1. Project Counter in brief Jim Self University of Virginia Library ARL Survey Coordinators Meeting Chicago, Illinois June 24, 2005

2. Origins International effort to develop standards for measuring online usage Builds on ICOLC guidelines and ARL e-metrics ARL a founding sponsor

3. Rationale Libraries, consortia, publishers, and intermediaries all need statistics that are: –Credible –Consistent –Compatible

4. History up to now Journals and databases –Code of Practice, January 2003 –Release 2, completed 2005, effective 2006 Auditing –Required as of 2005 Books and reference works –Draft Code of Practice February 2005

5. COP Release 2 Requires reporting for consortia Requires exact formatting Includes ‘publisher’ and ‘platform’ data Separate tallies for html and pdf Level 2 reports relegated to the Appendix

6. Guiding Principles Only intended usage should be recorded; unintentional clicks are not counted Counter will ensure that vendors provide reliable basic usage reports, not develop an expanding set of detailed reports Counter will not develop software or hardware, or expand its mission

7. Delivering the data ScholarlyStats, MPS Technologies, is testing a for-hire service Full service expected in Fall 2005

8. Implications Some nervousness from vendors Some disagreement among librarians as to what reports are needed Overall, much optimism –Very positive discussions at UKSG –Credible and consistent reports are a good thing for librarians, publishers, and intermediaries