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