Usage statistics in electronic resources and its applications in LIS

Maruja De Villa Lorica
Paper written in June 2010


Introduction

Baker and Read (2008, p. 48) underscored that the increasing popularity of licensed electronic resources in libraries is evidently reflected in recent library budgetary expenditures. For example, in 2004–2005, electronic resources accounted for more than 37% of total library spending at libraries in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), a marked increase from just about 13% five years before. Likewise, Carrigan and Burford (2009) reported that for fiscal year 2008, 80% of the composite expenditures for information resources of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) went to electronic resources, while only 20% was spent for print resources.

Thus, Baker and Read (2008, p. 48) assert that in order to manage these important and costly resources, libraries need to have useful, consistent, and timely usage data for assessment and decision-making.

Description of usage statistics

Usage data enables libraries to better manage their collections and purchases (Pesch, 2007). Baker and Read (2008, p. 48) report that COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources) is an international initiative by and for librarians, publishers, and intermediaries to facilitate recording and exchange of online usage statistics and to bring more consistency to the measurement of the use of electronic resources. Schufreider and Romaine (2008, p. 225) maintain that the most useful statistics provided by COUNTER-compliant vendors includes the number of full text downloads, number of searches, number of sessions, and number of turnaways. While originally intended for journals and databases, COUNTER now includes standards for books and reference materials.

Pesch (2007) argues that retrieving usage reports is only part of the work; usage data has to be thoroughly analyzed and consolidated for comparison. Merging a number of spreadsheets into one big file could prove to be an intimidating task. Thus, a new standard, SUSHI (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative) sponsored by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has been introduced in 2007 (Pesch, 2008). Pesch further explains that:

"One of the most significant additions to the code of practice is the requirement that, to be compliant, content providers must allow usage data to be harvested using the SUSHI protocol. SUSHI, which became a NISO standard (Z39.93) in 2007, is viewed as a breakthrough for improving the efficiency and consistency of usage gathering and reporting. With SUSHI, usage consolidation applications can automatically retrieve usage data on a regular basis without need for human intervention. The inclusion of SUSHI within the COUNTER code of practice serves to underline the importance of this recent advance."

Importance/application to the library and information science profession

As mentioned by Tucker (2009), usage statistics can be used for several purposes: to justify purchases, cancel subscriptions, promote lesser used resources, upgrade existing resources, assist in strategic planning, and request for “end-of-year” funds from University administration. Tucker (2009) evaluated their library collection using data and statistics to measure the performance of specific resources in their collection and use these criteria to identify underperforming resources. The criteria could be used to cancel resources, identify resources that could be replaced with new resources, or to identify resources that need further marketing and promotion. The results of their assessment were used as basis in their decision making to improve the collections to assist the students and faculty in their research, academic requirements and instruction.

Carrigan, Higa, and Tobia (2008, p. 118) stressed the importance of considering usage data based from multiple years to generate effective decisions. Users take time to become aware and familiar with new resources, hence decisions based on information from one year data is not desirable. They advocate using trend data of multiple years’ to obtain a more accurate indication of real usage and at the same time, demonstrate an increase or decrease in use of electronic resources.

References

Baker, G., & Read, E. J. (2008, January). A vendor-supplied usage data for electronic resources: A survey of academic libraries. Learned Publishing, 21, 48–57. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://docserver.ingentaconnect.com/deliver/connect/alpsp/09531513/v21n1/s7.pdf?expires=1276362643&id=57230404&titleid=885&accname=Guest+User&checksum=5D9BBE9894514C4F4D9F98E95B549492. DOI: 10.1087/095315108X247276

Carrigan, E., Higa, M. L., & Tobia, R. (2008). Monographic and digital resource collection development. In M. S. Wood (Ed.), Introduction to health sciences librarianship (pp. 97-126). New York: The Haworth Press.

Carrigan, E., & Burford, N. (2009, November 9). Collection management: Collection development and acquisitions/licensing handout. SLIS 5365: University of North Texas.

Chen, C. C. (2005, September).Using data mining techniques to discover personalized book recommendation for the library. Journal of Educational Media & Library Sciences, 43(1), 87-107. Retrieved June 14, 2010, from University of North Texas Electronic Resources, Library Literature & Information Science Full Text database.

Pesch, O. (2007, January). SUSHI: simplifying the delivery of usage statistics Learned Publishing, 20(1), 23-29. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://docserver.ingentaconnect.com/deliver/connect/alpsp/09531513/v20n1/s6.pdf?expires=1276361955&id=57230351&titleid=885&accname=Guest+User&checksum=C2774242BC193251CC2377CF392540BC

Pesch, O. (2008). An update on COUNTER and SUSHI. . The Serials Librarian, 55(3), 366-372. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from University of North Texas Electronic Resources, Academic Search Complete database.

Schufreider, B., & Romaine, S. (2008, June). Making sense of your usage statistics. Serials Librarian, 54(3/4), 223-227. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from University of North Texas Electronic Resources, Academic Search Complete database.

Tucker, C. (2009). Benchmarking usage statistics in collection management decisions for serials. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 21, 48–61. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from University of North Texas Electronic Resources, Academic Search Complete database.