Making metrics meaningful
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1629/2048-7754.67Abstract
Continuing purchase of AHSS resources is threatened more by library budget squeezes than that of STM resources. Librarians must justify all expenditure, but quantitative metrical analysis to assess the value to the institution of journals and specialized research databases for AHSS subjects can be inconclusive; often the number of recorded transactions is lower than for STM, as the resource may be relevant to a smaller number of users. This paper draws on a literature review and extensive primary research, including a survey of 570 librarians and academics across the Anglophone countries, findings from focus group meetings and the analysis of user behaviour at a UK university before and after the installation of the Summon discovery system. It concludes that providing a new approach to metrics can help to develop resources strategies that meet changing user needs; and that usage statistics can be complemented with supplementary ROI measures to make them more meaningful.
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