The Numbers Game: Collecting, Compiling and Utilizing Usage Data in an Academic Library

Jennifer Bazeley

Miami University Libraries

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cushinglibrary/3876088472/in/photostream

“Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.”

-Aaron Levenstein

Overview

Why do we need data?

Using COUNTER Reports

Obtaining E-Resource Usage Data

Storing/Compiling/Disseminating Usage Data Tools and Examples

Analyzing Usage Data

Visualizing Usage Data Tools and Examples

ACRL and NCES Statistics

“In God we trust. All others must bring data.”

-W. Edwards Deming

Why usage data?

Realistic budgets

Saving money

Marketing & promotion opportunities

Justification of new purchases

The bigger picture

Using COUNTER Reports

Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources http://www.projectcounter.org/code_practice.html

Bucknell, Terry. “Garbage in, gospel out: twelve reasons why librarians should not accept cost per download figures at face value.” The Serials Librarian, 63 no. 2 (2012): 192-212. The good: consistent, credible, compatible

The questionable: differences in platform design; extent of content, disciplines, and content type; usage spikes; publisher/platform transfers; title changes; group titles; hybrid journals.

COUNTER Code of PracticeRelease 4

http://www.projectcounter.org/r4/COPR4.pdf Journal and Book DOI

Gold Open Access articles

Journal Report 2 Expansion

Journal Report 5 Modifications

Database Report Modifications

Book Report 2 Type of Section

New Report: Multimedia Report 1

New Report: Full text use of all formats on single platform

New Report: Content Usage on Mobile Devices

Flexibility in reporting period

“We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.”

-Rutherford D. Roger

Obtaining E-Resource Usage Data

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Obtaining E-Resource Usage Data

Obtaining E-Resource Usage Data

Storing, Compiling & Disseminating E-Resource Usage Data

Free or Low Cost Tools

Commercial Products

My Tools

My Tools: Excel and Google Cloud Connect

My Tools: Google Docs – Publish to Web

My Tools: LibGuide

My Tools:EBSCO Usage Consolidation

“Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent.

14% of people know that.”-Homer Simpson

Analyzing Usage Data

Be realistic

Focus your analysis

Leverage available tools

Find partners

Keep it simple

http://xkcd.com/605/

Start Simple

Titles with no use77%

Titles with use23%

Titles with Use: 23%Titles with No Use: 77%

Benchmark

Identify Existing AnalysisGalvin, Thomas J. and Allen Kent. “Use of a University Library Collection: a Progress Report on a Pittsburgh Study.” Library Journal 102, no. 20: (1977): 2317-201

40% of print books are unused six years after purchase

Examine My Data in that FrameworkSpringer e-books: an average of 194 titles accessed for first time each year

2008 – 209 titles used for the 1st time2009 – 240/308 titles used for the 1st time2010 – 133/213 titles used for the 1st time

Trend shows that 54% of our e-books will be unused after six years

Apply an Existing Principle

“If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it.”

-Albert Einstein

http://xkcd.com/418/ http://xkcd.com/197/

Visualizing Data

Usage Data Visualization: Tools Excel

Many Eyes (IBM) – http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/

Wordle http://www.wordle.net/

Google Chart Tools https://developers.google.com/chart/

Piktochart http://piktochart.com/

Create.visual.ly http://create.visual.ly/

Creately http://creately.com/

Raw Data:Cost Versus Use

Visualized Data: Cost Versus Use

Journal A Journal B Journal C$0.00

$500.00

$1,000.00

$1,500.00

$2,000.00

$2,500.00

$3,000.00

$3,500.00

$3,035.00

$2,490.00

$103.00$2.00

$2,166.00

$527.00

Cost Versus Use

Cost Use

Raw Data:Usage on All Platforms vs. Usage on Publisher Platforms

Visualized Data:Usage on All Platforms vs. Usage on Publisher Platforms

1

10

100

1000

10000

Usage on Aggregator Plat-form

Usage on Publisher Platform

Raw Data:Platforms with Highest Use FY12

Visualized Data:Platforms With Highest Use FY12

Jul 2011

Aug 2011

Sep 2011

Oct 2011

Nov 2011

Dec 2011

Jan 2012

Feb 2012

Mar 2012

Apr 2012

May 2012

Jun 2012

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

20000

Platforms with Highest Use FY12

ACS PublicationsHighwire PressJSTORnature.comScienceDirectWiley Online Library

Full T

ext

Requests

Visualized Data:Journal Publishers with Ten or More Uses in 2011

Visualized Data: Journal Platforms with Ten or More Uses in 2011

“Do not trust any statistics you did not fake yourself.”

-Winston Churchill

ACRL and NCES Statistics

Create a team

Discuss the instructions

Leverage automated reporting

Document the process

Jennifer Bazeley

Head, Collection Access & Acquisitions

bazelejw@miamioh.edu

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cushinglibrary/3877848719/in/photostream