Publishers Nature Publishing Group (NPG), UK, and Palgrave Macmillan Journals (PMJ) have announced that upgraded usage statistic reporting is now available for all online publications. With immediate effect, NPG and PMJ statistic reports now include the additional reports and services required by the new COUNTER Release 3, including SUSHI (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative). The enhanced statistics reporting is provided by MPS Insight, a new service for publishers from Macmillan's sister company, MPS Technologies.
The move to MPS Insight is seen to provide site licence customers with an enhanced service including more timely reports and consolidated consortia statistics. Reports are now also available in XML, in addition to the familiar CSV (Comma Separated Value) formats that can be opened in Microsoft Excel. XML reports can be automatically harvested into local systems using SUSHI, with time-saving benefits for librarians and library consortium administrators. Reports meet the criteria set by COUNTER Release 3, which publishers must comply with by August 2009 in order to retain their COUNTER-compliant status.
MPS Insight is seen to offer an attractive, easy-to-use interface, allowing customers to make real-time changes to accounts and create additional user accounts for non-library staff. The service is claimed to have been very well received by a group of librarians invited to beta test the new service; over 96% rated MPS Insight as "easy" or "very easy to use".
NPG and PMJ customers can now access usage statistic reports for the period January 2006 to January 2009. Older reports have been archived. Site licence administrators will shortly receive full instructions and login details for using the system, and can access the service from their regular Administration Accounts. Palgrave Connect will also be served by MPS Insight.
