COUNTER and the Development of Meaningful Measures

“I’d rather be a huge part of the problem than a tiny part of

the solution.”

“It’s my fervent hope that these

are meaningless statistics.”

COUNTERCodes of Practice

Definitions of terms used Specifications for Usage Reports Data processing guidelines Auditing Compliance Maintenance and development of the Code of

Practice Governance of COUNTER

COUNTER: Status

Journals and databases Release 1 Code of Practice: January 2003 Release 2 Code of Practice: April 2005 60%+ of Science Citation Index articles now covered A widely adopted standard by publishers and librarians Librarians use in collection development decisions Publishers use in marketing to prove ‘value’ Now being used to develop other metrics and monitor

trends Books and reference works

Draft Code of Practice: February 2005 Relevant usage metrics less clear than for journals Different issues than for journals

Direct comparisons between books less relevant Understanding how different categories of book are used

is more relevant

Core COUNTER Metrics

Requests for specified content units Journals: full-text articles

Article-level reporting? Books: whole title; sections within title

(Chapter, entry) Searches Sessions Turnaways

Simultaneous user licences

Release 2: Journals and Databases

Published April 2005 Implemented 1 January 2006 Features

Improved usability of the reports More detailed specifications, including display

rules Journal Report 1 extended

‘Publisher’ and ‘Platform’ columns Html and PDF totals reported separately

Level 2 reports now optional extras Too detailed Too much data

Specifications for consortium-level reports

Consortium Reporting Requirements

Only two reports apply Journal Report 1: Number of successful full text

article requests by month and journal Database Report 1: Total searches and sessions by

month and database Vendor must provide (in separate files)

Aggregated reports for entire consortium Individual reports for each member institute

Aggregated reports include totals for the whole consortium

Audit

Required within 18 months of compliance with Release 2; annually thereafter

Independent auditor Online audit Audit will check each report for

Layout (correct rows, columns, headings) Format (CSV or Excel) Delivery (E-mail alert, access on password-

controlled website) Accuracy (Tolerance is -8% to +2%)

Draft Code of Practice for E-Books

Covers online books, encyclopaedias, reference works

Developed by a task force of publishers and librarians with expertise in online books

Comments on draft will be accepted through December 2005

Final version will be published in early 2006

Draft Code of Practice for E-Books

Book Report 1 Number of successful requests by month and

title Book Report 2

Number of successful section requests by month and title

Book Report 3 Turnaways by month and title

Book Report 4 Total searches and sessions by month and title

Book Report 5 Total searches and sessions by month and

service

Draft Code of Practice for E-books

Unit of access may include Entire book Chapter, entry (‘Section’) Page Paragraph

Access depends on interface and organization of content Entire book may be one PDF Each chapter may have own PDF Reference works may be organized by topic

or section

Looking Ahead: Other Important Metrics

Link activity Where users come from and go to Target and type of target

Year of publication Use and value of backfiles

Type of material Journal article, book, chapter, video,

soundtrack…… Article level data?

Volume versus value; applications of the data

COUNTER is moving towards E-resource Codes of Practice

E-journals: Release 2

There will be a three month phase out of Release 1 and start of Release 2

R1 compliant vendor list will be maintained until 31 March 2006

Publishers that seek to be R2-compliant must submit proposals by 31 October

E-Books: Release 1 Will be focus groups at Charleston

Conference in November Comments thus far

Include an additional column to identify the type of book or book series

Include ISSNs and ISBNs for book series Site searches should be done by product type

if the customer requests it Recognize several categories of chapters

within books (paid, free access, etc.) Next Executive Committee meeting: 30

November

The Next Horizon: E-interface Effects on Counter Usage Stats

Two experiments being conducted #1: effect on OUP data of changing the

protocol where users had PDF access All journals tend to have peak downloads when

journal issue is new Given variations in frequency, not all months are

comparable #2: JISC considering proposal

JISC decided on funding 26 September Counter considering seeking funding to

support research that directly improves the Codes of Practice or help train librarians in the use of Counter reports

JISC Project

COUNTER data was analysed in relation to: usage range Price band Subject category

Metrics derived from this analysis Trend in number of full-text article requests Full text article requests per title Full text article requests per publisher package Full text article requests per FTE user Most requested titles Usage of subscribed vs.. unsubscribed titles Cost per full-text article request Cost per FTE user

Summary report available at:www.ebase.uce.ac.uk/projects/NESLi2.htm

Conclusions

Usage statistics are one indicator of usage, success and value, provided that….

They are reliable Universal standards are adopted Online products are structured to allow reporting of

usage statistics at different levels But…

They should not be over-complicated or over-interpreted

They should be used in context with market research Both publishers and librarians are going to have to

organize themselves to generate and handle usage statistics

COUNTER Membership

Member Categories and Annual Fees (2005)

Publishers/intermediaries: $750 Library Consortia: $500 Libraries: $375 Industry organization: $375 Library affiliate: $150 (non-voting

member)

Benefits of full membership Owner of COUNTER with voting rights at

annual general meeting, etc. Regular bulletins on progress Opportunity to receive advice on

implementation

For more information……….

http://www.projectcounter.orgPeter Shepherd (Project Director)pshepherd@projectCounter.org

“I can explain everything.”