[Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Chapter usage interest from librarians? Question about BMJ posting

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

Hi Melissa,

I also find that to be an interesting statement... I mean, I've
definitely *peeked
*at the chapter/section level usage for fun (i.e. I've put
"unique_item_requests" for eBooks alongside "unique_title_requests" to see
any correlation between uses), but I don't utilize that usage to make
acquisition decisions.

I think Chapter usage *could be* interesting if a report would show the
actual Chapter Titles because then I could see if the same exact chapter is
being accessed by 100+ students (maybe for a course) or if the usage of the
book is pretty widespread across different chapters.
Definitely interested in reading other perspectives on this.

Erika Boardman
UNC Charlotte

On Thu, Oct 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion
list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> wrote:

> [*Caution*: Email from External Sender. Do not click or open links or
> attachments unless you know this sender.]
>
> BMJ customer contacts recently got an e-newsletter that included a link to
> this "Q&A":
>
>
> https://bmjinsiders.com/2025/09/26/the-move-to-counter-5-1-questions-from-the-road/
>
> It included this interesting claim: "So, instead of just counting the
> whole book, librarians are focusing more on how individual chapters or
> sections are used. This gives a much clearer picture of which parts of a
> book are most popular."
>
> I am really curious to know of librarians who really do want to know this
> chapter-level usage, and how it could be useful to know "which parts of a
> book are most popular", since we thus far are not offered an option to
> purchase/license just parts of books.
>
> And it just so happens that emphasizing chapter usage figures makes for
> much larger total usage numbers, which I can imagine a publisher would use
> to try to sell more books.
> Call me cynical, but I would genuinely like to hear more from librarians
> who really do something useful with chapter level usage data.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Melissa Belvadi
> Collections Librarian
> University of Prince Edward Island
> mbelvadi at upei.ca  902-566-0581
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