[Eril-l] [EXT] question about COUNTER usage metrics

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

As I see it, like so many things in life...that depends, specifically on the question being asked.  For example:

  *   How often is this resource used? (with "used" being as general and broad as possible)
     *   Searches_Regular may be enough, unless that resource is part of a federated search service, in which case, Searches_Federated would need to be added in.
  *   How much information is provided by this resource?
     *   Unique_Item_Requests (UIR) may be sufficient, but only if full text is provided.  That would leave out non-full-text information that is provided.
     *   Unique_Item_Investigations (UII) expands the scope of the information provided to include the abstract, the item record, linked outputs, as well as the full-text article.

For broad-scope evaluations of a variety of databases and resources, we've been using Unique_Item_Investigations as a the most common metric.  But if you were do evaluate a few resources that were similar, you could use more nuanced metrics, such as efficiency (ratio of UII divided by Searches, or UIR/UII), or CPU based on UII.

Those are my thoughts...I'm sure there will be others.

Karen R. Harker, MLS, MPH, MS Advanced Data Analytics
Collection Assessment Librarian
University of North Texas Libraries
Denton, Texas
940-565-2688

From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> On Behalf Of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2025 3:15 PM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
Subject: [EXT] [Eril-l] question about COUNTER usage metrics

Hi, I'd like to find out which metrics are used for which resource types.
I tend to use item requests for full-text databases and searches for index databases. Does that sound right?
But I also wondered if/when I should use title requests for reference works like encyclopedias.
Thanks.

Shulamis Hes
E-Collections Librarian/ Public Services Librarian
Yeshiva University Libraries

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.eril-l.org/pipermail/eril-l-eril-l.org/attachments/20250320/231ee916/attachment.htm>