Abstract

The aim of the research was to examine changes in the usage patterns of public library collections during the COVID pandemic. Usage data for e-loans (e-books and e-audio books) and physical loans from two library networks in Sydney (Australia) for 2019–2021 was analyzed. While the use of physical collections dropped to less than half, the use of electronic collections increased by almost as much. E-loans peaked, and physical loans plummeted during lockdowns. However, the increase of e-loans was very small in terms of absolute volume (about a 44 k increase) compared to the decline in physical loans (about half a million decrease), and the use of physical collections did not reach pre-pandemic levels during the period studied. The analysis of subjects and genres of loaned items indicates that users were generally keen to continue reading the sorts of material they had been reading prior to the pandemic, even if this meant switching format, although there were some changes in genre and subject preferences during the lockdowns, which might have been influenced by the circumstances of the individual users. Readers appeared to show particular interest in various nonfiction topics in the initial lockdown (early 2020), with more practical considerations holding sway at this stage of the pandemic, whereas, by the time of the second lockdown (mid-2021), these considerations had been resolved to some extent, and been overtaken by a more “escapist,” or at least a more recreational, attitude on the part of the average user.

摘要

该研究的目的是检查 COVID 大流行期间公共图书馆馆藏使用模式的变化。分析了 2019-2021 年悉尼（澳大利亚）两个图书馆网络的电子借阅（电子书和电子有声读物）和实体借阅的使用数据。虽然实体馆藏的使用下降到不到一半，但电子馆藏的使用几乎增加了一半。电子贷款达到顶峰，实物贷款在封锁期间暴跌。然而，与实体贷款的下降（减少约 50 万）相比，电子贷款的绝对量增长非常小（约增加 4.4 万），并且实物收款的使用没有达到大流行前研究期间的水平。对借出物品的主题和类型的分析表明，用户普遍热衷于继续阅读他们在大流行之前一直在阅读的各种材料，即使这意味着转换格式，尽管在借阅期间类型和主题偏好发生了一些变化锁定，这可能受到个人用户情况的影响。在最初的封锁期间（2020 年初），读者似乎对各种非虚构主题表现出特别的兴趣，在大流行的这个阶段，更实际的考虑占据主导地位，而到第二次封锁时（2021 年年中），这些考虑已经在某种程度上得到了解决，并被普通用户更“逃避现实”或至少更具娱乐性的态度所取代。即使这意味着转换格式，尽管在锁定期间流派和主题偏好发生了一些变化，这可能受到个人用户情况的影响。在最初的封锁期间（2020 年初），读者似乎对各种非虚构主题表现出特别的兴趣，在大流行的这个阶段，更实际的考虑占据主导地位，而到第二次封锁时（2021 年年中），这些考虑已经在某种程度上得到了解决，并被普通用户更“逃避现实”或至少更具娱乐性的态度所取代。即使这意味着转换格式，尽管在锁定期间流派和主题偏好发生了一些变化，这可能受到个人用户情况的影响。在最初的封锁期间（2020 年初），读者似乎对各种非虚构主题表现出特别的兴趣，在大流行的这个阶段，更实际的考虑占据主导地位，而到第二次封锁时（2021 年年中），这些考虑已经在某种程度上得到了解决，并被普通用户更“逃避现实”或至少更具娱乐性的态度所取代。