Electronic Serials Usage Patterns as Observed at a Medium-Size University: Searches and Full-Text Downloads

• Main Author: Alain Lamothe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Partnership 2008-06-01
• Series: Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research
• Online Access: http://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/416/841

while library budgets remain either stagnant or on the decrease, it becomesnecessary to evaluate the use of a library's electronic collection. In 2006, usagestatistics were evaluated at Laurentian University, Canada, to provide direction tocollection development and identify high-cost low-use electronic serials.Searches and full-text downloads were studied. A sharp increase in use wasobserved in and around 2004 which can be explained by the introduction, inOntario, of the 'double cohort', by the rapid increase in the number of electronicresources subscribed to at Laurentian, and by the adoption of OpenURLtechnology. Heavily used electronic serials are identified. Turnaways,connections by IP address and Bradford's 20:80 rule are also examined. Theapplication of a cost-per-download ratio provided a practical method foridentifying underused products.