Although there are plenty of opinions available that suggest that “gifts added to the
collection are, for the most part, little used when compared to materials that are selected and
purchased by the library,” little empirical evidence has been generated affirming this position
[1]. Diodato and Diodato proved this assertion over 15 years ago by comparing circulation
statistics of gift and non-gift materials shelved within two separate call number ranges. Gifts
were identified by the presence of a plate identifying the donor. Usage was determined by
dates stamped on the due date slips [5]. Diodato’s analysis employed two models. The first
model was used to determine the relative cost per circulation for gifts and non-gifts (a
concept that is similar to Dole’s first condition, describing a gift’s value). The results showed
that non-gifts circulated on average four times more than gifts. This suggested that the cost
for processing gifts should be one quarter (or less) than that for processing non-gifts. The
second model measured the number of books that had circulated at least once. Forty percent
of gifts circulated at least once, whereas two-thirds of non-gifts had at least one circulation
[5].