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

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

Hi all,

I work a lot with setting up COUNTER for publishers and can speak briefly
to an adjacent topic related to reference works in particular: But I also
wondered if/when I should use title requests for reference works like
encyclopedias.

In COUNTER 5.1 there are a few new data types that make it possible to
track title usage for reference works of all kinds using the title metric
of Reference_Work and item metric of Reference_Item. If the provider has
set up their usage to track specific reference works inside of a database
with both title and item metadata, you should be able to track this usage
in the TR and the IR reports. As more publishers come online with 5.1,
hopefully this title-item reporting will become more widely used.

Best,
Michelle

*Michelle Urberg, PhD, MSLIS*
Client Success Manager
*michelle at liblynx.com <michelle at liblynx.com>* | +1 202-888-3324 |
www.liblynx.com


On Thu, 20 Mar 2025 at 14:36, Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion
list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> wrote:

> 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
>
>
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