Research On Electronic Resources Usage Statistics Standardization

With the advance of social informationization, libraries are also in the stage of transforming from traditional paper-based materials to electronic resources. According to the statistical data collected by Steering Committee for Academic Libraries of China, the expenditure of the university libraries on electronic resources is increasing rapidly. The usage statistics of electronic resources are of great importance in making purchasing decisions. However, usage reports offered by different vendors and publishers varied both in statistical items and metering methods, which causes great difficulty for librarians in making use them.Through a questionnaire study and AHP analysis on the result, the detail needs on the usage statistic reports of electronic resources are acquired. By comparing the demands of domestic libraries and COUNTER format usage reports, we conclude that COUNTER should be supplemented in 9 points to meet the unique demands in China.The standardization of electronic resources usage statistics needs the support from libraries, vendors and publishers, and additionally, the lead of relevant organizations. Finally in this paper, we forecast the future of standardization of electronic resources usage statistics, pointing out that the next step of standardization is automation.