Perfecting COUNTER and SUSHI to Achieve Reliable Usage Analysis
TL;DR: This column reviews some of the roadblocks that impede consistent implementation of these standards as well as proposes recommendations that could form the basis of a community profile for these standards.
Abstract: The Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources (COUNTER) Code of Practice and Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) are two standards whose successful adoption will greatly assist librarians in performing accurate and timely usage analysis of their online collections and thus make more informed collection management decisions. Variations in how these standards have been applied by content providers to their SUSHI and COUNTER implementation are currently impacting their widespread adoption. The standards themselves are not broken—what is needed is concise guidelines on their implementation. This column reviews some of the roadblocks that impede consistent implementation of these standards as well as proposes recommendations that could form the basis of a community profile for these standards.
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TL;DR: The ease with which journal usage statistics can now be collected and ingested into e-resources management systems encourages librarians to make renewal and cancellation decisions based on a simple cost-per-download metric, but it is important to consider the reliability of this metric.
Abstract: The ease with which journal usage statistics can now be collected and ingested into e-resources management systems encourages librarians to make renewal and cancellation decisions based on a simple cost-per-download metric. However, to avoid basing decisions on erroneous data it is important to consider the reliability of this metric. There are many reasons why the cost-per-download of one journal is not as directly comparable with that of another journal as might be expected. Nevertheless there are steps that libraries can take to identify and to apply corrections to misleading usage statistics. A balance needs to be struck between usage analyses being rigorous but time consuming, and being pragmatic but “good enough.”
35 citations
Cites background from "Perfecting COUNTER and SUSHI to Ach..."
...If all that sounds too good to be true, then the sad reality is that it probably is, even though progress is being made to ensure that the standards are being applied consistently.(5) In this article I will discuss the many and varied ways in which both of the inputs to the cost-per-download calculation can be misleading, and I will discuss techniques to identify and then correct or allow for these shortcomings....
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TL;DR: Link-resolver data correlate well with vendor and citation data, but due to anomalies, low link-resolvesolver data would best be used to suggest titles for further evaluation using vendor data.
Abstract: Objective:
Libraries require efficient and reliable methods to assess journal use. Vendors provide complete counts of articles retrieved from their platforms. However, if a journal is available on multiple platforms, several sets of statistics must be merged. Link-resolver reports merge data from all platforms into one report but only record partial use because users can access library subscriptions from other paths. Citation data are limited to publication use. Vendor, link-resolver, and local citation data were examined to determine correlation. Because link-resolver statistics are easy to obtain, the study library especially wanted to know if they correlate highly with the other measures.
14 citations
Cites background from "Perfecting COUNTER and SUSHI to Ach..."
...Unfortunately, inconsistent decisions on how to implement SUSHI requirements and inaccurate information provided by vendors have made it difficult to use SUSHI to successfully collect COUNTER data from a variety of platforms [3]....
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TL;DR: This column explores notions of value in libraries in general and information services specifically and considers ways in which one key service, metadata, has been used as a measure of library value.
Abstract: While it is common for communities to value their libraries and other information institutions, measuring both the overall value of an institution and the value of its specific information services can be difficult, particularly in a rapidly changing environment in which the relevance of these services and allocation of resources can change in very short periods of time. This column explores notions of value in libraries in general and information services specifically and considers ways in which one key service, metadata, has been used as a measure of library value. In turn, the column also explores how metadata work itself is valued in light of increasing use of automated and outsourced metadata acquisition, processing and discovery platforms. Staying focused on the changing value of metadata, the column concludes by considering the impact of current value measures as well as new measures in supporting decision making and resource allocation for metadata related services.
11 citations
TL;DR: Wisconsin academic librarians who work closely with electronic resources were surveyed and interviewed in order to understand what statistics they currently collect and how successfully they use statistics.
Abstract: Librarians collect many different types of statistics related to the use of electronic resources, however, effectively managing usage data remains an ongoing challenge. Wisconsin academic librarians who work closely with electronic resources were surveyed and interviewed in order to understand what statistics these librarians currently collect. What tools and measures are used and for what purpose? What do these librarians consider best practices? New tools have been developed that help manage electronic resource statistics but questions remain. How do libraries value and prioritize uses of statistics that they collect? Is it possible to analyze statistics to paint a compelling picture in order to justify collection development decisions or planning? Lastly, how can we begin to assess how successfully we use statistics for various purposes? The findings will contribute to the discussion about how to manage electronic resource usage statistics effectively.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effectiveness of counting online usage of networked electronic resources (COUNTER) reports with regard to usage of journals and to learn more about the practices adopted by different content providers in generating reports.
Abstract: The present study was undertaken to probe the effectiveness of Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources (COUNTER) reports with regard to usage of journals and to learn more about the practices adopted by different content providers in generating reports. Under Release 3 of the COUNTER Code of Practice, we closely examined reports from eighteen content providers having accounts with the University of Kashmir library. The University of Kashmir has subscription access to content from nineteen different providers through the UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium of India, eighteen of which are COUNTER-compliant. We were thus able to make observations on the practices of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, Annual Reviews, Cambridge University Press, Emerald, the Institute of Physics, JSTOR, Nature, Oxford University Press, Portland Press, Project Euclid, Project Muse, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Science Direct, Springer, Taylor & ...
3 citations
Cites background from "Perfecting COUNTER and SUSHI to Ach..."
...Pesch (2011) looks at how the flexibility in SUSHI protocol implementation might trouble the SUSHI client developers and how inconsistent decisions will create chaos and confusion....
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