Lots of good deals come our way and we can purchase without thinking enough about what we actually use. I found it useful to check my impressions against reality. Example:
- Go to Library, write type:commentary.
- Sort by "Most Used".
- Go to the bottom of the list: what's there? Questions:
- Am I using these less or not at all?
- If not at all, why? Any reason to have them if I never use them? Should I hide them?
- Is my usage "balanced" (however we may want to define it)?
- Are certain resources proving to be less of use than I originally thought they would be? (or vice-versa)
The "last accessed" column can also be used in this kind of evaluation, although sadly, for the present, it does not actually indicate a date.
Of course, not everything we have not gotten to yet is necessarily something to get rid of. But nevertheless, it can be useful to keep in mind what we actually use. An interesting part of this exercise is that the results do not distinguish between what titles I consciously turn to and those that turn up most often with relevant results to my searches. There can be some surprises in the top of the most used as well.
This exercise can be used in relation to prioritization and the building of collections as well.
Anyway, just some thoughts. It'll be interesting to hear what others are doing in the same vein.
