Cost-per-Use versus Hours-per-Report: Usage Reporting and the Value of Staff Time

Authors

Christina Torbert, University of MississippiFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

Cost-per-use for electronic journals has become a common standard for judging the value of individual titles, but the reports needed to make such judgments can be complex and time consuming to create. Different options exist for collecting, collating, and reporting the necessary data. In 2013, time spent by staff at the University of Mississippi library on all of the processes to create a cost-per-use report for the library’s subscription lists was recorded and a value in staff salaries was calculated. That cost was compared to the price for outsourcing the processes to various vendors. Additionally, other libraries were asked, via survey, about their experiences with the process and with using vendors. The responses to that survey were reported and compared to the experiences at the University of Mississippi.

Relational Format

journal article

Comments

Additional files include: slides from NASIG 2014 presentation on this topic, survey data referenced in this article

Recommended Citation

Christina Torbert (2015) Cost-per-Use versus Hours-per-Report: Usage Reporting and the Value of Staff Time, The Serials Librarian, 68:1-4, 163-167 https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2015.1017705