MINES for Libraries™ Presented by Martha Kyrillidou Director of the ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs Association of Research Libraries at PALCI October 24,

ARL Statistics More than 50% of the library materials expenditures in major research libraries is spent on electronic resources This proportion is even higher for smaller college and university libraries

ARL Toolkit… StatsQUAL –ARL Statistics –LibQUAL+ –E-Metrics –DigiQUAL+ –ClimateQUAL –MINES for Libraries Brinley Franklin and Terry Plum

Measuring Digital Content Use The most popular current method of measuring usage of electronic resources by libraries is not through web- based usage surveys, but through vendor supplied data of library patron usage or transaction usage. Web-based usage surveys are increasingly relevant in the collection of usage data to make collection development and service decisions, to document evidence of usage by certain patron populations, and to collect and analyze performance outputs. Brinley Franklin and Terry Plum, “Successful Web Survey Methodologies for Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services (MINES for Libraries TM )” IFLA Journal 32 (1) March, 2006

What is MINES? Action research –Historically rooted in indirect cost studies –Set of recommendations for research design –Set of recommendations for web survey presentation –Set of recommendations for information architecture in libraries –Plan for continual assessment of networked electronic resources –An opportunity to benchmark across libraries

MINES for Libraries TM MINES is a transaction-based research methodology consisting of a web-based survey form and a random moments sampling plan MINES typically measures who is using electronic resources, where users are located at the time of use, and their purpose of use in the least obtrusive way MINES was adopted by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) as part of the “New Measures” toolkit in May, North American universities in the last four years. More than 100,000 North American networked services users have been surveyed using a standard protocol. MINES is different from other electronic resource usage measures that quantify total usage (e.g., Project COUNTER, E- Metrics) or measure how well a library makes electronic resources accessible (LibQUAL+™).

Questions Addressed By MINES for Libraries™ How extensively do sponsored researchers use electronic resources? How much usage is for non-funded research, instruction/education, student research papers, and course work? Are researchers and instructors more likely to use the electronic resources from inside or outside the library? What about other classifications of users? Are there differences in the use of electronic resources depending on the user’s location (e.g., in the library; on-campus, but not in the library; or off-campus)? Could MINES, combined with usage counts, provide an infrastructure to make electronic resource usage studies routine, robust, and easily integrated into administrative decision-making process for assessing networked electronic resources?

Library User Survey Patron Status

Library User Survey Affiliation

Library User Survey Location

Library User Survey Purpose

Key aspects … Ongoing assessment service R&D opportunity to understand and improve the technology infrastructure Inform decision making Provide basis for sound actions

Library Assessment Conference Fall 2010 Baltimore/Washington DC USA