[Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse eBooks

Thu Sep 18 08:15:19 PDT 2025

Very much agreed that Unique Title Requests is the metric to use for e-books. “Item Requests” is contingent on irrelevant factors: a platform’s design (do they allow whole book downloads, individual chapters, or both?) and a book’s number of chapters.

Which makes it all the more egregious when EBA programs (including MUSE…) rely on item request metrics to inform libraries on usage for title selections at the end of a term. I’m sure many libraries have, without realizing it, selected titles simply because one book download = hundreds of “uses”.

Matthew

___________
Matthew Goddard
Access and Acquisitions Head
Iowa State University Library
204 Parks Library | Ames, IA 50011
mgoddard at iastate.edu<mailto:mgoddard at iastate.edu>
(515) 294-6650

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, September 18, 2025 8:08 AM
To: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse eBooks

I agree with Melissa. I sometimes reference the Unique Item Request metric for additional context, but Unique Title Requests gives the picture I need for evaluating eBook usage.

Erika Boardman
eboardman at charlotte.edu<mailto:eboardman at charlotte.edu>

On Thu, Sep 18, 2025 at 8:29 AM Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>> wrote:
I would expect most librarians who use COUNTER data to make decisions will be using Unique Title Request, not Unique Item Request, most of the time when dealing with ebook data. COUNTER added the "title" level of metrics (unique title investigations, unique title requests) just for books for exactly this reason.
This document gives the technical rules for providers to use for these metrics, which can help librarians understand what is actually being counted.
https://cop5.countermetrics.org/en/5.1.0.1/07-processing/04-counting-unique-titles.html

Melissa Belvadi
mbelvadi at upei.ca<mailto:mbelvadi at upei.ca>
Make an appointment: https://mbelvadi.youcanbook.me/

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From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org>> on behalf of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>>
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 7:38 PM
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse eBooks

Hi Everyone

It might be worth noting that this will impact their count of Unique_Item_Requests when they flip to COUNTER Release 5.1, as each chapter in a full title download will be counted as a Unique_Item_Request.

Regards

Michelle

Michelle Morgan (she/her) | Resource Analyst

Collection Access and Development | Student and Scholarly Services

Level 4, Thomas Cherry Building, 787 Swanston Street

The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia

T: +61 3 834 40693 E: michelle.morgan1 at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:michelle.morgan1 at unimelb.edu.au>

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Sent: Thursday, 18 September 2025 5:07 AM
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse eBooks

This matches the information a consortial colleague of mine received.  However, there has to be a better way that is less of an inconvenience.  Could PM not offer in-browser reading as many other vendors offer.  Or, offer both complete book download *and* chapter download which is also an option offered by some vendors.  While I appreciate the need for creating a more accessible reading experience, eliminating chapter downloads was not the answer.  Not sure why it has to be one or the other.

Kind regards,

Laura Vogler

Associate Library Director

Wabash College Lilly Library<https://library.wabash.edu/> | 301 W Wabash Ave | Crawfordsville IN 47933 | P: 765.361.6215

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Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 2:38 PM
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse eBooks

I received this from Project Muse support when I inquired about this:

After May 13, 2025, Project MUSE transitioned to providing full PDF and EPUB downloads for monographs. This decision was made in response to feedback indicating that segmented chapters necessitated users to navigate between chapters and repeatedly download content, often resulting in the need to download the complete book for additional context. Such navigation challenges particularly affected users with print disabilities, impeding both discoverability and comprehension. Project MUSE is dedicated to prioritizing accessibility in its ongoing efforts.

Hope this helps!

Kristina

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KRISTINA EDWARDS (she/her/hers)

Electronic Resources Librarian

UConn Library | Homer Babbidge Library

369 Fairfield Way, Unit 1005 | Storrs, CT 06269

o: (860) -48 6-4776

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Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 2:11 PM
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Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse eBooks

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Hi Laura,

I don't know exactly when the change happened, but I also noticed this a few months ago (sometime in April?) and was very confused. Maybe I missed an announcement, but I don't recall receiving any information about this change happening :/

I don't recall being able to read eBooks within the interface, but I do agree with what you're saying (that it just seems to hold a link to the PDF and lacks navigation).

Erika Boardman

UNC Charlotte

On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>> wrote:

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Hello

It has just come to my attention that the eBook chapter download option is no longer available for Project Muse eBooks.  It appears the only thing you can do is download the entire eBook.  Anyone know when this changed?  And did Project Muse never allow the user to view the book within the interface?  The interface seems now like it is just a repository for a link to the eBook and is not offering any viewing or navigation options to the reader.

Kind regards,

Laura Vogler

Associate Library Director

Wabash College Lilly Library<https://library.wabash.edu/> | 301 W Wabash Ave | Crawfordsville IN 47933 | P: 765.361.6215

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