Connecting E-Resource Management Systems and Usage Statistics IFLA ERMS Satellite Meeting Cape Town, South Africa August 16, 2007 Oliver Pesch EBSCO Information Services

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative) Looking ahead

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

Timeline

 E-resource usage grows online resources become significant libraries need to measure use not all vendors provide usage reports reporting inconsistent E-resource usage grows online resources become significant libraries need to measure use not all vendors provide usage reports reporting inconsistent ….

Timeline  ICOLC Guidelines for usage released consortia buying more e-resources troubled by lack of consistent reporting developed guidelines for usage reporting normalized terminology set expectations for vendor reporting ICOLC Guidelines for usage released consortia buying more e-resources troubled by lack of consistent reporting developed guidelines for usage reporting normalized terminology set expectations for vendor reporting

Timeline  ICOLC Guidelines release 2 Refined guidelines ICOLC Guidelines release 2 Refined guidelines

Timeline  Project COUNTER formed ICOLC guidelines helped, but… Inconsistencies in counting and formatting Libraries, publishers and aggregators formed COUNTER Developed code of practice for… Consistent, comparable and credible usage Project COUNTER formed ICOLC guidelines helped, but… Inconsistencies in counting and formatting Libraries, publishers and aggregators formed COUNTER Developed code of practice for… Consistent, comparable and credible usage

Timeline  COUNTER code of practice – release 1 Clarified terminology (consistent with other standards) Addressed web log and double-click issues Identified specific reports (journals and databases) Specified formatting and delivery COUNTER code of practice – release 1 Clarified terminology (consistent with other standards) Addressed web log and double-click issues Identified specific reports (journals and databases) Specified formatting and delivery

Timeline  ERMI Committee formed Managing e-resources problematic Many libraries developing their own solution Committee formed to collaborate on the on the problem Work sponsored by DLF Final report published in 2004 ERMI Committee formed Managing e-resources problematic Many libraries developing their own solution Committee formed to collaborate on the on the problem Work sponsored by DLF Final report published in 2004

Timeline  First commercial ERM released Innovative Interfaces, Inc. Based on ERMI functional specifications Served as a pilot to the ERMI work First commercial ERM released Innovative Interfaces, Inc. Based on ERMI functional specifications Served as a pilot to the ERMI work

Timeline  SUSHI Committee formed Consolidated usage reporting being added to ERM systems. Based on COUNTER Journal Report 1 Effort to retrieve reports was great Consistency issues continued Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative formed to automate and simplify SUSHI Committee formed Consolidated usage reporting being added to ERM systems. Based on COUNTER Journal Report 1 Effort to retrieve reports was great Consistency issues continued Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative formed to automate and simplify

Timeline  COUNTER code of practice release 2 Clarified formatting expectations Added key data elements to reports Introduced the need for an audit COUNTER code of practice release 2 Clarified formatting expectations Added key data elements to reports Introduced the need for an audit

Timeline  SUSHI released as draft standard Efforts sponsored by NISO Successful pilots completed late 2005 Standard finalized in September 2006 Introduced as draft standard for trial use SUSHI released as draft standard Efforts sponsored by NISO Successful pilots completed late 2005 Standard finalized in September 2006 Introduced as draft standard for trial use

Timeline  SUSHI standard under ballot Trial of standard was a success Minor adjustments made to clarify and address concerns Presented to ballot as Z39.93 in July SUSHI standard under ballot Trial of standard was a success Minor adjustments made to clarify and address concerns Presented to ballot as Z39.93 in July

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

ERMs are suited for usage consolidation Intended to manage all e-resources Intended as a single place to record all information about those resources Tie-in to global knowledge bases Data relationships

Platform Products E-journals Packages/ Databases Hosts includes E-books includes

Data relationships E-journal Publisher Platform Package Published by Included in Hosted on

Data relationships Abacus Blackwell Synergy Blackwell Synergy Collection Published by Included in Hosted on Academic Search Premier EBSCOhost Hosted on Included in

Data elements (partial list) Descriptive information -Package names, resource names, etc. Identifiers -ISSNs, ISBNs, package identifiers, etc. Subject headings URLs (link to resource) Rights and restrictions for content use Coverage information Cost information Usage information And much more... (ERMI identified more than 300 data elements)

Questions an ERM can answer Which packages and databases are available from a given vendor? Which resources are included with a database or package? In which databases and packages will a given resource be found? On what platforms (interfaces) can a database or package be accessed? What databases or packages can be accessed on a given platform? What resources can be accessed on a given platform? What resources were included in a given deal? -From what vendor(s)? -On what platform?

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

ERM systems and usage E-journalPlatform Hosted on

Data relationships Usage Statistics ResourcePlatformUsage AbacusEBSCOhost5,400 AbacusSynergy3,600 PlatformE-journals Packages/ Databases Synergy Academic Search Premier Blackwell Synergy Collection EBSCOhost Abacus

Full text usage reports Which journals are most/least used in the collection Report by platform, or Aggregate usage across all platforms Summarize by platform to determine the platforms generating the most full text views

Data relationships Usage Statistics ResourcePlatformUsage AbacusSynergy5,400 AbacusEBSCOhost3,600 PlatformE-journals Packages/ Databases Synergy EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier Blackwell Synergy Collection Abacus Cost

Cost analysis Combine usage with cost data Cost per use is an indicator of value -The higher the use, the lower the cost per use Assist with collection management

Cost analysis

Combining Sorting and Cumulative Totals

Link out reports Uses link resolver and A-to-Z activity A quick view of how the collection is being used Identify most productive sources of links Identify most used targets Does not require loading vendor usage (but neither is it comprehensive)

Database reports Track searches and sessions Discover which databases are being used Use for marketing (perhaps patrons are not finding the databases) Budget management

Overlap analysis Determine overlap between packages and databases Includes coverage overlap as well as title overlap Identify redundant packages or databases Combined with usage data to determine which overlapping databases are most used

Benchmark reports Possible with hosted services Compare a library with peer libraries Collection analysis Usage analysis

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

Challenges COUNTER reports are key -Inconsistencies in formatting remain -Excel not the best format for loading into automated systems Gathering and processing the reports is time-consuming -Many vendors -Many sites log in to -Many reports to pull -Many different procedures

The Usage Statistics Gathering Enterprise for Libraries

Challenges COUNTER reports are key -Inconsistencies in formatting remain -Excel not the best format for loading into automated systems Gathering and processing the reports is time-consuming -Many vendors -Many sites log in to -Many reports to pull -Many different procedures Identifiers

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

Non-profit organization includes librarians, publishers and aggregators Lead in the standardization of usage -How use is counted -How use is reported “Consistent, credible, comparable”

COUNTER Code of Practice Code of Practice first released Jan 2003 Release 2 released Jan 2006 Code of Practice Addresses: -Terminology -Layout and format of reports -Processing of usage data -Delivery of reports

COUNTER Usage Reports Journal Reports: JR1: Full Text Article Requests by Month and Journal JR2: Turnaways by Month and Journal Database Reports: DB1: Total Searches and Sessions by Month and Database DB2: Turnaways by Month and Database DB3: Searches and Sessions by Month and Service Books and Reference Works: Title Requests, Section Requests, Searches and Turnaways

Journal Report 1: Number of Successful Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal

Explicit report layout – “consistent”

“Credible” – COUNTER Audit Effective now, an audit must be passed for a vendor’s service to be compliant Conducted by auditor certified accountant or by organization accredited by COUNTER (ABCE) At vendor expense

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

SUSHI: Objectives Solve the problem of harvesting and managing usage data from a growing number of providers. Promote consistency in usage formatting (XML) Automate the process

SUSHI: What is it? An XML Message Methods to transfer the message between two systems Implemented as a Web service Using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)

SUSHI : The Exchange Report Request Report Response

SUSHI Architecture The next series of slides graphically show a SUSHI transaction -Library system requests a usage report -SUSHI client makes the request -SUSHI server processes request -SUSHI server prepares COUNTER report -SUSHI server “packages” and returns response -SUSHI client processes COUNTER report

Content ProviderLibrary Internet The Library and Content Provider’s systems are both connected to the internet. The Library and Content Provider’s systems are both connected to the internet.

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Client Internet The SUSHI client is software that runs on the library’s server, usually associated with an ERM system. ERM

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The SUSHI server is software that runs on the Content Provider’s server, and has access to the usage data.

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Request Internet ERM When the ERM system wants a COUNTER report, it sends a request to the SUSHI client, which prepares the request. ?

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Request Internet ERM The SUSHI request is sent to the Content Provider. The request specifies the report and the library the report is for. ? Request

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The SUSHI server reads the request then processes the usage data. ? Request

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The SUSHI server creates the requested COUNTER report in XML format. ? COUNTER

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM A response message is prepared according to the SUSHI XML schema. ? COUNTER Response

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The COUNTER report (XML) is added to the Response as its payload. The response is sent to the client. ? Response COUNTER

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The COUNTER report (XML) is added to the Response as its payload. The response is sent to the client. ? Response COUNTER

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The SUSHI client processes the response and extracts the COUNTER report. ? Response COUNTER

Content ProviderLibrary SUSHI Server (web service) Usage Data SUSHI Client Internet ERM The extracted COUNTER report is passed to the ERM system for further processing. COUNTER

SUSHI: Status of Z x Trial period ended in May 2007 Successful implementations A few minor technical adjustments made Revisions to the standard have been finalized Currently at ballot

Overview Brief history of usage statistics for e-resources ERM systems are well suited for usage statistics Reporting potential of the ERM Challenges faced for successful reporting COUNTER SUSHI Looking ahead

Timeline – looking ahead  SUSHI to be released as NISO Z39.93 Ballot closes early September With approval, SUSHI should be a standard by the end of 2007 SUSHI to be released as NISO Z39.93 Ballot closes early September With approval, SUSHI should be a standard by the end of 2007

Timeline – looking ahead  COUNTER code of practice release 3 under consideration… Introducing specific consortium reports XML based One report with details for each member of the consortium SUSHI support may become a requirement for COUNTER compliance. COUNTER code of practice release 3 under consideration… Introducing specific consortium reports XML based One report with details for each member of the consortium SUSHI support may become a requirement for COUNTER compliance.

Looking ahead COUNTER -Consortium reports -Updated schema -New metrics and reports SUSHI can be expanded to harvest other data -Holdings (ONIX SOH) -License terms (ONIX PL) -Financial terms Tools and services to assist with data normalization -E.g. XISBN, XISSN projects from OCLC

1999 ICOLC guidelines for usage statistics: ICOLC Guidelines for Usage Statistics: COUNTER Code of Practice web site: SUSHI web site: ERMI DLF Report: NISO Newsline, Jan 2006: Jan2006.htm#Story3 Jan2006.htm#Story3 XISBN home page: SUSHI: Resources

SUSHI Thank you! Oliver Pesch