InfoTrac (Gale Group) Database Statistics

Statistics for Use January 1, 2005 and Later

The Gale Group provides a monthly email report of use for individual libraries. If you are not receiving this report, please let us know and we will set up an automatic monthly email report of statistics for your library. Please note that when your library has personnel changes you may need to update the email address to remain current.

Statistical reporting for Gale Group services changed as of January 2005.

This report provides information on

1. In-Library usage
   
2. Remote usage
   
3. Total usage

In-Library usage includes use authenticated by IP addresses and cookies.

Remote usage is recorded when users access a database from outside the library using a library barcode via

• www.nmrls.org/answers (Answers to Go)
• mblc.state.ma.us/ (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners)
• or other local-library remote user pages requiring input of the patron bar code

Total usage is the sum of In-Library and Remote use.

For more details the Gale Group provides definitions on the last page of all their reports and their website has a complete FAQ at http://www.gale.com/technical_support/faq/usage_report.htm. The Gale Group's technical bulletins at provide more details. (Click on the technical bulletin list and scroll down to usage reporting.)

Statistics for Use Prior to January 1, 2005 Monthly Emailed Reports The Gale Group provided a monthly email report of use for individual libraries. The report had three columns for In-Library, Remote, and Total Usage. However, the column for Remote use was usually zero. Remote use was routinely included in the column with In-Library use. Remote Usage Reports on the NMRLS Web Site The remote access statistics are provided based on reports of patrons who login using a library barcode. Remote use statistics provide a count of the number of remote sessions. A session is defined as a library user inputting a library barcode and logging in for a "session" to use an individual database. Searches are not counted in this report. Remote sessions are recorded when users access a database from outside the library using a library barcode via Answers to Go, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners site, or other local-library remote user pages. Use is recorded by the MBLC server that provides remote bar code authentication services. Visit our site for remote usage statistics: http://www.nmrls.org/reference/stats/index.shtml Remote usage statistics for InfoTrac were included in the email statistics that libraries received from this vendor. However, they were routinely labeled as In-Library Use in this report. See the example below to estimate remote use vs. in-library use. While the remote use report does not indicate searches, NMRLS aggregate statistics indicate that users typically perform about 3.6 searches during a session. This ratio varies from library to library and month to month. Other Databases - Please note that remote usage statistics for other databases are not included in the online statistics provided by other vendors, i.e., eLibrary, Grolier, NewsBank, and OCLC WorldCat. To calculate total use for these services, add the in-library and remote usage reports. Visit our site for remote usage statistics: http://www.nmrls.org/reference/stats/index.shtml Please contact NMRLS is you need assistance setting up your reports, obtaining, log-in information, or for further information on this topic. SAMPLE Pre-January 2005 Statistics In this example, a library received a report for October 2004 use. The total number of searches was 256; the total number of sessions was 76. This includes in-library and remote use. Remote use statistics reported on the NMRLS site indicate a count of 60. This shows that most user sessions were remote. This report shows that library users made 256 searches in October 2004. At first glance a reader might assume that no remote use took place. However, a review of the remote statistics online on the NMRLS site reports the a total count of 60 remote sessions for InfoTrac titles. The Remote Access Statistics show that 79 percent of sessions were remote (60) and 21 percent of sessions were in-library (16). Patrons of this library averaged 3.36 searches per session. This is similar to the NMRLS average of 3.6 searches per session. * This report of remote usage is usually zero despite the fact that many library patrons log in remotely via barcode and use databases. Most remote user sessions are counted in the report on the NMRLS site because the authentication technology is not based at Gale Group. When remote use is indicated in the monthly usage summary from Gale Group it indicates usage that that the Gale Group recognizes as outside the library, e.g., when Gale Group technology is used for remote authentication.