Choice has published a white paper examining how academic libraries can use prescriptive analytics and operational research methods to inform resource allocation and purchasing decisions amid budget constraints.
Titled The Optimized Library: Prescriptive Foundations for Resource Stewardship in an Era of Fiscal Austerity, the paper is the tenth publication in a Choice white paper series addressing issues relevant to the academic library community.
The report was researched and written by Sam Suber, electronic resources coordinator at Moraine Valley Community College Library. It examines how data collected by libraries can be combined with mathematical optimization methods to support collection management and resource allocation decisions.
Using case studies, the paper translates concepts from operations research into practical approaches for library collections. The methodology focuses on using available data to evaluate competing resource needs, support purchasing decisions, and align resource allocation with institutional priorities while operating within constrained budgets.
The white paper, The Optimized Library: Prescriptive Foundations for Resource Stewardship in an Era of Fiscal Austerity, is available from Choice as a complimentary resource. The publication is © 2026 Sam Suber and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Click here to read the original press release.
