INTRODUCTION

The use of licensed electronic information resources will continue to expand and in some cases become the sole or dominant means of access to content. The electronic environment, as manifested by the World Wide Web, pro vides an opportunity to improve the measurement of the use of these resources. In the electronic arena we can more accurately determine which information is being accessed and used. Without violating any issues of privacy or confidentiality we can dramat ically enhance our understanding of information use.

The participating consortia of the ICOLC have a responsibility to their library members to ensure the provision of usage information of licensed electronic resources. Information providers should want the same information to better understand the market f or their services as well as to create an informed customer base. These mutual interests can be best met by defining and creating a common set of basic use information requirements that are an integral and necessary part of any electronic product offering . These requirements apply to vendor operated web sites and to software provided to libraries or consortia for local operation. Information providers are encouraged to go beyond these
minimal requirements as appropriate for their specific electronic resources.

These ICOLC guidelines draw heavily upon the guidelines developed by the JSTOR Web Statistics Task Force: David Farrell, Berkeley, Chair; Jim Mullins, Villanova; Kimberly Parker, Yale; Dave Perkins, CSU-Northridge; Sue Phillips, Texas; Camille Wanat, Berkeley; Kristen Garlock, JSTOR, ex-officio. The ICOLC guidelines reflect modifications to maximize their broad applicability to the diversity of resources licensed by many ICOLC members.

1. REQUIREMENTS

Each use element defined below should be able to be delineated by the following subdivisions;

The ICOLC is preparing a separate guideline on Technical Performance of Web-based Services for reporting of system related parameters ( e.g., downtime, response time).

2. PRIVACY AND USER CONFIDENTIALITY: Statistical reports or data that reveal confidential information about individual users must not be released or sold by information providers without permission of the consortium and its member libr aries.

3. INSTITUTIONAL OR CONSORTIAL CONFIDENTIALITY: Providers do not have the right to release or sell statistical usage information about specific institutions or the consortium without permission, except to the consortiu m administrators and member libraries. Use of institutional or consortium data as part of an aggregate grouping of similar institutions for purposes of comparison does not require prior permission as long as specific institutions or consortia are not iden tifiable. When required by contractual agreements, information providers may furnish institutional use data to the content publishers.

4. COMPARATIVE STATISTICS: Information providers should provide comparative statistics that give consortia a context in which to analyze statistics at the aggregate institutional (consortium member) level. For example, a grouping for p urposes of comparison should be compiled by the information provider (e.g., statistics from an anonymous selection of similar institutions), or it might be a grouping composed on demand (e.g., statistics from all campuses in a consortium, presented either anonymously or not, as desired by the participating institutions).

Information providers should maintain access to tabular statistical data through their web site (updated monthly) which a participant can access, aggregate and manipulate on demand. When appropriate, these data also should be available in flat files containing specified data elements that can be downloaded and manipulated locally. Information providers are also encouraged to present data as graphs and charts.

This statement was adopted in principle by member representatives of the "International Coalition of Library Consortia" (ICOLC) whose institutions are listed below. This statement does not necessarily represent the official views of each con sortium listed. All consortia listed are in the United States unless otherwise noted.

 
About the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC)

The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) first met as the "Consortium of Consortia" (COC) in 1996. The Coalition is an international, informal group currently comprising over ninety library consortia in North America, Europe , Australia, Israel, China, and South Africa. The coalition membership serve primarily higher education institutions by facilitating discussion among consortia on issues of common interest. The ICOLC conducts meetings throughout the year dedicated to kee ping its members informed about new electronic information resources, pricing practices of electronic providers and vendors, and other issues of importance to consortia directors and governing boards. The Coalition also meets with the information provide r community, creating a forum for discussion about product offerings and issues of mutual concern.
More information about ICOLC can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia.
For further information about this document, please contact:

• Tom Sanville, Executive Director, OhioLINK

Suite 300, 2455 North Star Road, Columbus, OH 43221
Phone: 614-728-3600, ext. 322
Email: tom@ohiolink.edu
Fax: 614-728-3610

• Sue Phillips, Director, University of Texas System Digital Library, University of Texas