Taking a pass on work during March Madness?
Millions of Americans, including President Obama, fill out their “brackets” when the NCAA Tournament field is announced each March, but does that really affect their work?
It certainly appears to, at least among a segment of the population who use research libraries, according to a study by Charles Clotfelter, a professor at Duke University. He used data from 78 research libraries in the U.S. and found that usage fell 6 percent in the week right after the NCAA field was announced. The following week, library usage resumed its increase, at a rate of 3 percent a week.
“This drop in research activity in these libraries is quantitative evidence of the NCAA tournament’s power to influence patterns of work," he says.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: Duke University
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