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Establishing Standards for Usage Statistics. COUNTER: an international initiative Peter Shepherd Project Director COUNTER. Overview. Libraries need online usage statistics Publishers need online usage statistics STM Publishing is global
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Establishing Standards for Usage Statistics COUNTER: an international initiative Peter Shepherd Project Director COUNTER
Overview • Libraries need online usage statistics • Publishers need online usage statistics • STM Publishing is global • How can we move from usage statistics Babel to a common core of statistics we can trust and compare?
Publishers need usage statistics • To support library efforts to procure funding* • To demonstrate that reduced usage of print issues has been compensated for by increased online usage • To assess the relative importance of the various routes via which information reaches its market* • To experiment with new pricing models • To provide editorial policy support • To obtain improved market analysis/demographics* • To inform authors where and how articles are used* • To improve site design and navigation* • To plan infrastructure, eg mirror sites/caches*
Online usage statistics need to be……. • Credible • Consistent • Compatible
“We conclude that it is largely impossible to compare data across vendors, and we recommend that comparison be limited to data from the same vendors We believe that the comprehensive standardisation of usage statistics and data delivery methods cannot be easily achieved in the short term” ARL E-Metrics Phase II Report, Oct 2001
So how do we get there in the medium term? • ICOLC Guidelines for statistical measures of usage of web-based information resources • ARL E-metrics project • National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) Electronic access and use related measures • NISO – revision of of Z39.7 (Library Statistics) • ISO – revision of 2789 (library statistics) and 11563 (library performance measures) • Cowhig proposal for auditing usage data • PALS usage statistics working group
COUNTER - endorsed by… • AAP, Association of American Publishers • ALPSP, The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers • ARL, Association of Research Libraries • ASA, Association of Subscription Agents and Intermediaries • EDItEUR • JISC, Joint Information Systems Committee • NCLIS, National Commission on Libraries and Information Science • NISO, National Information Standards Organization • PA, The Publishers Association • STM, International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers • UKSG, United Kingdom Serials Group
ALPSP ARL Blackwell Publishing Ingenta Institute of Physics Publishing JISC Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Oxford University Press The Publishers Association ProQuest Taylor & Francis STM UKSG COUNTER Founding Sponsors
International Steering Group • Chair: Richard Gedye, Oxford University Press • 30 members • Europe: • PA, ASA, ALPSP, JISC, STM, UKSG, Blackwell Publishing, British Library, Elsevier, OUP • USA • AAP, ACS, ARL, NCLIS, NFAIS, NISO, EBSCO Publishing, Wiley
Our brief • To develop, by December 2002, a code of practice giving guidance on:- • Data elements to measure • Definitions of these data elements • Accurate, complete, and consistent measurement of user activity • Usage Reports: content, frequency and delivery methods
Timeline - 2002 • March 2002 • Project Director appointed • Multi-agency steering group formed • June 2002 • Draft code of practice completed and circulated to Steering Group and selected reviewers in vendor and library world • November 2002 • Release 1 of the code published and available for use
Journal Reports Item downloads by month and journal Item downloads by month, journal and page type Total searches run Time of day report Day of week report Total daily activity report Database Reports Total searches and sessions Time of day report Day of week report Total daily activity report Progress Report 1- Usage Reports
Progress Report - 2 • Data elements to be measured • first draft being reviewed by task force • Definitions of data elements • first draft being reviewed by task force
Progress Report - 3 • Three levels of compliance envisaged • * (Minimum), ** (Intermediate), *** (Highest) • E.g. Page view data elements to collect • Publisher name * • Referring gateway service ** • Product name * • Journal title * • Article identifier * • Print ISSN * • Online ISSN **
Progress Report 4 - website • www.projectCounter.org • About COUNTER • project mission & plan, history, other initiatives • Sponsors • Steering Group • News and Activities • Articles and Presentations • Contact us
Timeline - 2003 and beyond A programme of:- • Promotion • Monitoring • Revision and development
Vital factors for a successful implementation and uptake • ‘Start small, test often’….develop a modest core Code and build out incrementally • Build continuous development capability into the support structure • Pool our collective wisdom and work together • Compatibility is vital • One Code - parallel codes will attract minimal buy-in
For more information…….. www.projectCounter.org