Standardizing Usage Statistics Requests with SUSHI Theodore Fons Senior Product Manager Innovative Interfaces

Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) The usage statistics gathering enterprise for libraries –The benefits of COUNTER –The task before libraries The solution for libraries –The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) Electronic Resource Management Systems Future directions for SUSHI Resources First, some thoughts on statistics …

Some thoughts on statistics Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.

Some thoughts on statistics Meaningless statistics were up one-point-five percent this month over last month.

Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI)

SUSHI is: –An automated way for a customer to harvest COUNTER-based usage statistics SUSHI benefits libraries: –By eliminating the labor-intensive process of downloading usage statistics from each content provider SUSHI benefits content providers: –By providing an efficient method of providing statistics and reducing user interface layers

Starting at the beginning: COUNTER

The Usage Statistics Gathering Enterprise for Libraries The Benefits of COUNTER –Uniformity in the rules of tracking usage –Uniformity of data reported What activity is occurring with the electronic resource: –Full text downloads –Database access –Database searches –Simplifies usage statistics database design –Allows meaningful comparisons between resources

The Usage Harvesting Task for Libraries

The Usage Statistics Gathering Enterprise for Libraries Libraries must gather statistics from each provider using each providers interface This library maintains a 38 page manual on how to get usage stats from each vendor

The Usage Statistics Gathering Enterprise for Libraries

The Solution for Libraries

Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) –June, 2005Discussions begin: Cornell Univ., Ebsco, Ex Libris, Innovative, Swets, Univ. of Washington (later expanded to include Thompson Scientific) –Summer, 2005Technical discussions –October, 2005NISO Initiative/Committee forms –April, 2006University of Nebraska Lincoln harvests data from Ebsco –Sept., 2006Draft Standard for Trial Use published –May, 2007Trial use period completed –June, 2007 NISO membership balloting –September, 2007 Z39.93, Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative

How does it work?

The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : How does it work? Server Client request usage data ERM Publisher or Third Party Aggregator

The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : Why Web Services? Web Services combine the best aspects of component- based development and the Web Commercially accepted Widely Supported (W3C) Secure

The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : Some Definitions XML Schema –A language for describing the structure and constraining the contents of XML documents. (reactivity.com glossary) Web Services –Open, standard (XML, SOAP, etc.) based Web applications that interact with other web applications for the purpose of exchanging data. (lucent.com) Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) –SOAP is a lightweight XML based protocol used for invoking web services and exchanging structured data and type information on the Web

The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : Some Definitions Web Services Description Language (WSDL) –WSDL is an XML format published for describing Web services (wikipedia.org)

The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : The Exchange Report Request Report Response

Electronic Resource Management Systems

Collection Analysis & Usage Tracking

The Benefits of SUSHI

Benefits for Libraries –Efficiency The end of manual usage statistics harvesting Eliminates significant time investment in manual harvesting –Integration Harvesting can be integrated with the ERMS and/or Integrated Library System The burden of database design and development is removed for the library The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : What are the benefits? Benefits for Content Providers –Matching Customer Expectations Libraries see the value in usage statistics and appreciate vendor compliance, but harvesting must be efficient Inefficient harvesting adds to overall cost of the electronic resource –Reduced overall investment The best user interface is no user interface. SUSHI moves the user interface design to the SUSHI client

Benefits for Libraries –Efficiency The end of manual usage statistics harvesting Eliminates significant time investment in manual harvesting –Integration Harvesting can be integrated with the ERMS and/or Integrated Library System The burden of database design and development is removed for the library The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : What are the benefits? Benefits for Content Providers –Matching Customer Expectations Libraries see the value in usage statistics and appreciate vendor compliance, but harvesting must be efficient Inefficient harvesting adds to overall cost of the electronic resource –Reduced overall investment The best user interface is no user interface. SUSHI moves the user interface design to the SUSHI client –Mitigating element Relatively easy to implement Known Web Services technology

The Future of SUSHI

Additional Data Elements –Cost and Payment information? –License Terms? SUSHI could become a requirement for COUNTER compliance –Under consideration by COUNTER

Next Steps…

Steps for Publishers/Content Providers: –Talk to your development staff about SUSHI and web services –Talk to your customers about how important this is to them Steps for Libraries: –Implement an ERMS with a built-in SUSHI client –Tell your content providers about how important SUSHI is to you The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative

Resources

NISO Website: SUSHI Schemas: SUSHI FAQ: –What is the relationship of the COUNTER payload schema to the SUSHI schema? –What variable information has to be supplied in a SUSHI (client) request? –What variable information has to be supplied in a SUSHI (server) response? –What COUNTER reports can be delivered with SUSHI? –Does SUSHI support older Releases of the COUNTER reports? The Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative : Resources

Questions?