An evolving project

John CoxDeputy LibrarianNational University of Ireland, Galway

IReL in BriefEstablished in 2004Government-fundedFocused on research communityAccessible at 7 Irish universitiesCovers most disciplinesc. 90 “products”25000+ e-journals40000+ e-books

IReL Content: STMACM Digital Library EI Village IOP Journals SIAM Journals

ACS Journals Crossfire Beilstein LWW Journals SpringerLink

AMA Journals Derwent Innovations Index

MathSciNet Synergy STM Jrls

AIP Journals Embase Nature Journals Taylor & Francis STM Jrls

APS Journals Emerald Xtra OUP Journals World Scientific Publishing

Annual Reviews ESDU Engineering RSC Journals Wiley Current Procotols

Biomed Central Euclid Prime Science Online Wiley Ref Works

Biosis Previews Faculty of 1000 Science Direct Wiley Interscience Jrls

BMJ Journals GeoScienceWorld Scientific American Web of Knowledge

CAB Direct Hindawi Journals Scientific World Jrl Zentralblatt Mathematik

Cell Press Journals IEL/IEEE SciFinder Scholar 110 Single Jrl Titles

IReL Content: AHSSBlackwell Synergy HSS Historical Abstracts Oxford DNB Sage Journals Online

Academic Search Premier & Business Source Premier

International Medieval Bibliography

Oxford English Dictionary

SourceOECD

CUP Journals JSTOR Oxford Reference Online

Taylor & Francis HSS Journals

Econlit Justis Philosopher’s Index Westlaw IE

Factfinder LexisNexis Professional

Project Muse Westlaw UK

Film Index International Literature Online PsycArticles Wilson OmniFile

Global Market Information Database

Making of Modern Law PsycInfo Women Writers Online

Hein Online MLA International Bibliography

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy

World Development Indicators

IReL ManagementPart-time, voluntary groups staffed by member

librariesSteering GroupMonitoring GroupLicencing GroupWeb GroupIT Group?

Monitoring Group: remitCollate and monitor performance statistics in relation to

the value for money of IReL titles. Collate and monitor downtime of IReL titles. Suggest retention or cancellation of IReL titles based on

information gathered.

Provide summaries of changes of content in IReL major services i.e. deletions of titles or addition of new titles.

 Note deficiencies of IReL information supply with regard to

specific areas of research. Suggest ways of continuing to promote the IReL service.

Monitoring Group: membersRosarii Buttimer, University College CorkJohn Cox (chair), National University of Ireland,

GalwayAoife Geraghty, University of LimerickArlene Healy, Trinity College DublinJack Hyland, Dublin City UniversityFiona McGoldrick, IRISNiall McSweeney, National University of Ireland,

GalwayClaire Moran, University College DublinVal Payne, National University of Ireland, Maynooth

ActivitiesDowntime registerUsage statisticsUser surveyOngoing interaction with:

Steering GroupUsersVendors

Downtime (known)

Usage StatisticsExcel templates for e-journals, databasesBasic quantitative indicators of uptake and

valueNumber of downloads/searchesCost per download/searchTop 10 journals per resource according to

downloadsNumber and % of journals per download “band”Turnaways

Annual frequency, with trend reports

E-Journal Example

Database Example

Annual Report of IReL UsageMix of figures and commentarySummary table of download volumes and

costsMost downloaded journals overallAnalysis by download bandUsage by type of resourceTrends by disciplineComparison with earlier year(s)

Value for Money

Consolidation of Usage

Trends of interest (STM only)Strong uptake in nursing, chemistry Journal of Advanced Nursing has most

downloadsCost per download compares very favourably

to ILLUsage tends to increase over timeSignificant % of journals with <50 downloadsLower usage, higher costs for non-journal

resources

Compilation DifficultiesLabour-intensiveMix of COUNTER/non-COUNTER dataCosts – need to factor in:

IReL /local payments initially“maintained spend”VAT

Total consortium figuresSome vendors slow to respondTiming, eg synchronisation with subscription

decisionsUnanswered questions, eg impact, quality,

satisfaction?

2007 IReL Impact SurveyGiven priority over 2006 usage stats

compilationEssential complement to statistical dataPre-consultation with researchers and fundersFocused distinctively on:

Value to researchersPurpose of useImpact on workSatisfaction with coverage(Recognised) use of IReL resourcesRole of printAccess

Who Participated?2266 researchers in all disciplinesStaff

Research only, eg centresResearch and teaching

PhDsResearch Masters7 institutions

Findings of Note

IReL includes 75% of researchers’ “top 5” journals But… gaps include journal backfiles, newspaper

archivesSignificant access (eg off-campus) and discovery

issuesLack of association with IReL55% don’t need print copies of IReL journals

Use of IReL

How IReL Benefits ResearchSpeedEase of online accessCoverage, including multidisciplinaryCurrencyStronger competitivenessEasier collaborationNew areas of research now possible

How IReL Benefits TeachingFaster transfer of ideas to lecture hallIntegration of online journals in BlackboardEasier access to course readingsWider choice of sourcesUpdated teaching materials

IReL is a Luxury, not a Necessity1,296 Disagree Strongly

622 Disagree62 Agree88 Agree Strongly

157 Don't Know

IRel is a luxury, not a necessity

1,4001,3001,2001,1001,0009008007006005004003002001000

Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Agree

Agree Strongly

Don't Know

58.2 %

28.0 %

2.8 %

4.0 %

7.1 %

Discontinuation = “disaster”, “Dark Ages”, “would leave”

Blackwell Synergy: AHSS users

Survey experience

Labour-intensiveSeemed to engage senior stakeholders more

than statsGood on impact, quality of experienceInfluential in likely continuation of IReL

fundingHelpful in identifying specific gaps in coverageBut important to correlate findings with stats

Different Messages?

Usage Data: areas for development

Zero use titles?Correlation with impact factors?Cost per student/staff FTE?E-book dataOutputs, eg researcher publications

In ConclusionUsage data and user survey complementaryStats

valuable indicators of activityidentifiers of uptake and value for moneyguidance on subscription decisionswhat and when?

Survey: actual user experiencesatisfaction levelsimpact, return on investmentwho, how and why?