The teaching of mathematical modeling to undergraduate students requires that students are given ample opportunity to develop their own models and experience first-hand the process of model building. Finding an appropriate context within which modeling can be undertaken is not a simple task as it needs to be readily understandable and seen as…

Discusses the length of library loan periods and the number of books allowed to be borrowed. An integer programming model is formulated whose solution yields the optimum user satisfaction, and a case study conducted at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Saudi Arabia) is presented. (Author/LRW)