Presented by Matthew Harrington and Connie Stovall, Virginia Tech

1. CONTEXTUALIZING AND INTERPRETING COST PER USE
FOR ELECTRONIC JOURNALS
MATT HARRINGTON AND CONNIE STOVALL

2. WHAT TO EXPECT…
• Brief overview of theory and problem(s)
• Brief overview of VT’s Serials Decision Database
• Examples of contextualizing data
• Interpretation of data
• Our POV, recommendations, discussion
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3. DATA AND VALUE
• Increasing use of statistical and financial data to aid
with serials decisions
• Increasing use of data to demonstrate value of library
resources to university administrators
• What does cost per use, average cost, or return on
investment tell us about a resource’s value
• What does the data mean and how can we make it
more meaningful?
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4. DETERMINING VALUE
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5. ECONOMISTS
Karl Marx
David Ricardo Adam Smith
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6. NOT AN ECONOMIST
Connie,
librarian
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7. DETERMINING VALUE
• Classical economists
• Smith: “the toil and trouble of acquiring” a thing
• Marx (and Ricardo, more or less): duality in value
• Determined by use-value and exchange value
• Value as a social construct
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8. VALUE OF INFORMATION
• Information as a different sort of commodity
• Cost-benefit analysis used increasingly
• Marks shift away from classical economics
• Intellectual/emotional value vs. practical value
• Use value and exchange value
• Contextualized cost per use
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9. INTERPRETING COST PER USE
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10. CALCULATING COST PER USE
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11. SUBSCRIPTION COSTS
Cost per subscription increased 7.45% from 2008 to 2010
2008 2009 2010
Cost per Title $551.93 $569.46 $593.07
$600.00
$580.00
$560.00
Cost/Sub
$540.00
$520.00
2008 2009 2010
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12. 12
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
400000
420000
440000
460000
480000
500000
540000
520000
Jan 2008
Feb 2008
Mar 2008
Apr 2008
May 2008
2008 Jan-Jun
Jun 2008
Jul 2008
Aug 2008
Sep 2008
Oct 2008
Nov 2008 2008 Jul-Dec
Dec 2008
Jan 2009
Feb 2009
Mar 2009
Apr 2009
May 2009
2009 Jan-Jun
Jun 2009
Jul 2009
Aug 2009
Sep 2009
Oct 2009
Nov 2009
2009 Jul-Dec
Dec 2009
Jan 2010
Feb 2010
Mar 2010
Apr 2010
USAGE ACROSS TIME
May 2010
2010 Jan-Jun
Jun 2010
Jul 2010
Aug 2010
Sep 2010
Oct 2010
2010 Jul-Dec
Nov 2010
Dec 2010

13. TOTALS, AVERAGES AND MEDIANS
2008 2009 2010
Total Cost/Use $2.57 $2.54 $2.60
Average Sub Cost/Use $23.96 $19.06 $21.31
Median Sub Cost/Use $4.19 $3.98 $3.84
$30.00
$25.00
$20.00
Total Cost/Use
$15.00
Average Cost/Use
$10.00
$5.00 Median Cost/Use
$0.00
2008 2009 2010
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14. SUBJECTS
Total Cost/title
$1,500.00
$1,000.00
$500.00
$0.00
RA
PB
PR
JF
E
TC
TK
HF
L
QP
RT
H
HV
NX
SF
B
D
GC
QC
QH
U
HC
HN
RD
RK
ML
TP
Total Cost/Use
$12.00
$10.00
$8.00
$6.00
$4.00
$2.00
$0.00
B D E GC H HC HF HN HV JF L ML NX PB PR QC QH QP RA RD RK RT SF TC TK TP U
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15. JOURNAL PACKAGE ANALYSIS
Package A
4% 2009
Serials Budget
Package B Package C
Remaining 27% 3%
Serials
Budget Package D
49% 10%
Package E
7%
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16. JOURNAL PACKAGE ANALYSIS
Cost/Title Cost/Use
$700 $9.00
$8.00
$600
$7.00
$500
$6.00
$400 $5.00
$300 $4.00
$3.00
$200
$2.00
$100 $1.00
$0 $0.00
Package Package Package Package Package Package Package Package Package Package
A B C D E A B C D E
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17. JOURNAL PACKAGE ANALYSIS
High and Low Usage Counts
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Package A Package B Package C Package D Package E
Usage is equal to or <10 10<Usage<100 Usage is equal to or >100
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18. QUESTIONS, COMMENTS???
Matt Harrington mharring@vt.edu
Connie Stovall cjstova@vt.edu
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