Looking for the Inside Scoop on Usage Statistics? This Pamphlet's for You!

Daria DeCooman, Global Account Development & Channel Marketing Manager, Elsevier, San Diego, CA, USA

The newest Library Connect practical assistance pamphlet, "What Counts and What Doesn't: An Insider's Guide to Usage Reports,” is hot off the press and available in print and online at www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect.

Marthyn Borghuis, a senior manager with Elsevier’s Usage Research Department, edited this pamphlet, bringing together diverse voices and points of view in an in-depth examination of the impacts and value of usage reports for electronic resources.

Librarians Tony Kidd of Glasgow University Library, Anthony Ferguson and Gayle Rosemary Y.C. Chan of the University of Hong Kong Libraries, and Elizabeth Lorbeer of the Library of Rush University Medical Center, explain how their libraries are using locally produced and vendor-provided usage reports. They also suggest ways vendors’ usage reports may continue to be improved.

COUNTER Project Director Peter Shepherd gives the latest news about COUNTER and summarizes COUNTER's achievements. According to Dr. Shepherd, “Our work has given librarians confidence in the quality of the data.”

Maurits van der Graaf reports on input gained during recent interviews with European and US university librarians, who identify the wonderful and woeful aspects of usage statistics and their applications.

Elsevier representatives Sonja Lendi and Dirk de Heer take readers on behind-the-scenes tours showing how Elsevier usage reports are produced and used by Elsevier itself. The pamphlet additionally offers useful information to assist librarians with understanding and applying Elsevier-produced usage reports. Sonja’s article answering the most frequently asked questions about Elsevier-provided usage reports may prove a handy guide to information professionals accessing ScienceDirect or Scopus usage reports at   http://usagereports.elsevier.com.

So, upon conclusion of reading this pamphlet, what might readers take away? Librarians are using usage reports to:

• Evaluate collections of digital resources.
• Make better informed decisions about library resources.
• Make evidence-based decisions.
• Build collections based on actual use.
• Drive collection development decisions.
• Produce cost-benefit assessments to justify expenditures.
• Convey benefits of investments in e-resources.
• Produce annual reports.

Is that all which warrants reporting from the new pamphlet? Certainly not, but for the rest of the nuggets — including the fact that library websites accounted for 24% of all referrals to ScienceDirect during 2004 — you must turn to the pamphlet itself.

If you'd like printed copies of any of our pamphlets, please use the enclosed pre-paid reply card or send a note to libraryconnect@elsevier.com, specifying the number required and your complete mailing address. If you happen to be at an upcoming event ask an Elsevier representative for copies.