beyond log-ons and downloads: meaningful measures of e-resource use
DESCRIPTION
Although efforts like Project COUNTER have made strides towards systematizing numeric measures of database access, does the data standardized by COUNTER really help libraries to understand "how information they buy... is being used"? This presentation will introduce a typology of library resource use that provides a framework for assessing use in a more meaningful way.TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Log-ons and Downloads: Meaningful Measures of E-Resource Use
Rachel A. Fleming-May, Ph.D., M.L.I.S.Assistant Professor, School of Information SciencesThe University of [email protected]
What is “use”, really?An event?
Something that can be measured?
…with numbers?
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Why does it matter?
Use is frequently assessed in order to generate “objective” data for decision
making.
“The principle of usefulness says
simply that libraries should
collect what patrons use. An
obvious problem is that there is no
clear definition of what comprises
‘use’ nor is it likely that library
science will soon develop one, for
it is as elusive as the concept of
information, with which it is
confounded.”1
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Use is often treated as a PRIMITIVE CONCEPT in Library and Information Science:
an idea so fundamental to the theoretical framework as to be indefinable, even when presented as a phenomenon to be measured and quantified.
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To measure Use
We focus on Inputs
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…and Outputs
Number of patrons who enter the building …such as the number of book circulations.
What about electronic resources?
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• Many instances of use are removed from the library, thus unobservable
• Multiple points of access (such as Google Scholar) further confuse the issue: patrons are less aware that they’re using library resources
“as the pendulum swings from physical library use to online use of libraries, we need to develop measurement and assessment methods to accurately portray how users are using the library”
“some of the basic ‘natural laws of library and information science’ may not apply as well or as consistently in the realm of electronic information discovery and use”2
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“Among other changes, the Complete College Tennessee Act:• Funds higher education
based in part on success and
outcomes, including higher rates of degree completion.”
“Questions such as, ‘Who uses these
resources?’ or ‘Are these huge outlays of
funds justified in terms of use, or value
derived from use?’ or ‘What difference do
all of these resources make to students
and faculty in universities?’ must be
answered if university administrators,
trustees, students, and faculty are
expected to support ever-increasing levels
of funding for the acquisition and
development of these resources and
services.”3
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Is Use a Primitive Concept?
No. Use does not, in fact have a singular conceptual meaning in the LIS domain and can signify many actions, processes, and events.
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The Use Typology: Dimensions of Use
I. Use as an Abstraction Ia. Use as a FacilitatorII. Use as an ImplementIII. Use as a ProcessIV. Use as a Transaction IVa. Use as a Connector
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Use as an Abstraction
•A general term for all types of library/information use
•Disassociated from any specific instance of the phenomenon
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“Of the 57,148 households, 27,511 households (48.1%) had a household member who used the public library in the past year. ”4
Use as a Process
Application of library/information resources, materials, and/or services…
· To complete a complex or multi-stage task
· To the solution of a problem
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“This study reveals that undergraduate students experience information use in a complex, multi-tiered way that needs to be addressed by higher educators when creating information literacy pedagogy.”6
“as the pendulum swings from physical library use to online use of libraries, we need to develop measurement and assessment methods to accurately portray how users are using the library”4
Use as a Transaction
•Isolated instances of library or information use
•Can be recorded and quantified
•Removed from the user
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“statistics provided by electronic book vendors…show that [our] community uses e-books quite heavily. The data do not show, however, how books are used. For instance, the available statistics show that a book has been accessed but do not differentiate between a one-second click on a title and a five-hour immersion in a book. The data also do not tell us why an electronic version of a book was used instead of the paper version”
The data do not show, however, how books are used….the data also do not tell us why an electronic version of a book was used instead of the paper version”7
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•Vendor-supplied data (COUNTER compliant or otherwise)
•Transaction log analysis▫Including page view time measurement
(are they really reading?)
▫Log-ons—what about database timeouts?
▫“Connectedness” of journals within session
Transactional Model of Use=Over-reliance on static assessments of electronic resource usage, such as…
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Understanding of Use as Process
Article Download
Visit to the Reference
Desk
Db A: Log on
Understanding Use as Process
Not exclusively statistical
Requires multiple data collection methods
Requires “bipartisan” support, i.e., working with public services to gain a fuller understanding of how and why patrons use the resources they do.
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How, specifically?
•Observation
•Focus groups
• Interviews
•Surveys
• Inter-institution information sharing
•Usability testing
•Triangulation.
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Questions?
Thank you for your time!
1. Swigger, Keith, and Adeline Wilkes. 1991. The use of citation data to evaluate serials subscriptions in an academic library. Serials Review 17 (2):41-46; 52.
2. Peters, Thomas A. 2002. What's the use? the value of e-resource usage statistics. New Library World 103 (1172/3):39-47.
3. Miller, Rush, and Sherrie Schmidt. E-Metrics: Measures for Electronic Resources. In Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services.
4. Sin, Sei-Ching Joanna, and Kyung-Sun Kim. 2008. Use and non-use of public libraries in the information age: A logistic regression analysis of household characteristics and library services variables. Library & Information Science Research (07408188) 30 (3):207-215.
5. Peters, Thomas A. 2002. What's the use? the value of e-resource usage statistics. New Library World 103 (1172/3):39-47.
6. Maybee, C. (2006). Undergraduate Perceptions of Information Use: The Basis for Creating User-Centered Student Information Literacy Instruction. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(1), 79-85.
7. Levine-Clark, Michael. 2006. Electronic Book Usage: A Survey at the University of Denver. portal 6 (3):285-299.
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