Hello David,
I'm a researcher at Newcastle University working part-time on a
Benchmarking project for e-js.
One of my main problems is indeed the concatenation (and subsequent
verification) of usage data.
Users can access papers from different sources, and even though web-logs
from these sources may be COUNTER
compliant the output files may be structured differently making
consolidation tricky.
This will surely get worse when Open Archives really take off -
potentially hundreds of servers?
Using your favourite stats package, (Access/SPSS) it's possible to
automate some of the concat process, IF
the data is structured in a compound way. It is time consuming (for me
anyhow!) to change the code
even if just one of the data sources has a different layout.
(Maybe you have the luxury of a coding expert?)
I think the introduction of XML (now a COUNTER schema available) looks
very promising, and some
Publishers are providing XML output. I've started to look at this but
have no time to develop.
I would be really interested in your approach to the problem; certainly
consolidated data would help greatly,
and even better if the output was flexible enough to be used in other
processes.
(In future I would like to have a (secure) web site which library staff
could access and
see at a glance, for example, how a particular STM package was
performing. Web site linked (dynamically) to database populated by
reliable and accurate data from COUNTER, and maybe cross-ref to our SFX
catalogue stats to test for trends. Think this is what XML is all
about.)
Best wishes.
Cliff.
===
>-----Original Message-----
>From: An informal open list set up by the UK Serials Group
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sommer, David
>Sent: 16 February 2005 17:11
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: COUNTER Report Consolidation Service
>
>[Apologies for Cross-Posting]
>
>
>
>There have been a number of recent postings to library lists
>regarding how librarians have found COUNTER reports to be of
>great value, however they have found the mechanical process of
>manually downloading these reports every month from multiple
>vendors/publishers/service providers (sometimes hundreds each
>month) to be very time consuming. Collectively across the
>library world, many thousands of hours each month are being
>wasted essentially copying and pasting spreadsheets together
>and then formatting them.
>
>
>
>MPS Technologies together with IBM (our statistics technology
>partner) have recently been looking at this issue. We already
>provide COUNTER data processing services to a number of
>publishers. COUNTER has achieved a great deal in defining
>standards for usage reporting and for standardizing the
>processing of usage data. MPS is now looking at how we can
>automate some of the manual tasks required to make the
>resulting COUNTER reports more useful and to make life easier
>for librarians.
>
>
>
>I am interested to know whether there is demand for a service
>for libraries/consortia that would enable you to receive a
>single set of consolidated COUNTER reports each month.
>
>
>
>At this stage we are working out the details of how the
>service would work (data collection, merging, delivery etc)
>and would very much appreciate input from librarians that
>might find this of value. If you feel that this might be of
>interest to you, and would like to be part of a beta trial
>(with all data treated confidentially), please contact me
>directly at [log in to unmask]
><mailto:[log in to unmask]> . We would mainly work by
>email, and I would expect the total time commitment from you
>at this stage to be a couple of hours at the most.
>
>
>
>I should state that, although I am a member of the COUNTER
>Executive Committee, this is not an official statement from COUNTER.
>
>
>
>Thank you,
>
>
>
>David Sommer
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>David Sommer
>MPS Technologies
>
>Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>Web: www.mpstechnologies.com <http://www.mpstechnologies.com/>
>
>Tel: +44 (0)20 7843 4858 (Direct Line)
>Tel: +44 (0)20 7833 4000 (Switchboard)
>
>
>
>
>
>
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