Centralização monolítica na Biblioteca Central da Universidade Estadual de Londrina: avaliação da disponibilidade potencial e real

Abstract

This work analyses, from the user’s point of view, the documents availability in Central Library of State University of Londrina (BC/UEL). It also studies theoretically two models (Kantor's and Shaw's) of documents disposal, already consacrated in the area, searching the adequation of their application to such a library. The BC/UEL system suffered alterations in its structure, from coordinated descentralization, to monolithic centralization. The study of this structural change generated two hypotheses: first, there is a high degree of potential availability, reflected in a capacity of attending demands, in a level no lower than 90%; second, there is a low immediate availability, reflected in a general level of satisfaction, lower than 55%. Data were collected in three different moments, trying to achieve periods of high, medium and low use’s frequency. The information was collected through a form, given to the users who came to the author/title catalogue, to look for known item books. The study results (that confirmed the first hypotheses and rejected the second) showed that centralization is favorable in both aspects of availability. The immediate availability was compromised by circulation: it is possible that this frustration associates with the low number of copies available in titles with great demand. The comparison of the two analitical rnodels of documents (Kantor's and Shaw's) showed, in the limitation of applied statistics, that it is the evaluator’s job to choose the model to use and this choice must be associated with the aims of the evaluation, suggesting a more adequated statistical analyse to such a problem. As general conclusion it was pointed that immediate availability concept is associated with time, suggesting that this method should be adopted on a macro-availability level.