Library and Information Science

Statistical analyses of library data in Japan are generally of deficiencies. Although special libraries in Japan have been active, even the average sizes of staff, collection and expenditure for library materials have never been calculated.

Using data assembled in the Directory of Special Libraries (in Japan) 1976, the author calculates the average size of staff, collection and expenditure of library materials, and also analyses the classification schemes and catalogues adopted by these libraries.

The author analyses the relation between input resources (Ir) and output services (Os), the mutual relations of the sizes of staff, collection, expenditure, etc., as input resources, and percentages of the number of monographs, journal titles, and titles of newspapers in the collection. As a result, the author reaches a conclusion that all coefficients of correlation show high values (between 0.85 and 0.91), and obtains equations of various regression lines showing correlations between factors respectively.

For example, the relation between the input resource index (Ir) and the output service index (Os) is given by

$$\begin{array}{cc}Os=0.483& Ir+49.1\end{array}$$

It is, therefore, necessary to input about two (2) units of resources to increase one (1) unit of servicee.