ltr: Vol. 46 Issue 6: p. 35
Chapter 5: Appendix: Survey: Electronic Resources Usage Statistics
Rachel A. Fleming-May
Jill E. Grogg
Abstract

Libraries and other information agencies invest millions of collection development dollars in electronic resources. One of the enduring quests in LIS is to develop models and tools that will assist with the task of the determining which materials will be popular and which will (literally or figuratively) collect dust. By virtue of the nature of libraries as institution that depend upon an outside entity for funding, librarians are also charged with demonstrating the cost-effectivenes of their services and resources as well as their stewardship of those resources. Standards agencies' efforts at contributing to the understanding of the behavior of users of electronic journals have been significant, and researchers and vendors have initiated and spearheaded projects and products that seek to create metrics that present a broader picture of use. This report presents a review of the state of the art of electronic resources usage measurement, highlighting the importance of presenting clear and meaningful measurement of electronic resources use in LIS research, assessment, and standards creation. The authors explore the nature of current standards, tools, and initiatives for measuring and reporting electronic resources usage.

1. How often (if at all) do you collect vendor-provided usage statistics for electronic resources?

2. Do you collect stats for the title level (individual e-book, e-journal) or for the resource level (R2 Library, ScienceDirect, Project MUSE)?

3. How do you collect stats? Are you manually collecting stats? Using SUSHI? Outsourcing using a vendor-supplied service (e.g., Serials Solutions)?

4. What mechanism do you use to collate stats? Excel? ERM? Other?

5. How do you distribute stats to internal library personnel?

6. Has your institution made efforts to assess electronic resource usage at the session level? If so, how? If not, are there plans to do so?

7. How does your institution utilize the electronic resource usage statistics it collects? (Check all that apply)

  • Collection development/management
  • Promotion/public relations
  • Assessment/evaluation
  • Reporting to accrediting or other agency (e.g., ARL)
  • Training library staff
  • Other (please specify):

8. Would you be willing to speak with us further on this topic? If so, please provide contact information.

Article Categories:
  • Information Science
  • Library Science

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