COUNTER Code of Practice for online books

["Gillingham Emily" <Emily.Gillingham@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com>]

-- January 2005 News Release--

* Draft Release 1 of the COUNTER Code of Practice for books now
available *

The draft of Release 1 of the new COUNTER Code of Practice for online
books and reference works is now available for comment and can be accessed
on the COUNTER website at http://www.projectCounter.org

This marks the first expansion of COUNTER's coverage beyond journals and
databases. The Code of Practice for online books and reference works has
been developed with input from a task force of librarians and publishers
with expert knowledge of these products and is the first attempt to
introduce a comprehensive industry standard for the recording and
reporting of online book usage data.

The draft Code of Practice will be available for comment for an extended
period, until December 2005. Both vendors and librarians are encouraged to
review the document and to submit their comments to the COUNTER Project
Director Peter Shepherd (pshepherd@projectCounter.org). The final version
of this Code of Practice will be published in early 2006.

The COUNTER Code of Practice for online books and reference works
specifies how vendors can achieve COUNTER compliance for these products.
Its features include:

* A set of five basic usage reports that cover full-text requests for a
whole title, as well as for sections (eg. chapters, encyclopaedia entries)
within a title. Searches, sessions and turnaways are also covered.

* A comprehensive set of definitions of terms relevant to books and
reference works.

* A format and structure consistent with the existing COUNTER Code of
Practice for journals and databases. Only the content of the usage reports
has been changed and the set of definitions of terms expanded. The
specifications for report delivery, data processing, auditing, and
compliance are identical to those already prescribed in the Code of
Practice for journals and databases.

* About COUNTER *

COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources) is a
multi-agency initiative whose objective is to develop a set of
internationally accepted, extendible Codes of Practice that will allow the
usage of online information products and services to be measured more
consistently.  Release 1 of the COUNTER Code of Practice for journals and
databases was published in January 2003 and is now widely implemented.
COUNTER is actively supported by the international community of librarians
and publishers, and by their professional organisations.

For more information, please contact:

Peter Shepherd
Project Director - COUNTER 
pshepherd@projectCounter.org
http://www.projectCounter.org