Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 14, No. 418.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 20:10:59 +0100
From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org>
Subject: White Paper on E-Journal Usage Statistics
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources
from across the Community
October 25, 2000
Council on Library and Information Resources Publishes
White Paper on E-Journal Usage Statistics
<http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub94/pub94.pdf>http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub94/pub94.pdf
>>Date: Wed, 25 Oct 00 11:07:04 -0700
>From: Kathlin Smith <ksmith@clir.org>
>To: "David Green" <david@ninch.org>
>
>
>
>For immediate
>release Contact: Deanna Marcum
>October 24,
>2000
>202-939-4750
>
>CLIR Publishes White Paper on E-Journal Usage Statistics
>
>
>Washington, D.C.The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)
>has published a white paper on electronic journal usage statistics by Judy
>Luther, president of the consulting firm Informed Strategies. The report
>examines why it has been difficult to obtain statistics on electronic
>journal usage, and reveals librarians and publishers concerns with
>respect to the generation of usage statistics. The paper suggests a
>context for further discussion between the providers and consumers of
>electronic journals.
>
>Fewer than half of the publishers of electronic journals currently
>generate statistics on usage for librarians. The reason is not a simple
>matter of publishers being unwilling to provide such information, even
>though some complain that implementing a data collection function is
>costly and others fear that librarians will cancel subscriptions if usage
>is low. A more basic problem is that there is no agreement on how to
>produce data that can be compared and analyzed. It has been difficult for
>librarians to know what to ask for when something as basic as the term
>"use" can have many meanings. Librarians and publishers must work together
>in solving the problem.
>
>The white paper reveals that publishers and librarians share a significant
>number of concerns besides a lack of comparable or complete usage data.
>They worry about the lack of context for understanding data, the lack of
>certainty about effective economic models, and the complexity of issues
>related to user privacy.
>
>According to the report, publishers who have begun to supply librarians
>with the needed data have not found that librarians are canceling
>subscriptions. In fact, publishers who have developed the capability to
>collect and analyze statistics for libraries are using this capability to
>create data for their own applications.
>
>The author notes that, currently, "associations involved in creating
>standards and guidelines on data collection are focused on defining the
>data elements and determining what is currently being done. No one is
>working directly with the publishers who have developed the data,
>understand the variables, and are in a position to provide guidance."
>Because it is a period of discovery for both librarians and publishers,
>the author recommends that a forum be held at which invited
>representatives from the publisher, vendor, and library communities could
>advance the dialog about generating data that can be compared.
>
>The White Paper on Electronic Journal Usage Statistics is available on
>CLIRs Web site, www.clir.org. Print copies will soon be available for $15
>per copy through the Web site.
>
>The Council on Library and Information Resources works in partnership with
>libraries, archives, and other information providers to advocate
>collaborative approaches to preserving the nations intellectual heritage
>and strengthening the many components of its information system. It works
>to support institutions as they integrate audiovisual and digital
>resources and services into their well-established, print-based environments.
>==================================================================
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