7-6 Database Usage Statistics

Purpose:  To collect University of Maine (Orono) database usage statistics, which aid in analyzing return on investment and whether subscriptions should be renewed. Usage is also reported to various higher education agencies that collect institutional data including that for library resources.

The Head of Collection Services determines which database vendors and/or specific databases are to be included in the Orono database usage reports.

Access instructions

Acquisitions staff maintain a shared spreadsheet with publisher and vendor administrative account information, which is continually updated.

Collect

Collect database usage statistics annually at the end of January, or as soon as available, for the previous calendar year. An Excel file with separate tabs per database/publisher/vendor, in alphabetical order, is created and maintained.  Generally, database “searches” are recorded. Notes are highlighted to indicate any statistics reported that are other than “searches,” i.e., page views or successful logins, for example. For each title, copy/paste csv or other data, or a screenprint of the usage statistics report, to the corresponding spreadsheet tab.

Record

Transfer calendar year “total” search data for each tab and record in a Excel “[year] Orono Database Stats Tally” file in order to present total annual usage data in concise format on a single page. Use three columns listing 1) name of publisher/database/vendor and 2) number of total searches for the year. Make note if number reported reflects other than “searches.” Add notes columns if any followup is needed.

The annual Orono Database Stats report and Orono Database Stats Tally report files are both saved in the Acquisitions shared folder for Databases.