Project COUNTER-a progress report

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, e.g. mirror sites/caches

Online usage statistics need to be…….

CredibleConsistentCompatible

“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 resourcesARL E-metrics projectNational 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 dataPALS usage statistics working group

... the answer is…...

COUNTER - endorsed 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

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,LWW

2002 Objectives

Gain industry support for COUNTER Increase awareness of COUNTERDeliver Release 1 of the Code of

Practice: Focus on journals and databases

Identify and define data elements to collectUsage Report content, format and deliveryGuidelines for data processing and auditing

Timeline - 2002

March 2002 Project COUNTER formally launched

August 2002 Online librarian survey completed

October 2002 Major elements of the Code of Practice in

placeUsage Reports, Data Elements, Definitions,

Processing

December 2002 Release 1 of the COUNTER Code of

Practice

Progress Report 1: Online Librarian Survey

650 librarians responded 49 corporate librarians Responses of corporate librarians did not deviate from the whole

Focus on journals & databases Need for a small number of reliable reports Reports should be made available on a password-controlled

website, with email alerts Reports must be provided at least monthly Data must be updated within two weeks of the end of the

reporting period All of last year’s data and this year’s to date must be supplied

Progress Report 2- Usage Reports based on librarian survey

Journal Reports Level 1 Full-text article requests by

month and journal Turnaways by month and

journal Level 2 Full-text article requests by

month,journal and page type Not needed Total searches run Time of day report Day of week report Total daily activity report

Database Reports Level 1 Total searches and

sessions by month and database

Not needed Time of day report Day of week report Total daily activity report

Progress Report 3: Journal Report 1: Full-text article requests by month and journal

Journal Name

Print ISSN

Online ISSN

Jan-01 Feb-01 Mar-01

Journal of AAA

1212-3131

3225-3123

456 521 665

Journal of BBB

9821-3361

2312-8751

203 251 275

Journal of CCC

2464-2121

0154-1521

456 521 665

TOTAL 6645 7713 5445

Progress Report 4: Issues to be resolved

Auditing of Usage Reports & Processes Auditing needed How to implement and monitor

Gateways Several options Need to avoid double counting with publisher Establish protocols for collecting and supplying data

Progress Report 5 - website

www.projectCounter.org About COUNTER

project mission & plan, history, other initiatives

Sponsors Steering Group News and Activities Articles and Presentations Contact us

2003 and beyond

Objectives for 2003 Promote and gain acceptance for the COUNTER Code of

Practice Obtain feedback on Release 1 Complete list of approved auditors Define and set up permanent administrative structure Full implementation of Code of Practice by Vendors for 2004

Beyond 2003 Extend and deepen Code of Practice

Cover e-books, etc Reporting at article level

Monitor usage and user behaviour?

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

One Code - parallel codes will attract minimal buy-in

COUNTER Founding Sponsors

AAP/PSP ALPSP ARL Blackwell Publishing EBSCO Ingenta Institute of Physics

Publishing JISC

Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

Nature Publishing Group Oxford University Press The Publishers Association ProQuest Taylor & Francis STM UKSG

For more information……..

www.projectCounter.org