Using RStudio to visualize ILL Statistics

Abstract

R and Rstudio are open source data visualization tools that can be used in a myriad of ways to visualize data. Our library uses three systems to process Interlibrary Loan requests - Relais for consortia book borrowing and lending, RAPID for article borrowing and lending, and OCLC for book and article borrowing and lending. These requests are handled by two different units in the library, the Interlibrary Loan Department, and Circulation throughout the hours the library is open. Due to the various systems, hours, and locations for processing requests it was difficult to determine the actual volume of requests processed by the library. Using R and RStudio allowed us to gather and visualize the data in order to better understand how volume changes throughout the semester and how-to better help staff.