تحليل و مقايسه تراكنش‌هاي امانت كتابخانه‌هاي دانشگاه اصفهان پيش و پس از اجراي طرح تجميع فيزيكي كتابخانه‌ها با استفاده از تكنيك‌هاي داده‌كاوي

Analyzing an‎d comparing loan transactions in the University of Isfahanʹs libraries before an‎d after the implementation of the physical integration plan using data mining techniques

علم اطلاعات و دانش شناسي

This study investigates user borrowing patterns an‎d volumes before an‎d after the implementation of the physical integration plan for the University of Isfahan libraries, utilizing data mining techniques. The research is descriptive in nature an‎d practical in purpose. Required data was obtained from the library transaction records of the University of Isfahan using specialized software. After preprocessing the data, a total of 329,818 transactions from the period of 2014 to 2022 were analyzed using Python for data cleaning, analysis, an‎d graph generation. Data mining techniques, specifically clustering an‎d ran‎dom forest algorithms, were employed for the analysis. The findings indicate that students are the primary users of university libraries, with the highest borrowing rates observed among them; however, faculty members exhibited the longest average delays in returning books. Before the consolidation plan, there were 200,469 loan transactions, while after its implementation, this number dro‎pped to 129,349. Additionally, female users borrowed more books than their male counterparts on average an‎d also experienced longer delays in returning books. The most common delay was between one an‎d ten days. Before the consolidation plan, undergraduate students had the longest delays; however, after the plan, graduate students were the quickest in returning their books. The subject most frequently borrowed was literature, with women showing a preference for literature, religion, an‎d social sciences. In contrast, men borrowed more books on social sciences an‎d religion before the consolidation plan but shifted to literature an‎d social sciences afterward. The least borrowed subjects, in terms of gender, were art, entertainment, an‎d sports. Following the consolidation plan, there was a significant decline in both the number of transactions an‎d the number of active users. Although the average delay in returning books decreased significantly after the implementation of the plan, suggesting improvements in the book return process, the overall dro‎p in library usage implies that the consolidation plan has not succeeded in achieving its main goals of enhancing access to an‎d utilization of resources. In summary, while the consolidation plan has failed to meet its overarching objectives of increasing library use, it has succeeded in one specific aspect: reducing user delays in returning borrowed items. Keywords: Loan transaction, Physical Integration of libraries, Data mining, Clustering, Ran‎dom Forest algorithm, Academic library, University of Isfahan.

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