This presentation was given at the Western Regional Section of the Library Association of Ireland (WRSLAI) Annual Seminar, Tuam Library, Ireland in June 2013.The talk looked at various methods of assessing the value of e-resources for libraries. Usage statistics for databases, e-books and e-journals were examined. The advantages and disadvantages of using the cost per use (CPU) metric to measure the value of e-resources in a library was discussed. Other factors in measuring the value of e-resources such as journal impact factor, national and institutional research priorities, and the use of user surveys, interviews and focus groups was also considered. The talk focused on academic libraries but also showed how the techniques can be transferred to the public library sector as the provision of electronic resources in these libraries becomes more prevalent.
Ecosystem Interactions Class Discussion Presentation in Blue Green Lined Styl...
Measuring the Value of E-Resources
1. IRIS Electronic Information Services Limited
Fintan Bracken
Assistant Librarian, IRIS Electronic Information Services Ltd.
Measuring the Value of E-Resources
2. Outline
IReL
What are e-resources?
How to measure the value of e-resources:
› Usage
› Cost Per Use (CPU)
› Matching e-resources to the institutional
priorities
› Speaking to Users
Questions
3. IReL - Irish Research eLibrary
IReL is a consortium of the 7 Irish universities.
IReL includes both Science, Technology &
Medicine (STM) and Humanities & Social
Sciences (HSS) e-resources.
IReL was established initially in 2004 and has
received funding from SFI, HEA, DJEI and IUA.
For selected e-resources, RCSI, DIT, the IoTs and
Teagasc also subscribe via IReL.
The IReL Monitoring Group gather usage
statistics on all of the IReL resources and
produce an annual monitoring report.
4. E-Resources include:
E-Journals
› E.g. ScienceDirect & Oxford University Press Journals
E-Books
› E.g. ACLS Humanities Ebooks & Cambridge Books
Online
Online Databases
› E.g. Web of Science & LexisNexis
Online Music and Audio Books
› E.g. OverDrive
Data and GIS Resources
› E.g. Ordnance Survey Ireland
5. Usage Statistics
COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of
Networked Electronic Resources)
international initiative to improve the reliability
of online usage statistics via agreed standards
(http://www.projectcounter.org/).
E-Resource Most Useful Metric COUNTER Report
Required
E-Journals Number of downloads Journal Report 1
E-Books Number of downloads Book Report 2
Online
Databases
Number of searches Database Report 1
8. Cost Per Use (CPU)
Full costs of the e-resource for the year divided
by the total number of downloads or searches
in the year.
Calculation of costs for each resource should
always be the same e.g. always include VAT.
Set a threshold for CPU above which all
e-resources will be reviewed e.g. CPU > €2.
9. Cost Per Use Comparison
€0.00
€2.00
€4.00
€6.00
€8.00
€10.00
€12.00
€14.00
CostPerUse(CPU)
10. % of Overall Costs vs % of Overall Usage
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
% of overall costs % of overall usage
12. Journal Impact Factor
Impact Factors are a benchmark of a journal’s
reputation and helps to evaluate a journal’s
relative importance, especially when
compared with others in the same field.
Impact Factor = average number of citations
counted in the year Y for articles published in
the previous 2 years.
Journal Impact Factors are published each
year in Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation
Reports.
13. Rank Journal Title IF
1 Journal of Economic Literature 9.243
2 Quarterly Journal of Economics 5.92
3 Review of Financial Studies 4.748
4 Journal of Finance 4.218
5 Journal of Economic Perspectives 4.211
6 Economic Geography 3.975
7 American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
3.8
8 Journal of Financial Economics 3.725
9 Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 3.409
10 Journal of Accounting and Economics 3.281
Top 10 Economics Journals based on
2011 Impact Factors (IF)
14. Institutional Priorities
Important to match e-resources to the priorities
of your institution.
Public Libraries:
› Library development plans
Academic Libraries:
› University research priorities
› National Research Prioritisation Exercise
(NRPE)
15. Breakdown of IReL journals with 3,000+
downloads in 2012 by NRPE field
0. Multidisciplinary,
29 jnls
1. Medical, Health
and Life Sciences &
Technologies, 148
jnls
2. Environment
(incl.) Climate
Change, 19 jnls
3. Energy, 6 jnls
4. Biological
Sciences, Ag.,
Food, Fish.,
Marine & Nat.
Res., 91 jnls5. Physical &
Chemical Sciences
& Engineering, 68
jnls
6. Information &
Communication
Technology, 4 jnls
7. Transport,
Infrastructure,
Manufacturing &
Production, 7 jnls
8. Social Sciences,
Economics, Law &
Business , 118
9. Humanities, 93 jnls
16. Talking to Users
Speak to the people who use your library to
find out what e-resources they value.
Informal opportunistic conversations with users.
Qualitative Methods:
› Surveys / Questionnaires
› Interviews
› Focus groups
Assess the different sub-sections of your users
e.g. academic researchers, students,
teenagers, elderly, users with disabilities, non-
Irish nationals, etc.
19. Summary
There are many methods of measuring the
value of e-resources.
There is no perfect method so it is important not
to rely on a single method but to use a variety.
Cost Per Use is probably the most useful
method of measuring value.
Ensure that the e-resources you provide
complement your institution’s research and
other priorities.
User surveys, interviews and focus groups are
alternative methods of measuring value.