Counter 5 Usage Statistics Playbook for Librarians: Wisconsin Poster at Midwest-MCMLA 2021 Virtual Conference

[Click on the poster to view a larger version.]

This poster was presented at the virtual 2021 Midwest/MCMLA Joint Annual Meeting on October 15. [Posted here by permission.]

Poster Title: Development of a Counter 5 Quarterly Usage Stats Playbook for Librarians

By Michele Matucheski, MLS, AHIP - Medical Librarian - Ascension Wisconsin

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Describes the development of a Counter 5 Quarterly Stats Playbook for Librarians to standardize and simplify the data collection and reporting process.

Setting/ Participants / Resources: Twenty-two Healthcare Librarians in 20 states reporting selected local library usage statistics.

Brief Description: Under the guidance of The Library Measurements Team, librarians reported selected usage stats in 2020. For 2021, we needed to upgrade to the Counter 5 (C5) industry standard. Therefore, the team determined what to track going forward. After immersing ourselves in C5, we mapped C5 equivalents to previous metrics, adding improved C5 metrics. To disseminate our recommendations, we created a Playbook with C5 training resources, definitions, worksheets, administrative links, screenshots and explanations for each resource. The Playbook led librarians step-by-step through the new process, addressing a previously unmet need as a job aid for standardizing the collection of usage stats. The Measurements Team charted a path through Counter 5, so that individual librarians did not have to struggle on their own.

Results/Outcome: The Quarterly Stats Playbook resulted in: More consistent, cleaner data; Faster, more efficient and standardized data collection; Happier Librarians who knew how to pull required metrics, how to interpret reports.

Evaluation Method: Feedback from Librarians; analysis of data submitted via the new process determined the utility and impact of The Playbook.

Why this is important: This data is used to show the value and fiscal stewardship of Library Services to executive leadership and stakeholders.

What you can do: Build your own C5 Playbook.

Link to The Counter 5 Playbook 

Link to the Poster.    Midwest/MC-MLA 2021 Virtual Conference Program.      

Contact Michele Matucheski for more information.

Crash Course in Counter 5 Metrics

 

Do you need a crash course in the new Counter 5 Metrics?  We knew it was coming.  Many of our vendors / publishers have stopped producing usage stats in the old familiar Counter 4 format, and are only offering stats in Counter 5 now.  

There's a lot to know, including:

• New definitions of the Counter 5 metrics:
• Total vs. Item vs. Unique Investigations
• Total vs. Item vs. Unique Requests

• What's the difference between investigations and requests?
• How and what do they count (or do NOT count)
• How do they translate to the old Counter 4 usage stats.  
• Just what stats should I be tracking now?
• What reports will give me those stats?

Here are some additional learning resources to get you started:

The Counter Project Foundation Classes video series on YouTube.

1. Metric Types *
2. Reports *
3. Metrics & Reports: Putting it all Together *
4. Attributes, Elements & Other Slightly Techy Things
5. Book Reports
6. Database Reports
7. Journal Reports
8. Understanding the Use of Open Access Content
9. Working with Counter 5 Reports in Microsoft Excel
10. Platform Reports
11. Usage in the Time of the Pandemic

Handouts and Guides:

* THE FRIENDLY GUIDE TO RELEASE 5 FOR LIBRARIANS

Written by Tasha Mellins-Cohen, this guide will help librarians prepare for Release 5 of the COUNTER Code of Practice. This publication provides a wealth of information about the new Metrics, Master Reports and Standard Views. It also provides a helpful section which maps the key Release 4 reports to their Release 5 counterparts. You will also find several user scenarios, that come together in a set of COUNTER Release 5 reports.  

• MM's note: This guide seems to track along with videos 1-2-3 of the Foundation classes listed above. 

More Friendly Guides to Counter 5  

• Journal Stats
• Book Stats 

Silverchair Counter 4 to Counter 5 Release Transition User Guide

More videos:

A Practical Guide to COUNTER Release 5 from ASERL on Vimeo (November 2020)

Another 1-hour video by NASIG (from 2017)

Some useful notes:

Counter 5 Metric Types & Definitions:

What's the difference between Investigations and Requests in Counter 5?

• Total Item Requests appears to be equivalent to the old Fulltext Views or FT Requests in Counter 4.  
• Total Item Investigations appears to count the total clicks on the site.  
• Total Item Investigations is a good metric for citation databases like Cinahl, since users may interact with it more looking at abstracts, or clicking out to a linkresolver to get fulltext elsewhere, or ordering via an ILL form.
• Accessing an item as FT counts as both a request AND an investigation (an expression of interest). 
• But the new Counter 5 metrics eliminate the double counts when someone pulls up the html, and then pulls a pdf as well.