beyond log-ons and downloads: meaningful measures of e-resource use

23
Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-Resource Use Rachel A. Fleming-May, Ph.D., M.L.I.S. Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences The University of Tennessee- Knoxville

Upload: electronic-resources-libraries

Post on 26-Jun-2015

333 views

Category:

Education


0 download

DESCRIPTION

Although efforts like Project COUNTER have made strides towards systematizing numeric measures of database access, does the data standardized by COUNTER really help libraries to understand "how information they buy... is being used"? This presentation will introduce a typology of library resource use that provides a framework for assessing use in a more meaningful way.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-Resource Use

Rachel A. Fleming-May, Ph.D., M.L.I.S.Assistant Professor, School of Information SciencesThe University of [email protected]

Page 2: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

What is “use”, really?An event?

Something that can be measured?

…with numbers?

2

Why does it matter?

Use is frequently assessed in order to generate “objective” data for decision

making.

Page 3: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

“The principle of usefulness says

simply that libraries should

collect what patrons use. An

obvious problem is that there is no

clear definition of what comprises

‘use’ nor is it likely that library

science will soon develop one, for

it is as elusive as the concept of

information, with which it is

confounded.”1

3

Page 4: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Use is often treated as a PRIMITIVE CONCEPT in Library and Information Science:

an idea so fundamental to the theoretical framework as to be indefinable, even when presented as a phenomenon to be measured and quantified.

4

Page 5: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

To measure Use

We focus on Inputs

5

…and Outputs

Number of patrons who enter the building …such as the number of book circulations.

Page 6: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

What about electronic resources?

6

• Many instances of use are removed from the library, thus unobservable

• Multiple points of access (such as Google Scholar) further confuse the issue: patrons are less aware that they’re using library resources

Page 7: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

“as the pendulum swings from physical library use to online use of libraries, we need to develop measurement and assessment methods to accurately portray how users are using the library”

“some of the basic ‘natural laws of library and information science’ may not apply as well or as consistently in the realm of electronic information discovery and use”2

7

Page 8: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

8

“Among other changes, the Complete College Tennessee Act:• Funds higher education

based in part on success and

outcomes, including higher rates of degree completion.”

Page 9: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

“Questions such as, ‘Who uses these

resources?’ or ‘Are these huge outlays of

funds justified in terms of use, or value

derived from use?’ or ‘What difference do

all of these resources make to students

and faculty in universities?’ must be

answered if university administrators,

trustees, students, and faculty are

expected to support ever-increasing levels

of funding for the acquisition and

development of these resources and

services.”3

9

Page 10: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Is Use a Primitive Concept?

No. Use does not, in fact have a singular conceptual meaning in the LIS domain and can signify many actions, processes, and events.

10

Page 11: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

The Use Typology: Dimensions of Use

I. Use as an Abstraction Ia. Use as a FacilitatorII. Use as an ImplementIII. Use as a ProcessIV. Use as a Transaction IVa. Use as a Connector

11

Page 12: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Use as an Abstraction

•A general term for all types of library/information use

•Disassociated from any specific instance of the phenomenon

12

Page 13: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

13

“Of the 57,148 households, 27,511 households (48.1%) had a household member who used the public library in the past year. ”4

Page 14: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Use as a Process

Application of library/information resources, materials, and/or services…

· To complete a complex or multi-stage task

· To the solution of a problem

14

Page 15: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

“This study reveals that undergraduate students experience information use in a complex, multi-tiered way that needs to be addressed by higher educators when creating information literacy pedagogy.”6

“as the pendulum swings from physical library use to online use of libraries, we need to develop measurement and assessment methods to accurately portray how users are using the library”4

Page 16: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Use as a Transaction

•Isolated instances of library or information use

•Can be recorded and quantified

•Removed from the user

16

Page 17: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

“statistics provided by electronic book vendors…show that [our] community uses e-books quite heavily. The data do not show, however, how books are used. For instance, the available statistics show that a book has been accessed but do not differentiate between a one-second click on a title and a five-hour immersion in a book. The data also do not tell us why an electronic version of a book was used instead of the paper version”

The data do not show, however, how books are used….the data also do not tell us why an electronic version of a book was used instead of the paper version”7

Page 18: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

18

•Vendor-supplied data (COUNTER compliant or otherwise)

•Transaction log analysis▫Including page view time measurement

(are they really reading?)

▫Log-ons—what about database timeouts?

▫“Connectedness” of journals within session

Transactional Model of Use=Over-reliance on static assessments of electronic resource usage, such as…

Page 19: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

19

Understanding of Use as Process

Article Download

Visit to the Reference

Desk

Db A: Log on

Page 20: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Understanding Use as Process

Not exclusively statistical

Requires multiple data collection methods

Requires “bipartisan” support, i.e., working with public services to gain a fuller understanding of how and why patrons use the resources they do.

20

Page 21: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

How, specifically?

•Observation

•Focus groups

• Interviews

•Surveys

• Inter-institution information sharing

•Usability testing

•Triangulation.

21

Page 22: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

Questions?

Thank you for your time!

Page 23: Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-resource Use

1. Swigger, Keith, and Adeline Wilkes. 1991. The use of citation data to evaluate serials subscriptions in an academic library. Serials Review 17 (2):41-46; 52.

2. Peters, Thomas A. 2002. What's the use? the value of e-resource usage statistics. New Library World 103 (1172/3):39-47.

3. Miller, Rush, and Sherrie Schmidt. E-Metrics: Measures for Electronic Resources. In Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services.

4. Sin, Sei-Ching Joanna, and Kyung-Sun Kim. 2008. Use and non-use of public libraries in the information age: A logistic regression analysis of household characteristics and library services variables. Library & Information Science Research (07408188) 30 (3):207-215.

5. Peters, Thomas A. 2002. What's the use? the value of e-resource usage statistics. New Library World 103 (1172/3):39-47.

6. Maybee, C. (2006). Undergraduate Perceptions of Information Use: The Basis for Creating User-Centered Student Information Literacy Instruction. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(1), 79-85.

7. Levine-Clark, Michael. 2006. Electronic Book Usage: A Survey at the University of Denver. portal 6 (3):285-299.

23