 H Social Sciences 441.3 1970 224

5 P Language and Literature 20.6 527 39

6 Z Library Science. Information Resources. 16.6 395 42

7 B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion 13.7 456 30

8 U Military Science 1.8 91 23

9 G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation 1.6 132 12

10 S Agriculture 1.0 61 17

11 J Political Science 0.9 72 13

12 M Music 0.7 100 7

13 K Law 0.2 38 4

14 D History (General). History of Europe 0.1 29 4

15 N Fine Arts 0.1 25 4

16 C Auxiliary Sciences of History 0.1 16 5

17 L Education 0.1 37 2

18 V Naval Science 0.0 4 3

19 A General Works 0.0 10 1

 

a Score = Total Circulation Transactions x Total Circulated Volumes / 1000
Table 2 28

Table 2. NIST Modified Subclasses Ranked by Scorea

Subclassb

 Scorec Total 

Transactions 

Total Volumes

1 QC Physics 161 418.5 53 896 2995

2 QA, pt.1 Mathematics 79 105.9 36 404 2173

3 QD Chemistry 55 626.2 32 473 1713

4 TA Engineering, General 25 683.5 21 191 1212

5 QA, pt.2 Computer Science 9288.1 14 650 634

6 TK, pt.1 Electrical Engineering 4820.8 8578 562

7 TJ Mechanical Engineering 3256.3 6461 504

8 TP, pt.1 Chemical Technology, General 2255.3 6537 345

9 TK, pt.2 Telecommunications 1355.9 4808 282

10 QP, pt.1 Biochemistry 1279.0 5374 238

11 Q Science, General 874.2 3511 249

12 T Technology, General 645.8 3090 209

13 TS Manufactures 490.8 2653 185

14 TN Metallurgy 405.4 2599 156

15 QH, pt.1 Biology, General 189.1 1735 109

16 QH, pt.2 Microscopy 126.6 1666 76

17 R, pt.1 Bioengineering 104.2 1488 70

18 HD Management 95.7 870 110

19 TH Building Construction 43.3 577 75

20 QB Astronomy 31.7 529 60

21 HF Commerce 31.2 547 57

22 TD Environmental Technology 27.6 673 41

23 QE Geology 15.3 478 32

24 QP, pt.2 Physiology, General 9.7 304 32

25 TP, pt.2 Biotechnology 9.6 371 26

26 RC-RF Medicine, Specialties 9.5 450 21

27 BF Psychology 8.6 391 22

28 TL, pt.1 Aeronautics and Astronautics 8.0 268 30

29 RM-RS Pharmacology 7.9 374 21

30 RA, pt.1 Toxicology 7.1 173 41

31 H, HA Statistics 5.3 250 21

 

a

 Some LCC subclasses were divided and others combined based on local practice and terminology. b

 Includes subclasses scoring 5 or higher 

c

 Score = Total Circulation Transactions x Total Circulated Volumes / 1000
Table 3 

Table 3. Top 100 Call Numbers for All Books Ranked by Score 

Rank Scorea Subject Area Topic Call Numberb Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

1 550.3 Analytical Chemistry Spectrum Analysis, Special QD96 3693 149 2 344.6 Optics. Light Spectroscopy, Special QC454 2692 128 3 327.8 

Computers and Special Computing 

Computer Topics: Security, Client/Server, Simulation, Natural Language, etc. QA76.9c 2325 141 

4 281.1 Atomic Physics Solids. Solid State Physics QC176.8d 2037 138 5 172.1 Programming C Programming Languages (C, C++, C#) QA76.73 .C15x 2822 61 6 156.9 Mathematical Statistics Mathematical Statistics, General QA276 1846 85 7 109.9 Probabilities Probabilities, General QA273 1616 68 8 109.7 Nuclear Physics 

Special Particles, Antiparticles, Families of Particles QC793.5 1407 78 

9 104.8 Materials of Engineering Polymers TA455 .P58 1691 62 10 103.1 Inorganic Chemistry Special Inorganic Elements QD181 1375 75 11 95.8 Electronics Semiconductors TK7871.85 1330 72 12 85.1 Organic Chemistry Polymers. Macromolecules, General QD381 1606 53 13 84.3 Programming Programming Languages QA76.73e 1533 55 14 82.2 Biochemistry 

Biochemistry Technique. Analytical Biochemistry, Special. QP519.9 1394 59 

15 81.8 Biomedical Engineering 

Bioengineering Topics: Biosensors, Materials, Polymers, etc. R857 1320 62 

16 80.4 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry 

Atomic and Molecular Theory and Structure QD461 1148 70 

a Score = Total Circulation Transactions x Total Circulated Volumes / 1000 b Underlined Call Numbers represent numbers that further subdivide into multiple topics. Sample subtopics shown in Table 5 c Except QA76.9 .D3 (Database Management) which qualified for scoring independently. d Except QC176.8 .E4 (Electronic States) which qualified for scoring independently. e Except QA76.73 .C15 (C Languages) and .J38 (Java) which qualified for scoring independently.
Table 3 

Rank Score Subject Area Specific Topic Call Number Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

17 69.9 Atomic Physics Solid State Physics, General QC176 1227 57 18 69.4 Mathematical Physics Mathematical Physics, Special QC20.7 1036 67 19 60.1 Electricity Semiconductor Physics, Special QC611.6 1202 50 20 58.0 Biochemistry Proteins QP551 1234 47 21 56.6 Atomic Physics Quantum Theory & Mechanics, General QC174.12 871 65 22 55.9 Electronics Microelectronics TK7874 1036 54 23 55.9 Chemical Engineering Special Processes & Operations TP156 998 56 24 52.7 Mathematical Statistics Nonparametric Methods QA279 1053 50 25 52.3 Mathematical Analysis Numerical Analysis QA297 968 54 26 52.1 Programming Java Language QA76.73 .J38 1211 43 27 49.2 Mathematical Statistics Regression & Correlations Analysis QA278.2 1144 43 28 47.9 Atomic Physics Statistical Physics, General QC174.8 1114 43 29 47.8 Atomic Physics Matter and Antimatter, Spec. QC173.4f 1038 46 30 46.9 Mathematical Statistics Multivariate Analysis QA278 938 50 31 46.6 Analytical Chemistry Chromatographic Analysis 

 QD79 .C4 - QD79 .C8 991 47 

32 44.4 Optics. Light Optics, General 

 QC355 - QC355.2 1199 37 

33 43.9 Metallography Metallography, General TN690 1097 40 34 40.0 

Robotics and Automatic Machinery 

Robotics and Automatic Machinery, General TJ211 728 55 

35 38.7 Software 

Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, Unix) QA76.76 .O63 944 41 

36 38.1 Applied Optics Optical Data Processing TA1632 976 39 37 37.8 Atomic Physics Quantum Theory & Mechanics, Special QC174.17 756 50 38 34.7 Software Software Topics QA76.76g 722 45 

f Except QC173.4 .S94 (Surfaces) which qualified for scoring independently.g Except QA76.76 .E95 (Expert Systems), .H94 (Hypertext Systems) and .O63 (Operating Systems) which qualified for scoring independently.
Table 3 

Rank Score Subject Area Specific Topic Call Number Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

39 33.8 Probabilities Markov Processes & Chains QA274.7x 845 40 40 32.2 Organic Chemistry 

Polymers. Macromolecules, Special Topics QD381.9 895 36 

41 32.1 Electronics Apparatus and Materials TK7872 583 55 42 31.2 Probabilities Distributions. QA273.6 822 38 43 30.3 Heat Heat Transfer QC320 948 32 44 29.6 Telecommunication Telecommunication, Special TK5102.5 988 30 45 29.4 Mathematical Analysis Control Theory QA402.3x 577 51 46 28.3 Analytical Mechanics Elasticity. Plasticity QA931 808 35 47 28.0 Mathematical Analysis Mathematical Optimization. Programming QA402.5 609 46 48 27.8 Applied Optics Image Processing TA1637 795 35 49 27.4 Mechanical Drawing Computer Graphics T385 762 36 50 27.4 Electronics Materials, Special TK7871.15 831 33 51 27.1 Materials of Engineering Composite Materials TA418.9 .C6 661 41 52 26.2 

Control Engineering Systems Control Engineering Systems, General TJ213 494 53 

53 26.0 Heat Thermodynamics QC311 684 38 54 24.8 Crystallography Crystal Structure and Growth QD921 637 39 55 24.8 Algebra Group Theory QA171 605 41 56 24.5 Optics. Light Nonlinear & Quantum Optics QC446.2 790 31 57 24.4 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Surface Chemistry QD506 764 32 

58 23.2 Atomic Physics Quantum Field Theory QC174.45 539 43 59 22.5 Microscopy Scanning Microscopes QH212 .S3x 704 32 60 22.0 Analytical Mechanics Fluid Dynamics. Hydraulics QA911 687 32 61 21.6 

Computers and Special Computing Neural Computers & Networks QA76.87 721 30 

62 21.3 Mathematical Statistics Time Series Analysis QA280 644 33 

63 20.7 Radiation Physics X-Rays & Roentgen Rays QC482 738 28 
Table 3 

Rank Score Subject Area Specific Topic Call Number Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

64 20.1 

Mechanics of Engineering Applied Fluid Mechanics TA357 772 26 

65 19.8 Atomic Physics Electronic States QC176.8 .E4 599 33 66 18.5 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Chemical Reactions QD501 543 34 

67 18.4 Analytical Chemistry Analytical Chemistry, Special QD75.4 736 25 68 17.7 Cybernetics Artificial Intelligence Q335 507 35 69 17.7 Materials of Engineering Nonmetallic Materials TA455h 571 31 70 17.7 Geometry Topology QA611 491 36 71 17.5 Materials of Engineering Surface Effects and Tests TA418.7 731 24 72 17.3 Machinery Tribology. Lubrication and Friction TJ1075 642 27 73 17.3 Atomic Physics Matter and Antimatter, General QC173 596 29 74 17.0 Crystallography X-Ray Crystallography QD945 630 27 75 16.8 Mathematical Analysis Differential Equations QA371 509 33 76 16.8 Software Hypertext Systems (Inc. HTML & XML) QA76.76 .H94 670 25 77 16.7 

Computers and Special Computing Database Management QA76.9 .D3 575 29 

78 16.3 Atomic Physics Statistical Physics, Special QC174.85 563 29 79 16.3 Telecommunication Optical Communications TK5103.59 604 27 80 16.3 Magnetism Magnetism, General 

 QC753 - QC753.2 652 25 

81 16.0 Telecommunication World Wide Web TK5105.888 484 33 82 15.6 Electricity Semiconductors QC612 .S4 489 32 83 15.5 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry , General 

 QD453 - QD453.2 500 31 

84 15.2 Chemistry Chemistry, Special Topics QD39.3 491 31 

h Except TA455 .P58 (Polymers) which qualified for scoring independently.
Table 3 

Rank Score Subject Area Specific Topic Call Number Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

85 15.2 

Engineering Mathematics 

Finite Element Method of Problem Solving TA347 .F5 585 26 

86 14.6 Electricity Electromagnetic Theory QC670 442 33 87 14.4 Materials of Engineering Failure of Materials. TA409 464 31 88 14.3 Electricity Semiconductor Physics, General QC611 509 28 89 13.9 Mathematical Analysis Partial Differential Equations QA377 385 36 90 13.8 Organic Chemistry Polymerization. Telomerization. QD281 .P6 532 26 91 13.8 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Quantum Chemistry QD462 494 28 

92 13.1 Telecommunication Computer Networks TK5105.5 505 26 93 12.6 Probabilities Stochastic Analysis QA274.2x 466 27 94 12.4 Mathematical Analysis System Analysis QA402 460 27 95 12.4 Software Expert Systems QA76.76 .E95 459 27 96 11.9 

Engineering Mathematics 

Computer-Aided Engineering. Data Processing. TA345 459 26 

97 11.9 Electricity Superconductivity Physics, Spec. QC612i 497 24 98 11.5 Nuclear Physics Elementary Particle Physics QC793.3 409 28 99 11.5 Atomic Physics Surfaces QC173.4 .S94 458 25 100 11.0 Physicists Biographies Individual Biographies QC16 345 32 

i Except QC612 .S4 (Semiconductors) which qualified for scoring independently.
Table 4 

Table 4. Top 50 Call Numbers for New Books (1999-2004) Ranked by Score 

Rank Scorea Subject Area Specific Topicb Call Numberc Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

1 100.3 Software Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, Unix) QA76.76 .O63 418 24 2 98.7 Programming Java Language QA76.73 .J38 429 23 3 29.7 Software Hypertext Systems (Inc. HTML & XML) QA76.76 .H94 270 11 4 26.8 Telecommunication World Wide Web TK5105.888 149 18 5 26.2 Materials of Engineering Nanostructure Materials TA418.9 .N35 164 16 6 24.1 Atomic Physics Solids. Solid State Physics. Special QC176.8 134 18 7 17.9 Atomic Physics Quantum Theory & Mechanics, General QC174.12 138 13 8 15.6 Software Software Topics, Special QA76.76d 120 13 9 13.5 Analytical Chemistry Spectrum Analysis, Special QD96 123 11 10 13.4 

Computers and Special Computing Computer Topics, Special QA76.9e 103 13 

11 12.8 

Computers and Special Computing Database Management QA76.9 .D3 128 10 

12 12.2 Technology, General Nanotechnology T174.7 111 11 13 12.0 Mathematical Statistics Bayesian Statistics QA279.5 133 9 14 11.7 

Engineering Mathematics 

Computer-Aided Engineering. Data Processing. TA345 130 9 

15 11.4 Electronics Semiconductors TK7871.85 95 12 16 11.4 Telecommunication Signal Processing TK5102.9 142 8 17 10.8 Programming Programming Languages QA76.73f 154 7 a Score = Total Circulation Transactions x Total Circulated Volumes / 100 b Specific Topics shown in shade are topics that did not appear in the list of Top 100 Call Numbers for All Books. These should be considered emerging 

community in the period 1999-2004. c Underlined Call Numbers represent numbers that further subdivide into multiple topics. Sample subtopics shown in Table 5. d Except QA76.76 .H94 (Hypertext Systems) and .O63 (Operating Systems) which qualified for scoring independently. e Except QA76.9 .C55 (Client/Server), .D26 (Database Design), .D3 (Database Management), and .O35 (Object-Oriented Methods) which qualified for sc

f Except QA76.73 .C15x (C Languages), .B3 (Visual Basic), and .J38 (Java) which qualified for scoring independently.
Table 4 

Rank Score Subject Area Specific Topic Call Number Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

T

V

18 10.3 Electronics Microelectromechanical Systems TK7875 79 13 19 9.2 

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical Engineering, General R857g 132 7 

20 8.5 Atomic Physics Matter and Antimatter, Special QC173.4 94 9 21 8.3 Applied Optics Image Processing TA1637 75 11 22 7.8 Optics. Light Nonlinear & Quantum Optics QC446.2 98 8 23 7.5 Optics. Light Spectroscopy, Special QC454 83 9 24 7.1 

Materials of Engineering Materials of Special Composition TA418.9h 71 10 

25 6.3 Mathematical Statistics Nonparametric Methods QA279 79 8 26 5.8 Atomic Physics Statistical Physics, Special QC174.85 83 7 27 5.6 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Quantum Chemistry QD462 111 5 

28 5.3 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry , General 

QD453 - QD453.2 106 5 

29 5.3 Telecommunication TCP/IP TK5105.585 88 6 30 5.3 Telecommunication Active Server Pages 

 TK5105.8885 .A26 75 7 

31 5.1 Mechanical Drawing Computer Graphics T385 73 7 32 4.9 Optics. Light Optics, General QC355.2 122 4 33 4.9 

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical Materials R857 .M3 97 5 

34 4.8 Organic Chemistry Polymers. Macromolecules, Special QD381.9 80 6 35 4.8 

Computers and Special Computing Object Oriented Methods QA76.9 .O35 95 5 

36 4.6 Programming C Programming Languages (C, C++, C#) 

 QA76.73 .C15x 57 8 

37 4.5 Biochemistry Proteins QP551 113 4 38 4.4 Analytical Chemistry Methods of Analysis QD79 73 6 g Except R857 .M3 (Biomedical Materials) which qualified for scoring independently. h Except TA418.9 .N35 (Nanostructure Materials) which qualified for scoring independently.
Table 4 

Rank Score Subject Area Specific Topic Call Number Circ. 

Transactions

Circulated 

Vols. 

T

V

39 4.3 

Materials of Engineering Polymers TA455 .P58 86 5 

40 4.3 Computers Quantum Computers QA76.889 85 5 41 4.2 Electronics Microelectronics TK7874 70 6 42 4.1 Computers Client/Server Computing QA76.9 .C55 82 5 43 4.1 

Materials of Engineering Carbon TA455 .C3 58 7 

44 4.1 Probabilities Probabilities, General QA273 81 5 45 3.9 Machinery Tribology. Lubrication and Friction TJ1075 78 5 46 3.8 Science Research Research, Special Topics Q180.55 63 6 47 3.8 Organic Chemistry Polymers, Special Types QD382 63 6 48 3.8 

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry 

Atomic and Molecular Theory and Structure QD461 63 6 

49 3.7 

Computers and Special Computing Database Design QA76.9 .D26 92 4 

50 3.5 Programming Visual Basic QA76.73 .B3 116 3 
Table 5 

Table 5. Top Call Numbers Arranged by Call Number 

Call Numbera Rankb Subject Area Specific Topic 

 Q180.55 46n Science Research Special Topics in Research (Methodology, Statisti

Proposal Writing, etc.)

 Q335 68a Cybernetics Artificial Intelligence  QA76.73 13a, 17n Programming Programming Languages (Fortran, Basic, SQL, et QA76.73 .B3 50n Programming Visual Basic  QA76.73 .C15x 5a, 36n Programming C Programming Languages (C, C++, C#)  QA76.73 .J38 26a, 2n Programming Java Language  QA76.76 38a, 8n Software Software Topics (Development, Software Testing, W QA76.76 .E95 95a Software Expert Systems  QA76.76 .H94 76a, 3n Software Hypertext Systems (Includes HTML & XML)  QA76.76 .O63 35a, 1n Software Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, Unix)  QA76.87 61a Computers and Special Computing Neural Computers & Networks  QA76.889 40n Computers and Special Computing Quantum Computers  QA76.9 3a, 10n Computers and Special Computing Computer Topics (Security/Access Control, Client/S

Natural Language, etc.)

 QA76.9 .C55 42n Computers and Special Computing Client/Server Computing  QA76.9 .D26 49n Computers and Special Computing Database Design  QA76.9 .D3 77a, 11n Computers and Special Computing Database Management  QA76.9 .O35 35n Computers and Special Computing Object-Oriented Methods  QA171 55a Algebra Group Theory  QA273 7a, 44n Probabilities Probabilities, General  QA273.6 42a Probabilities Distributions.  QA274.2 - QA274.28 93a Probabilities Stochastic Analysis  QA274.7x 39a Probabilities Markov Processes & Chains  QA276 6a Mathematical Statistics Mathematical Statistics, General  QA278 30a Mathematical Statistics Multivariate Analysis  QA278.2 27a Mathematical Statistics Regression & Correlations Analysis a Underlined Call Numbers represent numbers that further subdivide into subtopics. Sample subtopics are listed in parentheses following Specific Topic.b In the column Rank, the numbers followed by “a” represent the ranking in Table 3 for All Books, and numbers followed by “n” represent the ranking in Ta
Table 5 

Call Number Rank Subject Area Specific Topic 

 QA279 24a, 25n Mathematical Statistics Nonparametric Methods  QA279.5 13n Mathematical Statistics Bayesian Statistics  QA280 62a Mathematical Statistics Time Series Analysis  QA297 25a Mathematical Analysis Numerical Analysis  QA371 75a Mathematical Analysis Differential Equations  QA377 89a Mathematical Analysis Partial Differential Equations  QA402 94a Mathematical Analysis System Analysis  QA402.3x 45a Mathematical Analysis Control Theory  QA402.5 47a Mathematical Analysis Mathematical Optimization. Programming  QA611 70a Geometry Topology  QA911 60a Analytic Mechanics Fluid Dynamics. Hydraulics  QA931 46a Analytic Mechanics Elasticity. Plasticity  QC16 100a Physicists Biographies Individual Biographies (Einstein, Heisenberg, Kelvi QC20.7 17a Mathematical Physics Mathematical Physics, Special (Density Function

Geometry, Spinor Analysis, Group Theory, etc.)

 QC173 73a Atomic Physics Matter and Antimatter, General  QC173.4 29a, 20n Atomic Physics Matter and Antimatter, Special (Condensed Matte

Phenomena, etc.)

 QC173.4 .S94 99a Atomic Physics Surfaces  QC174.12 21a, 7n Atomic Physics Quantum Theory & Mechanics, General  QC174.17 37a Atomic Physics Quantum Theory & Mechanics, Special (Chao

Logic, Path Integrals, Many-Body Problem, etc.)

 QC174.45 58a Atomic Physics Quantum Field Theory  QC174.8 28a Atomic Physics Statistical Physics, General  QC174.85 78a, 26n Atomic Physics Statistical Physics, Special (Monte Carlo Method,  QC176 16a Atomic Physics Solids, Solid State Physics. General  QC176.8 6n Atomic Physics Solids, Solid State Physics. Special (Optical Pro

Effects, Nanostructures, etc.)

 QC176.8 .E4 65a Atomic Physics Electronic States  QC311 53a Heat Thermodynamics  QC320 43a Heat Heat Transfer 
Table 5 

Call Number Rank Subject Area Specific Topic 

 QC355 - QC355.2 32a, 32n Optics. Light Optics, General  QC446.2 56a, 22n Optics. Light Nonlinear & Quantum Optics  QC454 2a, 23n Optics. Light Spectroscopy, Special (Atomic, Electron, Laser, Mo QC482 63a Radiation Physics X-Rays & Roentgen Rays (Diffraction, Spectrosco QC611 88a Electricity Semiconductor Physics, General  QC611.6 18a Electricity Semiconductor Physics, Special (Defects, Hot C

Effects, Surface Properties, etc.)

 QC612 97a Electricity Superconductivity Physics, Special  QC612 .S4 82a Electricity Semiconductors  QC670 86a Electricity Electromagnetic Theory  QC753 - QC753.2 80a Magnetism Magnetism, General  QC793.3 98a Nuclear Physics Elementary Particle Physics (Angular Momentum

Structure, etc.)

 QC793.5 8a Nuclear Physics Special Particles, Antiparticles, Families of Pa

Neutrons, Photons, etc.)

 QD39.3 84a Chemistry Chemistry, Special Topics (Mathematics, Statistica

Analysis, Cheminformatics, etc.)

 QD75.4 67a Analytical Chemistry Analytical Chemistry, Special (Quality Control, St

Electronic Data Processing, etc.)

 QD79 38n Analytical Chemistry Methods of Analysis (Instrumental Analysis, Therma QD79 .Cx 31a Analytical Chemistry Chromatographic Analysis  QD96 1a, 9n Analytical Chemistry Spectrum Analysis, Special Types of Spectro

(Spectroscopy: Fluorescence, Fourier Transform, InfrareMagnetic Resonance)

 QD181 10a Inorganic Chemistry Special Inorganic Elements (Carbon, Oxides, Silic QD281 .P6 90a Organic Chemistry Polymerization. Telomerization.  QD381 12a Organic Chemistry Polymers. Macromolecules, General  QD381.9 40a, 34n Organic Chemistry Polymers. Macromolecules, Special Topics (E

Rheology, Solubility, Surfaces, etc.)

 QD382 47n Organic Chemistry Polymers. Macromolecules, Special Types (C

Crystalline, Water-Soluble, etc.)

 QD453 - QD453.2 83a, 28n Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, General  QD461 16a, 48n Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Atomic and Molecular Theory and Structure 
Table 5 

Call Number Rank Subject Area Specific Topic 

 QD462 91a, 27n Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Quantum Chemistry  QD501 66a Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Chemical Reactions  QD506 57a Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Surface Chemistry  QD921 54a Crystallography Crystal Structure and Growth  QD945 74a Crystallography X-Ray Crystallography  QH212 .S3x 59a Microscopy Scanning Microscopes  QP519.9 14a Biochemistry Biochemistry Technique. Analytical Biochemi

(Affinity Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry, SpectroscMagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, etc.)

 QP551 19a, 37n Biochemistry Proteins  R857 15a, 19n Biomedical Engineering Biomedical Engineering (Biosensors, Biomedical M

etc.)

 R857 .M3 33n Biomedical Engineering Biomedical Materials  T174.7 12n Technology, General Nanotechnology  T385 49a, 31n Mechanical Drawing Computer Graphics  TA345 96a, 14n Engineering Mathematics Computer-Aided Engineering. Data Processin TA347 .F5 85a Engineering Mathematics Finite Element Method of Problem Solving  TA357 64a Mechanics of Engineering Applied Fluid Mechanics  TA409 87a Materials of Engineering Failure of Materials.  TA418.7 71a Materials of Engineering Surface Effects and Tests  TA418.9 24n Materials of Engineering Materials of Special Composition (Nanostructure 

Composite Materials, Smart Materials, etc.)

 TA418.9 .C6 51a Materials of Engineering Composite Materials  TA418.9 .N35 5n Materials of Engineering Nanostructure Materials  TA455 69a Materials of Engineering Nonmetallic Materials (Carbon, Ceramics, Plastics,  TA455 .C3 43n Materials of Engineering Carbon  TA455 .P58 9a, 39n Materials of Engineering Polymers  TA1632 36a Applied Optics Optical Data Processing  TA1637 48a, 21n Applied Optics Image Processing 
Table 5 

Call Number Rank Subject Area Specific Topic 

 TJ211 34a Robotics and Automatic Machinery Mechanical Devices. Automata. Robots, Gen TJ213 52a Robotics and Automatic Machinery Control Engineering Systems  TJ1075 72a, 45n Machinery Tribology. Lubrication and Friction  TK5102.5 44a Telecommunication Telecommunication, Special (Digital Signal P TK5102.9 16n Telecommunication Signal Processing  TK5103.59 79a Telecommunication Optical Communications  TK5105.5 92a Telecommunication Computer Networks, General  TK5105.585 29n Telecommunication TCP/IP  TK5105.888 81a, 4n Telecommunication World Wide Web  TK5105.8885 .A26 30n Telecommunication Active Server Pages  TK7871.15 50a Electronics Materials, Special (Ceramic Materials, Gallium, Silic TK7871.85 11a, 15n Electronics Semiconductors  TK7872 41a Electronics Apparatus and Materials  TK7874 22a, 41n Electronics Microelectronics  TK7875 18n Electronics Microelectromechanical Systems  TN690 33a Metallography Metallography, General  TP156 23a Chemical Engineering Special Processes & Operations (Coating, Emul

Polymerization, etc.)
Table 6 

Table 6. Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for All Books 

Rank Transactions Title Call Numbera Subject Area -- Specif

1 157 The Waite Group's C++ programming / 

John Thomas Berry. 

QA76.73 .C15 B47 

1992 

Programming -- C/C++ Language 

2 155 

Applied regression analysis / N.R. Draper, 

H. Smith. 

QA278.2 .D7 1981 Mathematical Statistics -- Regression 

Analysis 

3 143 Probability and measure / Patrick 

Billingsley. 

QA273 .B575 1979 Probabilities -- Probabilities, General 

4 140 The C programming language / Brian W. 

Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie. 

QA76.73 .C15 K47 

1988 

Programming -- C/C++ Language 

5 138 Numerical recipes : the art of scientific 

computing / William H. Press ... [et al.]. 

QA297 .N866 1986 Mathematical Analysis -- Numerical A

6 135 Diffusion and heat transfer in chemical 

kinetics [by] David A. Frank-Kamenetskii. Translation editor: John P. Appleton. 

 QD543 .F6413 1969 Physical and Theoretical Chemistry -

etc. 

7 130 Magnetochemistry / by Pierce W. 

Selwood. 

 QD591 .S45 1956 Physical and Theoretical Chemistry -

8 121 The C book, featuring the draft ANSI C 

standard / Mike Banahan. 

QA76.73 .C15 B36 

1988 

Programming -- C/C++ Language 

9 120 Rheological techniques / R. W. Whorlow. QC189.5 .W48 1980 Atomic Physics -- Rheology 

10 119 C, a reference manual / Samuel P. 

Harbison, Guy L. Steele, Jr. 

QA76.73 .C15 H38 

1991 

Programming -- C/C++ Language 

11 117 The fast Fourier transform [by] E. Oran 

Brigham. 

 QA403 .B74 1974 Mathematical Analysis -- Harmonic An

12 116 Elsevier's dictionary of science and 

technology. Russian-English / compiled by G. Chakalov. 

 Q123 .C4817 1993 Science --Dictionaries 

13 116 Ion bombardment modification of surfaces 

: fundamentals and applications / edited by Orlando Auciello, Roger Kelly. 

TA418.7 .I65 1984 Materials of Engineering -- Surface Ef

14 115 Mathematical methods for physicists / 

George Arfken. 

 QA37.2 .A74 1970 Mathematics--Textbooks 

15 115 Neutron diffraction / by G. E. Bacon. QC793.5 .N4628 B3 

1975 

Nuclear Physics -- Special Particles, of Particles

16 111 pH measurements / C. Clark Westcott. QD561 .W52 1978 Physical and Theoretical Chemistry -

and Ionization 

17 110 Polymers and neutron scattering / Julia S. 

Higgins and Henri C. Benoit. 

 QC173.4 .P65 H54 1994 

Atomic Physics -- Polymers, Propertie

a Call numbers shown in bold are those that appeared on the list of Top Call Numbers in Table 5. b Subject Divisions and Specific Topics shown in bold are those that appeared on the list of Top Call Numbers in Table 5.
Table 6 

Rank Transactions Title Call Number Subject Area – Specif

18 109 Programmer's guide to Fortran 90 / 

Walter S. Brainerd, Charles H. Goldberg, Jeanne C. Adams. 

QA76.73 .F25 B72 

1990 

Programming -- Fortran 

19 109 Glow discharge processes : sputtering 

and plasma etching / Brian Chapman. 

 QC702.7 .P6 C48 1980 C.2 

Electricity -- Positive Ions 

20 108 Introduction to matrix computations [by] 

G. W. Stewart. 

 QA188 .S7 1973 Algebra -- Matrices 

21 107 The theory of atomic structure and 

spectra / Robert D. Cowan. 

QC173 .C693 1981 Atomic Physics -- Matter and Antima

22 107 Handbook of optics / sponsored by the 

Optical Society of America ; Walter G. Driscoll, editor, William Vaughan, associate editor. 

 QC369 .H35 1978 Optics. Light -- Handbooks 

23 105 Viscosity of polymer solutions / Miloslav 

Bohdanecky and Josef Kovar. 

 QD381.8 .B63 1982 Organic Chemistry -- Polymers 

24 105 Secondary ion mass spectrometry : basic 

concepts, instrumental aspects, applications, and trends / A. Benninghoven, F.G. Rudenauer, H.W. Werner. 

 QD96 .S43 B46 1987 Analytical Chemistry -- Spectrum Ana

25 105 Particle size measurement / Terence 

Allen. 

 TA418.8 .A43 1990 Materials of Engineering -- Particle Siz

26 104 The C programming language / Brian W. 

Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie. 

QA76.73 .C15 K47 

1988 

Programming -- C/C++ Language 

27 104 Transport phenomena / R. Byron Bird, 

Warren E. Stewart, Edwin N. Lightfoot. 

 QA929 .B5 1960 Analytic Mechanics -- Fluid Dynamics 

28 104 Fundamentals of heat transfer / Frank P. 

Incropera, David P. DeWitt. 

QC320 .I45 1981 Heat -- Heat Transfer 

29 104 An introduction to crystal chemistry / by 

R.C. Evans. 

 QD905 .E83 1964 Crystallography -- General Works 

30 104 The properties of gases and liquids / 

Robert C. Reid, John M. Prausnitz, Thomas K. Sherwood. 

 TP242 .R4 1977 Chemicals -- Gases 
Table 7 

Table 7. Top 30 Most Circulated Titles for New Books (1999-2004) 

Rank Transactions Title Call Numbera Subject Area – Speci

1 65 Beginning Visual basic SQL server 7.0 / 

Thearon Willis. 

QA76.9 .C55 W53 2000 

Computer Systems and Spc. CompComputing 

2 62 UML distilled : a brief guide to the standard 

object modeling language / Martin Fowler with Kendall Scott ; [foreword by Grady Booch, Ivar Jacobson, and James Rumbaugh]. 

QA76.9 .O35 F694 2000 

Computer Systems and Spc. CompMethods 

3 60 Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 / 

Francesco Balena ; [foreword by James Fawcette]. 

QA76.73 .B3 B345 1999 

Programming -- Visual Basic 

4 57 Introduction to superstrings and M-theory / 

Michio Kaku. 

QC794.6 .S85 K35 1999 

Nuclear Physics -- String Models

5 55 Object-oriented software development in 

Java: principles, patterns, and frameworks / Xiaoping Jia. 

QA76.64 .J53 2000 Programming -- Object-Oriented Prog

6 54 Organic chemistry. QD253 .S65 2000 Organic Chemistry -- Textbooks 7 53 Introduction to surface and thin film 

processes / John A. Venables. 

QC176.83 .V46 2000 Atomic Physics – Thin Films 

8 52 Free boundary problems : theory and 

applications / I. Athanasopoulos, G. Makrakis, J.F. Rodrigues, editors. 

TA347 .B69 F743 1999 

Engineering Mathematics – Bounda

9 50 Mastering database programming with 

Visual Basic 6 / Evangelos Petroutsos. 

QA76.73 .B3 P49 2000 

Programming -- Visual Basic 

10 50 Joe Celko's SQL for smarties : advanced 

SQL programming / Joe Celko. 

QA76.73 .S67 C44 2000 

Programming -- SQL Programming 

11 49 LabVIEW applications and solutions / 

Rahman Jamal, Herbert Pichlik. 

Q185 .J36 1999 Science Instruments and Apparatus -- 

12 49 XML and Java: developing Web 

applications / Hiroshi Maruyama, Kent Tamura, Naohiko Uramoto. 

QA76.76 .H94 M28 1999 

Software -- Hypertext Systems 

13 49 Colossal magnetoresistive oxides / edited 

by Yoshinori Tokura. 

QC610.7 .C653 2000 Electricity -- Magnetoresistance 

14 48 Java look and feel design guidelines / Sun 

Microsystems, Inc. 

QA76.73 .J38 J373 

2001 

Programming -- Java Language 

15 46 Radiation detection and measurement / 

Glenn F. Knoll. 

QC787 .C6 K56 2000 Nuclear Physics -- Counters (Instrum

a Call numbers shown in bold are those that appeared on the list of Top Call Numbers in Table 5. b Subject Divisions and Specific Topics shown in bold are those that appeared on the list of Top Call Numbers in Table 5.
Table 7 

Rank Transactions Title Call Number Subject Area – Specifi

16 46 Introduction to high energy physics / 

Donald H. Perkins. 

QC793.2 .P47 2000 Nuclear Physics -- Elementary Particle 

17 46 Handbook of property estimation methods 

for environmental chemicals : environmental and health sciences / [edited by] Robert S. Boethling, Donald Mackay. 

QD271 .H3186 2000 Organic Chemistry -- Organic Analysis

18 46 Circular dichroism : principles and 

applications / edited by Nina Berova, Koji Nakanishi, Robert W. Woody. 

QD473 .C57 2000 Physical and Theoretical Chemistry -

Relation to Structure 

19 46 Handbook of biomaterials evaluation: 

scientific, technical, and clinical testing of implant materials / editor, Andreas F. von Recum. 

R857 .M3 H35 1999 Biomedical Engineering -- Biomedica

20 45 Guide to Linux installation and 

administration / Nicholas Wells with Michael Jang. 

QA76.76 .O63 W45 

2000 

Software -- Operating Systems (Wind

21 45 Chemical-mechanical polishing--

fundmentals and materials issues : symposium held ... 

TS654.5 .C48 2000 Metal Manufactures -- Electrolytic Polish

22 44 Designing flexible object-oriented systems 

with UML / Charles Richter. 

QA76.64 .R535 1999 Programming -- Object-oriented progra

23 44 Java programming : advanced topics / Joe 

Wigglesworth and Paula Lumby. 

QA76.73 .J38 W54 

2000 

Programming -- Java Language 

24 44 Principles of optics : electromagnetic 

theory of propagation, interference and diffraction of light / Max Born and Emil Wolf ; with contributions by A.B. Bhatia ... [et al.]. 

QC355.2 .B67 1999 Optics. Light -- Optics, General 

25 44 Quantum chemistry : fundamentals to 

applications / Tams Veszpremi and Miklos Feher. 

QD462 .V48 1999 Physical and Theoretical Chemistry 

26 44 Principles and techniques of practical 

biochemistry / edited by Keith Wilson and John Walker. 

QP519.7 .P75 2000 Biochemistry -- Biochemistry Techniqu

Biochemistry, Gen.

27 43 Condensed matter physics / Michael P. 

Marder. 

QC173.454 .M37 2000 

Atomic Physics -- Condensed Matter 

28 43 Time-frequency/time scale analysis / 

Patrick Flandrin ; translated from the French by Joachim Stockler. 

TK5102.9 .F5513 1999 

Telecommunication -- Signal Process
Table 7 

Rank Transactions Title Call Number Subject Area – Specif

29 42 The pragmatic programmer : from 

journeyman to master / Andrew Hunt, David Thomas ; [foreword by Ward Cunningham]. 

QA76.6 .H857 2000 Programming -- Programming, Gene

30 42 Rapid application development with Visual 

Basic 6 / David McMahon. 

QA76.76 .A65 M425 2000 

Software -- Application Software