Checkout trends show it is worth keeping physical audiobook collections on Norfolk public library’s shelves

Introduction: Library shelves are becoming more and more full of items from every collection. Including audiobooks, thought to be trending towards an obsolete technology resource that patrons were no longer borrowing from the shelves. Objectives: The primary objective of this project is to show audiobook checkout trends over four years at Norfolk Public Library’s eleven library branches in Norfolk, VA. Methods: To thoroughly analyze the dataset for audiobook circulation counts between the years 2016 to 2019, the dataset was tidied within OpenRefine (Version 3.5.2), and visualizations were created using Tableau Public Desktop Edition (Version 2021.4.4). Comparisons were made between circulation numbers based on library branch location, collection type, totals, and yearly trends. Results: There has been an increase from 2016 to 2019 in audiobook checkouts. However, the visualizations show that circulation numbers are different based on the library branch. One branch had exceeded checkout numbers in all three collections. Conclusions: The findings in the visualizations show that within the Norfolk Library System, it would be best to keep audiobooks on the shelves. Norfolk Library could designate one library location for all library branches’ audiobook collection items to be held.