  This study aims to analyse whether library loans statistics can be used as a
measure of monograph use and as a selection criteria for inclusion in citation
indexes. For this, we conducted an exploratory study based on loan data (1000
most borrowed monographs) from two non-Anglo-Saxon European university
libraries (Granada and Vienna) with strong social sciences and humanities
components. Loans to scientists only were also analysed at the University of
Vienna. Furthermore, citation counts for the 100 most borrowed scientific
monographs (SM) and textbooks or manuals (MTB) were retrieved from Web of
Science and Google Scholar. The results show considerable similarities in both
libraries: the percentage of loans for books in national languages represents
almost 96 per cent of the total share and SM accounts only for 10 to 13 per
cent. When considering loans to scientists only, the percentage of English
books increases to 30 per cent, the percentage of SM loans also increases
(approx 80 per cent). Furthermore, we found no significant correlations between
loans and citations. Since loan statistics are currently insufficient for
measuring the use of monographs, their suggested use as an applicable selection
criterion for book citation indexes is not yet feasible. Data improvement and
aggregation at different levels is a challenge for modern libraries in order to
enable the exploitation of this invaluable information source for scientometric
purposes.
