The article reports the results from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) E-Metrics study to investigate issues associated with the usage statistics provided by database vendors. The ARL E-Metrics study was a concerted effort by twenty-four ARL libraries to develop and test statistics and measures in order to describe electronic resources and services in ARL libraries. This article describes a series of activities and investigations that included a meeting with major database vendors and the field-testing of usage statistics from eight major vendors to evaluate the degree to which the reports are useful for library decision-making. Overall, the usage statistics from the vendors studied are easy to obtain and process. However, the standardization of key usage statistics and reporting format is critical. Validation of reported statistics also remains a critical issue. This article offers a set of recommendations for libraries and calls for continuous collaboration between libraries and major database vendors.
This study aims to grasp how to understand the difference in return on investment (ROI) or the cost-benefit ratio in forty-two domestic and overseas studies of library valuation, using a meta-analytical review method. Meta-analysis, a quantitative analysis on the findings of previous studies, was conducted to gather the general findings and lessons from prior empirical research. The results of meta-regression analysis indicate that the pattern of findings is consistent with our expectations regarding the effect of benefit scope and per capita GDP included in the ROI figure. This study appears to be the first meta-analytical review conducted on library valuations and the findings provide strong implications for the policy-making process.
The ARL (Association of Research Libraries) E-Metrics
project is a concerted effort by the research library community to
investigate various problems related to collecting and using data for
electronic materials and services. A survey was conducted involving
twenty-four libraries during the first phase of the project to learn
about current data collection activities. Twenty-two libraries responded
to the survey. The results show that a number of libraries are not well
prepared to collect, to analyze, and to report data related to networked
resources and services. Libraries need to determine their data needs
and the amount of resource that they can commit for data collection and
use activities. The results also identified the lack of consistent and
comparable statistics from database vendors as a main challenge and an
area in which libraries and vendors must work together for solutions.
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