Data Visualization for Collection Analysis

Abstract

Due to the increasingly digital nature of library resources and collections, it is sometimes difficult to envision a library’s unified holdings and to understand how they have changed over time. Conducting a collection analysis and applying data visualization techniques can be an excellent way to get a top-down view of the collection as a whole. This article outlines the author’s process for a collection analysis of the Weinberg Memorial Library’s entire catalog of print and electronic resources. It explores the rationale behind some key collection analysis decisions and discusses approaches for data extraction and clean-up as well as visualization using the Tableau software.