This presentation was given at the Western Regional Section of the Library Association of Ireland (WRSLAI) Annual Seminar, Tuam Library, Ireland in June 2013.The talk looked at various methods of assessing the value of e-resources for libraries. Usage statistics for databases, e-books and e-journals were examined. The advantages and disadvantages of using the cost per use (CPU) metric to measure the value of e-resources in a library was discussed. Other factors in measuring the value of e-resources such as journal impact factor, national and institutional research priorities, and the use of user surveys, interviews and focus groups was also considered. The talk focused on academic libraries but also showed how the techniques can be transferred to the public library sector as the provision of electronic resources in these libraries becomes more prevalent.

1. IRIS Electronic Information Services Limited
Fintan Bracken
Assistant Librarian, IRIS Electronic Information Services Ltd.
Measuring the Value of E-Resources

2. Outline
 IReL
 What are e-resources?
 How to measure the value of e-resources:
› Usage
› Cost Per Use (CPU)
› Matching e-resources to the institutional
priorities
› Speaking to Users
 Questions

3. IReL - Irish Research eLibrary
 IReL is a consortium of the 7 Irish universities.
 IReL includes both Science, Technology &
Medicine (STM) and Humanities & Social
Sciences (HSS) e-resources.
 IReL was established initially in 2004 and has
received funding from SFI, HEA, DJEI and IUA.
 For selected e-resources, RCSI, DIT, the IoTs and
Teagasc also subscribe via IReL.
 The IReL Monitoring Group gather usage
statistics on all of the IReL resources and
produce an annual monitoring report.

4. E-Resources include:
 E-Journals
› E.g. ScienceDirect & Oxford University Press Journals
 E-Books
› E.g. ACLS Humanities Ebooks & Cambridge Books
Online
 Online Databases
› E.g. Web of Science & LexisNexis
 Online Music and Audio Books
› E.g. OverDrive
 Data and GIS Resources
› E.g. Ordnance Survey Ireland

5. Usage Statistics
 COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of
Networked Electronic Resources) 
international initiative to improve the reliability
of online usage statistics via agreed standards
(http://www.projectcounter.org/).
E-Resource Most Useful Metric COUNTER Report
Required
E-Journals Number of downloads Journal Report 1
E-Books Number of downloads Book Report 2
Online
Databases
Number of searches Database Report 1

6. COUNTER JR1 Report

7. Usage of IReL Resources 2007-2012
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
14,000,000
16,000,000
Usage
2007
Usage
2008
Usage
2009
Usage
2010
Usage
2011
Usage
2012
E-journals
E-Book
Database

8. Cost Per Use (CPU)
 Full costs of the e-resource for the year divided
by the total number of downloads or searches
in the year.
 Calculation of costs for each resource should
always be the same e.g. always include VAT.
 Set a threshold for CPU above which all
e-resources will be reviewed e.g. CPU > €2.

9. Cost Per Use Comparison
€0.00
€2.00
€4.00
€6.00
€8.00
€10.00
€12.00
€14.00
CostPerUse(CPU)

10. % of Overall Costs vs % of Overall Usage
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
% of overall costs % of overall usage

11. E-Journal Collection Performance
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
ResourceA
ResourceB
ResourceC
ResourceD
ResourceE
ResourceF
ResourceG
ResourceH
ResourceI
ResourceJ
ResourceK
ResourceL
ResourceM
ResourceN
ResourceO
ResourceP
ResourceQ
ResourceR
% of titles with less than 50 downloads % of titles between 50-299 downloads
% of titles with 300 or more downloads

12. Journal Impact Factor
 Impact Factors are a benchmark of a journal’s
reputation and helps to evaluate a journal’s
relative importance, especially when
compared with others in the same field.
 Impact Factor = average number of citations
counted in the year Y for articles published in
the previous 2 years.
 Journal Impact Factors are published each
year in Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation
Reports.

13. Rank Journal Title IF
1 Journal of Economic Literature 9.243
2 Quarterly Journal of Economics 5.92
3 Review of Financial Studies 4.748
4 Journal of Finance 4.218
5 Journal of Economic Perspectives 4.211
6 Economic Geography 3.975
7 American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
3.8
8 Journal of Financial Economics 3.725
9 Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 3.409
10 Journal of Accounting and Economics 3.281
Top 10 Economics Journals based on
2011 Impact Factors (IF)

14. Institutional Priorities
 Important to match e-resources to the priorities
of your institution.
 Public Libraries:
› Library development plans
 Academic Libraries:
› University research priorities
› National Research Prioritisation Exercise
(NRPE)

15. Breakdown of IReL journals with 3,000+
downloads in 2012 by NRPE field
0. Multidisciplinary,
29 jnls
1. Medical, Health
and Life Sciences &
Technologies, 148
jnls
2. Environment
(incl.) Climate
Change, 19 jnls
3. Energy, 6 jnls
4. Biological
Sciences, Ag.,
Food, Fish.,
Marine & Nat.
Res., 91 jnls5. Physical &
Chemical Sciences
& Engineering, 68
jnls
6. Information &
Communication
Technology, 4 jnls
7. Transport,
Infrastructure,
Manufacturing &
Production, 7 jnls
8. Social Sciences,
Economics, Law &
Business , 118
9. Humanities, 93 jnls

16. Talking to Users
 Speak to the people who use your library to
find out what e-resources they value.
 Informal opportunistic conversations with users.
 Qualitative Methods:
› Surveys / Questionnaires
› Interviews
› Focus groups
 Assess the different sub-sections of your users
e.g. academic researchers, students,
teenagers, elderly, users with disabilities, non-
Irish nationals, etc.

17. Kildare County Libraries Online eServices –
Online Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2R2TFZ2

19. Summary
 There are many methods of measuring the
value of e-resources.
 There is no perfect method so it is important not
to rely on a single method but to use a variety.
 Cost Per Use is probably the most useful
method of measuring value.
 Ensure that the e-resources you provide
complement your institution’s research and
other priorities.
 User surveys, interviews and focus groups are
alternative methods of measuring value.

20. Thank you for
listening.
Questions?
Email: fintan.bracken@ucd.ie