This seminar is aimed at those responsible for collecting, analysing and making recommendations based on usage data, whether in a library setting or within a publishing organisation. This online seminar will take place over two days 6th (12:30 start) & 7th November (9:30 start), for more details please visit the programme section below.
When
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – 12:30 GMT
to
Thursday, November 7, 2024 – 12:15 GMT
Where
Online
United Kingdom
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About the Event
Registration
The seminar is now fully booked and registration is now closed, to join the waitlist please email events@uksg.org. Many thanks for your interest.
Event Summary
Those with a responsibility for overseeing the management of library collections have more access than ever to statistical data to assist with evaluation and to justify return on investment, and enhancement of the user experience. Understanding the library’s use of this data is also vital for publishers. Advances in standardisation led by the COUNTER initiative have made statistics more accessible and reliable as a basis for decision making.
Increasingly, libraries are being asked to make extremely difficult decisions about the priorities for their spending within a strategic context. Although this presents huge challenges, it can also be an impetus to change the ways in which services are provided. Publishers need to be aware of what statistics librarians are looking at and how they are being used to inform collection development.
This seminar provides illustrations by expert decision makers on how statistics are used to make strategic decisions. It will also present the challenges, such as demonstrating value and presenting data to different audiences. Future developments within the field will also be addressed, together with considerations of how these will impact on decision making in the future, for example new approaches to analytics. There will be discussion on how the development of open access is impacting on usage behaviour and influencing considerations for collection development.
Delegates will have the opportunity to reflect on the role of statistics in the broader context of further and higher education, and the culture of assessment that is becoming increasingly prominent within the sector. Delegates will be encouraged to actively participate throughout the day.
Who should attend
This seminar is aimed at both those in libraries who need to analyse or interpret usage data to support decision making about resources and collections, within a strategic context. It will be of interest to those with a responsibility for overseeing the management and evaluation of library collections in the further and higher education sector, and who need to demonstrate impact and value to senior leadership teams, rather than those involved in the operational role. It may also be of interest to those working in other areas of the scholarly information industry. It will also be of importance to publishers who need to understand the collection development decisions of their customers.
Please note: This seminar does not cover the practical aspects of collecting usage data, or of creating reports. These topics are covered by the UKSG Practical Usage Statistics for Librarians seminar, a hands-on workshop on gathering and manipulating usage statistics.
Both days will be recorded and available for playback on demand post event for registered delegates.
We welcome participants from all corners of the globe to join our seminars, however speakers and topics are generally UK focussed, if you have any doubt about the suitability please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Learning Objectives
Delegates will:
- gain a greater insight into the wider environment and context in which usage statistics decision making is carried out and new approaches to this
- learn about ways in which library resource usage statistics have been used by staff in university libraries to inform decision-making processes
- develop an understanding of how usage statistics can be used to demonstrate value from a publisher perspective
- gain knowledge of the impact of open access publishing on usage statistics and demonstrating value
Attendee Information
The webinar tool we use is Go to Webinar. To test your system ahead of time visit https://support.goto.com/webinar/system-check-attendee
Accessibility
UKSG wants to provide the best possible experience for all our delegates, making presentations as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Our intention were possible is to strongly encourage our speakers to provide auto generated closed captioning for both live and recorded events as well as to make sure their slides as easy as possible for all people to read. In addition we can provide auto generated transcripts post event for each of the recorded sessions.
If you have particular accessibility needs or questions about this seminar/webinar, we welcome you to contact events@uksg.org
Recording
The sessions will be recorded and available to all registered delegates only after the event, so if you unable to join us live or want to review any presentation this will be available.
Programme
- Day 1 – 6 November
- Day 2 – 7 November
Time
Programme
Speakers
12.30
Introduction & welcome
All times stated are GMT
Etienne Olsina
BibliU
Emma Nolin
Head of Information Resources and Scholarly Publishing Malmo University
See Biography
Emma Nolin is the head of Information Resources and Scholarly Publishing at Malmö University Library and has been at Malmö university since 2018. Operations in this department are among other things, print and electronic scholarly information recourses, Open access and scholarly publishing.
12.40
Imperial Measurements – what we actually look at when we look at etextbook usage data
At Imperial College, we have been running analyses of etextbook usage for as long as we’ve had our collection, and they’ve helped us develop processes which focus on value for money, and help support decisions around purchasing and cancellations. However, in the interests of time and clarity, we’ve got used to adopting a very broad definition of the word ‘usage’. In this presentation, we’ll examine exactly what we mean by ‘usage’, and look at how some other performance indicators might challenge our previously held assumptions about what ‘good usage’ is.
Andrew Knight
Imperial College London
See Biography
Andrew has been Acquisitions and Content Services Manager at Imperial College London since May 2020. This is a strategic role which looks after acquisitions, metadata and document delivery across seven Imperial College Libraries, identifying and implementing new technologies and innovations, and advising the Library leadership team on sector developments.
Andrew represents Imperial College at a sector level on a number of national groups and networks including Jisc’s Learning Content Expert Group, the NAG committee, and SUPC’s framework and contract management groups. His particular interests are around collection development, library-supplier relations, and how libraries can extract better value-for-money from a not-always-helpful market.
13.10
Made to measure: how can we make decisions that align with our institutional values – an update
Usage data is a tool in a Library’s evaluation arsenal. When budgets are squeezed and renewal reminders come in, we instinctively reach for those precious figures to show us how loved, or not, our resources are. We will compensate for issues in completeness and accuracy, and we use this data as a proxy for qualitative measures that are intangible. But as Library’s allocate more budget to open resources, are our proxy measures still valuable?
In this presentation, Bethany will reflect on how what we want to measure has changed, and how data driven decision making needs to make a little room for values driven decision making. She also gives an update on how things have changed recently, budgets cuts and changes.
Bethany Logan
University of Sussex
See Biography
Bethany Logan is Associate Director of the Library at the University of Sussex. She has worked in the Library since 2006 across various roles before joining the Library Leadership Team in 2024. She is responsible for the Content Delivery, Digital Development & Systems, and Research & Open Scholarship teams
13.40
Break
14.00
COUNTER Metrics: what, why, and how
Not sure why we need normalised metrics? Unclear about the difference between an Investigation and a Request (or how those relate to views and downloads)? Can’t tell your TR_J1 from a TR_J4? This session will clear up the confusion with an introduction to the COUNTER Code of Practice for usage data.
Tasha Mellins-Cohen
COUNTER Metrics / Mellins-Cohen Consulting
See Biography
Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Executive Director at COUNTER Metrics and Founder of Mellins-Cohen Consulting, joined the scholarly publishing industry in 2001. She has held roles within learned societies and commercial publishers across operations, technology, editorial and executive functions, while donating time to key industry initiatives and bodies such as UKSG, ALPSP and STM. In 2020 she started consulting in response to requests for help in developing and implementing OA business models in not-for-profit groups. In 2022 she stepped up from volunteer to Director at COUNTER Metrics, the standard for usage metrics, alongside her consulting work.
14.30
Under the COUNTER – when usage data is harder to find
COUNTER stats are great for the majority of our journal and ebook holdings, but what about the resources which don’t supply COUNTER stats? As libraries are increasingly asked to give access to a range of non-traditional resources such as maps, business data and law sites, as well as specialist journals and magazine titles the job of gathering and analysing usage can be complex.
This session will look at some of the other places Edge Hill goes hunting for usage, including directly from publishers websites, as well as using data from EZProxy to gain evidence of usage, as well as addressing some of the drawbacks to these methods.
Ruth Smalley
Edge Hill University
See Biography
| Ruth is the Subscriptions and Licensing Manager at Edge Hill University. Ruth has had a varied career with roles in PR and teaching, before a career change took her to working in public libraries and then moving into higher education libraries. Ruth has a particular interest in evidence based collection decisions and is never happier then when she has a problem that requires a new spreadsheet! Ruth lives in Warrington and enjoys making jewellery and clothes in her spare time. |
15.00
Break
15.20
We Have the Data: Now What?
Join this powerful session focused on transforming the groundbreaking data we now have on student course material utilization! This is the first time in history we can truly understand how students engage with resources, and it’s time to get things done. In this interactive and conversational workshop, we’ll explore what these insights mean for enhancing student success and optimizing resource allocation. Let’s roll up our sleeves, share ideas, and collaborate on actionable strategies that will make a real impact in our institutions. Together, we can turn data into powerful change all in the name of student success!
Malinda Daniel
BibliU
See Biography
With 22 years in higher education, Dr. Daniel has led award-winning initiatives for community colleges aimed at boosting student success while reducing costs through data-driven decisions, particularly focusing on Open Educational Resources (OER). Her expertise lies in fostering innovation through collaboration across campus, leveraging continuous learning and analytics to modernize systems. She prioritizes equity in access and staff efficiency in decision-making, always concentrating on enhancing ROI and ensuring project and client success.
15.50
Summary & close
Feedback
The variety of perspectives made it really interesting
Previous delegate
Fantastic lineup. Learned from all presenters. A couple who really stood out were Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Aron Lindhagen, and Andrew Knight. Their presentations were particularly relevant to my work and they had information on specific, practical processes and tips.
Previous delegate
Intense and information-packed. The sessions were just long enough and being split between two days made it easier to focus (and also schedule around work).
Previous delegate
Registration
Sunday, August 18, 2024 – 01:00 BST – Tuesday, November 5, 2024 – 17:00 GMT
£ 70.00
+14.00 VAT
Member
£ 82.00
+16.40 VAT
Non-Member
NB: UKSG reserves the right to alter or vary the programme due to events or circumstances beyond its reasonable control without being obliged to refund monies.
Contact
General queries – events@uksg.org
Please take a look at our code of conduct
Cancellations
The closing date for cancellations is Friday 18th October, after which date cancellations will not be eligible for a refund. Cancellation should be sent into writing to events@uksg.org. All registrants will be sent a link to the recording after the event for their personal viewing.
The UKSG terms and conditions can be found here