Vendor Usage Data for Electronic Resources: A Survey of Libraries

Gayle Baker is Professor and Electronic Services Coordinator at the University of Tennessee Libraries. She has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee School of Information Sciences and the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies. Prior to entering the library profession, Baker was a computer programmer for several years.In April 2006, a survey was mailed to over 360 library directors of Carnegie Research I and II institutions. Its purpose was to gather information about how librarians process and use vendor use data for electronic resources. 94 responses were received. The majority of the responses were from libraries serving populations of 10,000-20,000 FTE students. Questions were asked about the amount of effort involved in working with the vendor reports and how the data are used in managing electronic resources. Open-ended questions were asked about the value of the data provided and the challenges in working with the data. The results will be presented, along with suggestions for further study. This research was part of Maximizing Library Investments in Digital Collections through Better Data Collection and Analysis (MaxData), a three-year research project sponsored by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), with Dr. Carol Tenopir as the project leader. Attendees will learn how librarians are working with vendor-supplied usage data and what data are of value in managing electronic resources