ALA ALCTS CRS E-Resources Interest Group (ERIG) Annual Meeting

["Aaron, Amira" <A.Aaron@neu.edu>]

Please join us for an exciting panel discussion at the annual 
meeting of the ALCTS CRS E-Resources Interest Group:

Saturday, June 26, 10:30-12:00
J.W. Marriott Hotel, Grand Ballroom I / II

Down for the Count:  Making the Case for E-Resource Usage 
Statistics

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There Are So Many Numbers...

Most e-resource vendors supply usage statistics by request, 
on-demand, or via an automated notification process.  This data 
can provide crucial information which is potentially useful when 
evaluating an e-resource. In practice, collection developers 
juggle too many data-filled spreadsheets from a variety of 
vendors.  Minimally, we use these statistics in retention and 
cancellation decisions e.g., how often a journal is browsed vs. 
article downloads.  With so much data available, it is convenient 
to focus on the easily understood statistics such as the number 
of database searches.  If we mine the data, we can make better 
informed decisions.  What is the useful data and how do we 
extract it from the superfluous noise?  Why are turnaways more 
than just the number of users who cannot access a resource? 
When is a search not really a search?  Who is counting what and 
why?

Usage statistics are undeniably a valuable collection management 
assessment. Make them an effective tool that works for you.

Nadia J. Lalla, Coordinator, Collections and Information 
Services, Taubman Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan


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Using E-Book Statistics to Inform the Acquisition and Weeding of 
Print and E-Books

As the E-Book market continues to grow in the number of titles 
offered, usage statistics play an increasing important role in 
the disposition of monograph budgets.  This session will explain 
why comparing e-book usage statistics and pricing models to their 
print counterparts is like comparing apples to oranges. 
Reporting these statistics in annual reports, surveys, and 
accreditation can be challenging (for example, buying 1,000 
e-books for 10,000 dollars versus buying 500 print books for 
10,000 dollars can really throw off statistics when reporting 
"price paid per book").

Because many e-books have multiple-users-at once options, new 
data for demand by subject areas and publishers can be gleaned. 
Challenges with how to best use e-book stat istics for effective 
collection management will be explored.

Doralyn Rossmann, Collection Development Librarian & Team Leader, 
Montana State University Libraries

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The Problems with Use Statistics for Electronic Books

Although the COUNTER Code of Practice for Books and Reference 
Books was published in March 2006, there is little evidence that 
vendors who provide electronic books in the health sciences have 
adopted the standard. Vendors provide use statistics in Word 
documents, html pages, and occasionally in Excel. In addition, 
the vendors count usage in different ways. It is therefore 
difficult to compare use between platforms in order to make valid 
analyses of use and cost-per-use. In our tight budgetary 
environment, we need to be able to compare use and cost-per-use, 
but are hampered by the lack of consistency in reporting use.

Leslie Czechowski, Assistant Director, Collections and Technical 
Services,H= ealth Sciences Library System, University of 
Pittsburgh

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Counts within Context:  A Tempered Approach to Use Statistics

With a $6 million dollar budget for online resources representing 
78% of the materials budget, the University of South Florida is 
attempting to control annual increases for online resources by 
acquiring less print. But the line has been drawn in the sand by 
library administration. If additional funding is not forthcoming 
from the Provost and President in 2011, the electronic resources 
budget will see significant reductions. What role do use 
statistics play in the evaluation of online resources in the 
context of cancellations through the eyes of administrators? The 
answer is surprising.

Monica Metz-Wiseman, Coordinator of Electronic Collections, 
University of South Florida

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Figuring Cost Per Use: Fiscal Year, Calendar Year, and what falls 
between

Cost per use generally needs to be reported on either a fiscal or 
calendar year basis, but vendor contracts do not always run on 
the same schedule. The Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) has 
been working on calculating flexible cost per use data that can 
be reported for any time frame needed. The cost per use analysis 
is made possible by innovative means of data collection. This 
allows extensive data collection and analysis to be performed 
with minimal time and effort.

Tansy Matthews, Associate Director, Virtual Library of Virginia

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NISO SUSHI Update

The SUSHI standard defines an automated request and response 
model for the harvesting of electronic resource usage data 
utilizing a Web services framework. It is intended to replace the 
time-consuming user-mediated collection of usage data reports. 
This presentation provides an overview of the SUSHI standard, 
recent updates and current objectives of the NISO SUSHI Standing 
Committee.

Bob McQuillan, Senior Product Manager, Innovative Interfaces
Member, NISO SUSHI Standing Committee

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Amira Aaron
Chair, ALCTS CRS ERIG
Associate Dean, Scholarly Resources
Northeastern University Libraries
a.aaron@neu.edu