Establishing Standards for Usage Statistics

COUNTER: an international initiative

Peter ShepherdProject Director

COUNTER

Overview

Libraries need online usage statisticsPublishers need online usage statisticsSTM Publishing is globalHow 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…….

CredibleConsistentCompatible

Libraries access their licensed content through multiple services

Publishers deliver their content via multiple channels

So in measuring usage they both need to compare…

with

Compatibility

Lack of standards now means they currently are comparing…

with

Compatibility

“We conclude that it is largely impossible to compare data across vendors, and we recommend that comparison be limited to data from the same vendorsWe 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

Collaboration

To get credible, consistent, compatible usage statistics, we need ONE internationally accepted code

A selection of several codes is not a practical alternative

To move forward effectively, we need a new multi-agency, international project that builds on work done already

... the answer is…...

COUNTER - supported 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

Dedicated resource

Volunteer effort alone can provide us with the relevant expertise and skills

But it won’t deliver our goals in an acceptable time

On 5 March 2002, COUNTER announced the appointment of Peter Shepherd as a dedicated Project Director

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 a code of practice giving guidance on:- Data elements to measure Definitions of these data elements Accurate, complete, and consistent

measurement of user activity Report formats, frequency and granularity Report delivery methods

Progress Report - 1

Reviewed existing projects and established dialogues

Organised an international vendor forum to:- Assess the degree of concern and

commitment Catalogue areas of agreement Flush out areas of complexity and differences

in practice Identify unresolved issues needing further

work

Progress Report - 2

International task forces established to address:- Gateways and hosts Authentication Market elements Data model Data processing Types of reports

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 **

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

Timeline - 2003 and beyond

A programme of:-

PromotionMonitoringRevision 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 vitalOne Code - parallel codes will attract

minimal buy-in

COUNTER is important to publishers

Lex Lefebvre, Secretary General of STM, has commented:

‘STM welcomes, and is pleased to fully support and actively participate in COUNTER. STM sees this project as an excellent opportunity for both librarians and publishers to jointly develop an International Code of Practice on usage statistics that will be useful for both vendors and purchasers of online information products’

For more information……..

www.usagestats.org

Visit the site and join the USAGE listserv to be kept up to date with further developments.