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Hi, Not sure if this has been said before, but one publisher told me that in May 2009 Google implemented a policy to restrict linking to content with abstracts which would have had an impact on usage statistics. I haven't seen any discussion on this issue out on listservs, but like you would like to know more about this as we have also seen some decline in usage for some of our services which is contrary to what we would have expected. The fact that not all services have been affected makes this even more important when we are increasingly looking at usage to make renewal decisions in the future. It does worry me that usage can be so easily impacted by such changes and whether usage can be manipulated to make it look better than it actually is. It is not a level playing field out there. Cheers Lesley Lesley Crawshaw Knowledge & Business Intelligence Consultant Information Hertfordshire University of Hertfordshire Tel: 01707 285508 From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: 30 March 2010 14:29 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: RE: [lib-stats] Use of Google and COUNTER stats Hello, Anita Have you had any off-list responses to this you would be willing to share with me? We have seen a dramatic decrease in usage for a few publishers when comparing 2009 with 2008 and, like you, are looking for some explanations we can provide to our funders to explain this. All the best Anne Anne Powell Programme Officer, Information Delivery International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) 60 St Aldates Oxford OX1 1ST E-mail: [log in to unmask] Tel: +44 (0)1865 249 909 Fax: +44 (0)1865 251 060 http://www.inasp.info<http://www.inasp.info/> INASP is a registered UK charity: number 1106349 ________________________________ From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wilcox, Anita Sent: 26 March 2010 16:45 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [lib-stats] Use of Google and COUNTER stats Hi, We are having trouble establishing whether databases accessed through a Google search be registered on the vendor site as a COUNTER compliant hit? As our access is through IP recognition the vendor will allow us access; but as the request is coming through Google will it be counted? With the economic downturn we are relying on COUNTER compliant usage stats more than ever to renew our e-resources. And as most users use Google to access articles/databases, it is unclear whether we are getting the true usage stats! COUNTER release 3 says "activity generated by internet robots and crawlers must be excluded from all COUNTER usage reports"; but what about the above scenario when the vendor acknowledges your IP address even when you are going through Google? Any thoughts? If you want to contact me off list, no problem. It is [log in to unmask] Many thanks for your help in advance. Regards, Anita E-resources Librarian, IT Services, Boole Library, UCC, Cork. Tel: 00353214902177