UML Usage Statistics Overview
ERM staff collect usage statistics on quarterly basis
When harvesting usage statistics on vendors’ platforms, we run COUNTER-compliant reports. We have been running release 3 of COUNTER in the past. In 2014, however, vendors should have implemented release 4 of COUNTER reports. (ERM decided to start harvesting COUNTER4 reports in FY 2014-15). To learn more about COUNTER reports, click here.
Historically, ERM staff have been running Database reports 1 or 3 (DR1 or DR3) for sessions and searches per month and Journal report 1 (JR1) for full-text articles accessed per month. If COUNTER compliant reports are unavailable, we run any report that will provide us with data on the use of resource by UML patrons.
The list of database titles for collection of usage statistics is based on the Cost History Titles document, provided by Annelle Huggins.
At the end of the fiscal year, ERM may collect usage statistics for a more comprehensive list of databases to monitor their use in spite of the fact that they have not been included in the most current Cost History Titles document. The list of these databases is attached below.
UML Usage Statistics Steps
Go to CM>>Electronic Resources Management>>Database Usage Statistics>>!Usage Statistics 2013-14, locate and open the folder for the appropriate quarter (e.g.: Quarter_3_FY2013-14).
Open the !Usage Statistics Excel spreadsheet (a copy of this spreadsheet is attached below)
For each database, copy the URL from column D into a browser and use information from column E to log in to the Admin account.
Run the report and save it in the same folder as the !Usage Statistics Excel spreadsheet (?).
Transfer the data from the report onto the !Usage Statistics spreadsheet. Save.
Once all statiscitcs have been collected, calculate totals and e-mail a copy of the totals to Annelle Huggins.
UML Usage Statistics Best Practices
Get the list of Cost History Titles from Annelle Huggins at the beginning of each FY and create four spreadsheets with these titles on the shared drive under Database Usage Statistics
Allow up to 3 weeks after the end of each quarter before you start collecting usage stats. Not all vendors make usage data available in real time.
Keep track of all changes in our admin login information and update it in Sierra accordingly
ProQuest
ProQuest reports of our usage statistics are not 100% reliable, because they duplicate the same data for every line item within a database (for example, all databases within CSA will have roughly the same usage stats).
In this case, report the highest number among the line items within a particular database. The image attached below is a fragment from a ProQuest database report that shows total searches for CSA databases (CSA database is broken down into smaller databases, and they all are listed in this report). I have sorted them by value, high-->low, and selected the highest number (112) for the usage report that is turned in to Annelle Huggins.
For a list of CSA databases, see SK edit-Copy of !UsageStats_2Quarter_raw attached below.