Project COUNTER -a progress report

1. Project COUNTER-a progress report Peter Shepherd Project Director COUNTER

2. Overview • Libraries need online usage statistics • Publishers need online usage statistics • STM Publishing is global • How can we move from usage statistics Babel to a common core of statistics we can trust and compare?

3. Publishers need usage statistics • To support library efforts to procure funding • To demonstrate that reduced usage of print issues has been compensated for by increased online usage • To assess the relative importance of the various routes via which information reaches its market • To experiment with new pricing models • To provide editorial policy support • To obtain improved market analysis/demographics • To inform authors where and how articles are used • To improve site design and navigation • To plan infrastructure, e.g. mirror sites/caches

4. Online usage statistics need to be……. • Credible • Consistent • Compatible

5. “We conclude that it is largely impossible to compare data across vendors, and we recommend that comparison be limited to data from the same vendors We believe that the comprehensive standardisation of usage statistics and data delivery methods cannot be easily achieved in the short term” ARL E-Metrics Phase II Report, Oct 2001

6. So how do we get there in the medium term? • ICOLC Guidelines for statistical measures of usage of web-based information resources • ARL E-metrics project • National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) Electronic access and use related measures • NISO – revision of of Z39.7 (Library Statistics) • ISO – revision of 2789 (library statistics) and 11563 (library performance measures) • Cowhig proposal for auditing usage data • PALS usage statistics working group

7. ... the answer is…...

8. COUNTER - endorsed by… • AAP, Association of American Publishers • ALPSP, The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers • ARL, Association of Research Libraries • ASA, Association of Subscription Agents and Intermediaries • EDItEUR • JISC, Joint Information Systems Committee • NCLIS, National Commission on Libraries and Information Science • NISO, National Information Standards Organization • PA, The Publishers Association • STM, International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers • UKSG, United Kingdom Serials Group

9. International Steering Group • Chair: Richard Gedye, Oxford University Press • 30 members • Europe: • PA, ASA, ALPSP, JISC, STM, UKSG, Blackwell Publishing, British Library, Elsevier, OUP • USA • AAP, ACS, ARL, NCLIS, NFAIS, NISO, EBSCO Publishing, Wiley,LWW

10. 2002 Objectives • Gain industry support for COUNTER • Increase awareness of COUNTER • Deliver Release 1 of the Code of Practice: • Focus on journals and databases • Identify and define data elements to collect • Usage Report content, format and delivery • Guidelines for data processing and auditing

11. Timeline - 2002 • March 2002 • Project COUNTER formally launched • August 2002 • Online librarian survey completed • October 2002 • Major elements of the Code of Practice in place • Usage Reports, Data Elements, Definitions, Processing • December 2002 • Release 1 of the COUNTER Code of Practice

12. Progress Report 1: Online Librarian Survey • 650 librarians responded • 49 corporate librarians • Responses of corporate librarians did not deviate from the whole • Focus on journals & databases • Need for a small number of reliable reports • Reports should be made available on a password-controlled website, with email alerts • Reports must be provided at least monthly • Data must be updated within two weeks of the end of the reporting period • All of last year’s data and this year’s to date must be supplied

13. Journal Reports Level 1 Full-text article requests by month and journal Turnaways by month and journal Level 2 Full-text article requests by month,journal and page type Not needed Total searches run Time of day report Day of week report Total daily activity report Database Reports Level 1 Total searches and sessions by month and database Not needed Time of day report Day of week report Total daily activity report Progress Report 2- Usage Reports based on librarian survey

14. Progress Report 3:Journal Report 1: Full-text article requests by month and journal

15. Progress Report 4: Issues to be resolved • Auditing of Usage Reports & Processes • Auditing needed • How to implement and monitor • Gateways • Several options • Need to avoid double counting with publisher • Establish protocols for collecting and supplying data

16. Progress Report 5 - website • www.projectCounter.org • About COUNTER • project mission & plan, history, other initiatives • Sponsors • Steering Group • News and Activities • Articles and Presentations • Contact us

17. 2003 and beyond • Objectives for 2003 • Promote and gain acceptance for the COUNTER Code of Practice • Obtain feedback on Release 1 • Complete list of approved auditors • Define and set up permanent administrative structure • Full implementation of Code of Practice by Vendors for 2004 • Beyond 2003 • Extend and deepen Code of Practice • Cover e-books, etc • Reporting at article level • Monitor usage and user behaviour?

18. Vital factors for a successful implementation and uptake • ‘Start small, test often’….develop a modest core Code and build out incrementally • Build continuous development capability into the support structure • Pool our collective wisdom and work together • One Code - parallel codes will attract minimal buy-in

19. AAP/PSP ALPSP ARL Blackwell Publishing EBSCO Ingenta Institute of Physics Publishing JISC Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Nature Publishing Group Oxford University Press The Publishers Association ProQuest Taylor & Francis STM UKSG COUNTER Founding Sponsors

20. For more information…….. www.projectCounter.org