Publishing solutions provider MPS Limited, a Macmillan company, has released findings of a survey of over 300 librarians around the world. The survey found that 97 percent of librarians use usage statistics, with 87 percent of librarians using COUNTER-compliant usage statistics for eJournals, and 66 percent for eBooks. Almost half of those who are not yet using COUNTER-compliant usage data for eBooks expect to do so within the next year.
A total of 313 librarians, mainly from the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, mainland Europe, and Canada, responded to the survey. The survey revealed that librarians attach much greater weight to COUNTER reports than to other usage statistics.
About 86 percent of respondents stated that usage statistics influence their purchasing decisions. When asked how useful COUNTER-compliant usage reports are, 90 percent of librarians said that they are vital or important for eJournals and 74 percent find them vital or important for eBooks. This is a much higher proportion than for non-compliant usage data.
MPS also conducted 17 interviews with librarians from major institutions worldwide to gain a deeper insight into the use of usage statistics. The findings from the interviews confirmed the growing importance of COUNTER reports for eBooks. The full results of the survey is available online at http://tinyurl.com/242qe63.
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