THEME IV: E-Metrics: Measuring the Use of Electronic Information
· Problems Associated with Measuring the Use of E-Resources
For many years libraries have measured the use of print materials by counting circulation, pick-ups, and library attendance. But how (and at which of many strata) are we to measure the use of electronic resources? Presently, no standard exists.
Almost all publishers and vendors of electronic information send usage data to their library subscribers, but either they do not measure the same things, or they measure the same things in different ways. Some aggregators (vendors whose packages include products from multiple publishers) do not even provide journal-level usage data--they simply report the number of hits against the entire database. Some evidence suggests that vendor-reported data are prone to error.
Although the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) has issued guidelines that attempt to standardize the way in which vendors measure and report e-resource usage, publishers continue to go their separate and merry ways.
Even the metering software packages that libraries might purchase and install vary enormously in what they measure.
The Association of Research Libraries has begun an e-metrics project (<http://www.arl.org/stats/newmeas/emetrics> and
<http://www.arl.org/stats/program/mcclure.html>) aimed at solving some of these problems. One goal is to develop measurements that would suggest relationships between the use of print and electronic resources. The Council on Library and Information Resources is also studying the e-metrics issue .
· Measuring the Use of E-Resources at Brooklyn College
All of this having been said, by compiling vendors' statistics and making comparisons where it seems that they can be accurately substantiated, we can see the growing popularity of e-resources at Brooklyn College:
Biological Sciences Abstracts 27% more searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000 than in the 1st half
Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health 67% more searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000 than in the 1st half
EconLit 10-fold increase in the number of searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000, over the 1st half
MathSciNet 2-fold increase in the number of searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000, over the 1st half
PsychInfo 150% increase in the number of searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000, over the 1st half
Alternative Health Watch 340% increase in the number of searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000, over the 1st half
American Chemical Society Journals 75% increase in 2000 over 1999
EBSCO Online 10-fold increase in the number of searches per month in the 2nd half of 2000, over the 1st half
In the fall 2000 the College installed net management or metering software which we hope will generate broader, more easily comparable data.
