California Digital Library » Usage Statistics

Journal Value Metrics Webinars Scheduled for May 2010

Jacqueline Wilson — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:36:16 +0000

By Jacqueline Wilson, CDL Senior Associate for Shared Content

CDL will host four sessions of Value-based Journal Metrics/Journal Review Process, 2011 on:

Wednesday, May 12, 2:00 – 3:30 PM
Thursday, May 13, 3:00 – 4:30 PM
Monday, May 17, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Tuesday, May 18, 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

The webinars will cover:

Value-based metrics
Value-based metrics algorithm revisions
Definitions of terms used in the journal review process
Title voting options
Usage data: sources, validity, normalization, ScholarlyStats, COUNTER 3
Review of Springer journals spreadsheet
2011 Journal Title Review Process overview and timeline

To enroll in a webinar go to: http://www.cdlib.org/services/collections/protected/survey/index.html [password protected]; UC users can request a password here.

If you have questions about the webinars, please contact Chan Li at Chan.Li@ucop.edu

Journal Value Metrics Assessment

Jacqueline Wilson — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:25:02 +0000

By Jacqueline Wilson, CDL Senior Associate for Shared Content

In 2008, the UC libraries adopted a new value-based strategy developed by CDL which is now used in negotiations with major publishers. The strategy involves using objective metrics to compare the value of scholarly journals, establish price containment targets, and identify titles of poor value to consider for potential cancellation. The process is objective and quantifiable and is based both on cost and value with a goal of leading to more sustainable prices overall.

A key aspect of this new methodology is the use of a Weighted Value Algorithm to assess multiple vectors of value for each journal title under review. Value is assessed in three overall categories: Utility, Quality, and Cost Effectiveness. For example, usage statistics contribute to a journal’s Utility score, impact factor contributes to its Quality score, while both cost per use and cost per impact factor contribute to its Cost Effectiveness score. A composite score is then assigned to each journal to assess its overall value in comparison to other journals in the same broad subject category. In addition to the weighted value algorithm, many other metrics are compiled and provided to campus librarians by CDL to ensure the richest possible set of information with which to make important selection decisions.

In order to assess the usefulness of the value metrics used in the 2010 journal title review and identify ways to improve the process for 2011, CDL made an online survey available to UC Collection Development Officers, campus bibliographers, and other librarians who participated in last year’s journal title review. CDL staff members Chan Li and Jacqueline Wilson developed the survey and analyzed the results. Sixty-two librarians on nine campuses completed the survey. The majority of respondents indicated they were bibliographers. Participants subject specialties included: 45% social science & humanities; 29% science & technology; 18% life & health sciences; and 13 % other. The survey instrument and full survey results can be found at: http://www.cdlib.org/services/collections/protected/survey/index.html [password protected]; UC users can request a password here.

The majority of survey participants found the CDL Weighted Value Metrics to be useful, but also wanted to increase the validity of the metrics. As a result of the survey, CDL will make the following changes to the metrics for 2011:

Restructure the weighted value algorithm to encompass additional data points and to better account for missing data elements. Titles with little data will get low scores so they can be reviewed by the campuses.
Explore the feasibility of adding potential ILL costs for titles which may be cancelled
Correct usage data anomalies (normalize data & note problems)
Add a new major subject category division: Arts and Humanities
Seek additional citation data for social science & arts and humanities titles
Bundled titles will be treated as one entity
Unsubscribed titles which were included in packages at no cost will be shown with their publisher list price
Eigenfactor use and value will be reconsidered as it is less widely understood and tends to track closely to impact factor

New journal metrics which were of interest to at least 50 percent of the survey participants will be investigated for possible inclusion in this year’s journal title review process. These metrics include: # of editors by campus, # of authors by campus, average UC use per article, average UC cost per article, 5 year usage trends, and 3 year usage trends.

Survey participants also identified a number of general changes they would like to see in the next journal review process:

Lengthen the time given for campuses to review titles and metrics. Journal package lists up for review will start going out by the end of April in time for campuses to coordinate systemwide decisions with local collection decisions
Lists of new and transfer titles for journal packages that are up for review will go out separately in the early Fall
CDL will clarify definitions of “subscribed” & “unsubscribed,” “licensed “and “not licensed,” and “Historical UC Subscription”
CDL will continue to build support for niche titles into the review process
CDL will revise voting choices with clearer definitions
Usual campus co-shares will be used allocate costs for each journal package; title votes will not be used to re-calculate campus cost shares

CDL will host a number of webinars for campus librarians in May to review the metrics and procedures for this year’s title review process. More information on the webinars can be found at: http://www.cdlib.org/services/collections/protected/survey/index.html.

Please contact Chan Li (Chan.Li@ucop.edu) or Jacqueline Wilson (Jacqueline.Wilson@ucop.edu) if you have any questions or would like additional information.

2008 Usage Statistics: Journal, Database and E-book Update

Chan Li — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:25:13 +0000

By Chan Li, CDL Library Data Analyst

2008 annual UC systemwide aggregated and campus-by-campus usage statistics for selected major Tier 1 and Tier 2 journals, databases and e-books are now available on the Inside CDL website at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/usage_statistics.html.

Besides the two types of reports provided during the past few years, ejournal article downloads and database searches and sessions, CDL has begun to include e-book section download reports. For Springer e-books, the first systemwide e-book pilot, usage reports are included by campus and subject. Usage can be viewed by Springer subject categories. As new Tier 1 and Tier 2 e-book packages become available they will also be included in these reports.

Last year, several large publishers had problems reporting usage data for their content. Elsevier ScienceDirect usage downloads were overstated by about 13% for the months of August 2008 to December 2008 for the UC libraries. This made the 2008 ‘full year’ Elsevier usage statistics overstated by about 5%. The reports are in the process of being corrected and have not yet been included in the 2008 annual usage reports. Wiley has not yet provided July-December 2008 usage data for their Blackwell content. CDL is working with these publishers to resolve the problems and will post the corrected reports when they are available.

One of the observations from reading the 2008 usage reports is that there are wide variations in some reported statistics. Some of the changes may reflect actual usage trends and some may result from anomalies in the data. Below are some possible reasons for the usage changes:

New content or backfiles have been added
New features or links implemented on the interface associated with full-text access
Data mining activities
More external entry points for the full-text content, e.g., Google Scholar
Greater use of Google Scholar and other search engines instead of A&I databases, resulting in usage declines for those databases
Research interest changes on the campuses

In addition, some publishers are now providing and end-users have begun using software that allows users to easily download multiple full-text articles simultaneously. For example, since September 2008, Elsevier has partnered with Quosa, a document download software company, to allow users to download up to 20 PDF versions of full-text research with only a few clicks. CDL will be monitoring the effect these new tools may have on UC usage reports.

CDL will continue to monitor resource usage for identifiable trends and investigate those databases and journals with unusual usage patterns.

For more information, contact Chan Li (Chan.Li@ucop.edu).

Journal and Database Usage Statistics Update

Chan Li — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:50:02 +0000

By Chan Li, CDL Data Analyst

2007 UC systemwide and campus-by-campus aggregated usage statistics for selective major Tier 1 and Tier 2 journals and database are now available on the Inside CDL website at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/usage_statistics.html#2007

Two types of reports are included: Ejournal articles viewed by campus and Database searches & sessions by campus. The aggregated annual reports represent a better consortial view of all the campuses’ data with two years trends. Some resources included here are not covered by ScholarlyStats service at present. The CDL reports are selective and not every publisher or vendor provides usage statistics. CDL will monitor usage for newly licensed resources.

Usage statistics are an important metric for collection analysis. Combined with other metrics, usage statistics have been applied in the title adjustment process and in publisher negotiations. Usage data may be misinterpreted due to a variety of reasons. Web crawlers and harvesters are increasingly common in the academic environment and are already causing usage data anomalies in CDL licensed resources. One example discovered in the 2007 statistics was that data mining at one of the campuses in the Linguistics department inflated the usage for the journal Science.

Beginning in 2008, two new accounts will be added to UC statistics: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory library and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory library. There will be 13 user accounts total. ScholarlyStats is continuing to expand its list of platforms. More about ScholarlyStats service: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/scholarlystats.html

2005 Annual Usage Statistics Report Available

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:18:46 +0000

Selective Tier One and Tier Two journal and database usage statistics for calendar year 2005 are now available on the Inside CDL website at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/usage_statistics.html#2005. There are two reports included: Ejournal articles viewed by campus and Database searches by campus. CDL staff are still collecting missing usage data for some resources. The reports are expected to be complete by early April 2007. The EJournal articles viewed spreadsheet shows the number of successful full-text article requests by resource name on both UC systemwide and campus levels for calendar year 2005, and 2004-2005 comparison data on UC total number of article request statistics by resource name. The Database searches spreadsheet shows total searches by database on both UC systemwide and campus levels for calendar year 2005, and 2004-2005 comparison data on UC total number of search statistics by database. Anomalies in the data are described in notes that accompany the reports. Staff continue to work with publishers and database providers to make the usage statistics reports more accurate and standardized. For example, at present, not all publishers break down their usage statistics by campus nor do they provide COUNTER-compliant reports.

CDL staff are also working with a commercial vendor, ScholarlyStats, to create usage statistics reports for calendar years 2006 and 2007. ScholarlyStats is a new service licensed by CDL that offers a single point of access to standardized usage statistics reports from many of the largest and most important publishers and database providers. CDL expects to release 2006 annual usage statistics reports and 2007 monthly reports in early April 2007.

For questions and more information please contact Chan Li, CDL Data Analyst at Chan.Li@ucop.edu or 510-987-9796.

2004 Database and Revised Ejournal View Statistics Now Available:

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 14:05:44 +0000

Database searches by campus: Report for January 1, 2004 – December 31, 2004. Includes consortium-level data for calendar year 2003 as well. [password-protected]
Ejournal articles viewed by campus: Report for January 1, 2004 – December 31, 2004. Includes consortium-level data for calendar year 2003 as well. Revised. [password-protected]

Available at

http://www.cdlib.org/inside/assess/usage_statistics.html .

If you have any questions, please contact Jacqueline Wilson at jacqueline.wilson@ucop.edu.

2004 Usage Statistics by E-Journal Publisher

admin — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 18:12:12 +0000

The E-journal Article Views statistics for 2004 are now posted on Inside CDL . These annual statistics summarize use by e-journal publisher and by campus (where provided) and are password-protected. CDL data analyst Laura Fosbender prepared this report and is still compiling the matching report on 2004 electronic database searches. Please contact Jacqueline Wilson at jacqueline.wilson@ucop.edu, if you have any questions.

CDL Joins Project COUNTER

admin — Thu, 23 Sep 2004 18:38:24 +0000

The CDL has recently become a member of Project COUNTER (http://www.projectcounter.org/), which is working to improve the quality and consistence of usage reporting in libraries.

Producers and purchasers of online information products have parallel interests in measuring and reporting the use of online resources in a consistent way. As librarians, we want to better understand how the information we buy from a variety of sources is being used, while publishers want to know how the information products they disseminate are being accessed.

In order to meet these objectives, Project COUNTER has developed a code of practice to guide the recording and exchange of online usage data.

With its membership, the CDL will participate in the advancement of the project and can now comment directly on the further development of these guidelines.

Statistics Summary Reports Available

admin — Thu, 13 Feb 2003 17:32:46 +0000

The latest statistical profile of the CDL is now available from the “About the CDL” publications web page [ http://www.cdlib.org/about/publications/] and the Evaluation Activities page [http://www.cdlib.org/libstaff/education/evaluation/], entitled [http://www.cdlib.org/about/publications/fy01-02cdl_statsprofile.pdf] The California Digital Library: Key Indicators of Collections and Use (July 1, 2001 – June 20, 2002).

In addition, reports summarizing usage by database and ejournal publisher and by campus (where provided) are also available on the CDL Libstaff Evaluation Activities page:

[http://www.cdlib.org/libstaff/sharedcoll/protected/jul2001_jun2002_databasesearches.pdf] (password required)
[http://www.cdlib.org/libstaff/sharedcoll/protected/jul2001_jun2002_articlesviewed.pdf] (password required)

Please contact Rosalie Lack if you have any questions: mailto:Rosalie.Lack@ucop.edu

Statistics Summary Report Available

admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2002 21:52:45 +0000

The latest statistical profile of the CDL is now available from the “About the CDL” publications web site: , entitled The California Digital Library: Key Indicators of Collections and Use (July 1, 2000 – June 20, 2001).

As explained in the report’s introduction, the CDL has changed from calendar year statistical reporting to fiscal year reporting. Unless otherwise noted, the report presents selected statistics for the fiscal year July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001, and contrasts them, where possible, with similar metrics from January to December 2000, the coverage from the previous report. It is important to note that, since this report reflects the transition to fiscal year reporting, in most cases, there is an overlap of 6 months of data (Jul-Dec 2000) between these two most recent reports.

If you have any questions, please contact Rosalie Lack at Rosalie.lack@ucop.edu.