Usage statistics for electronic journals: An analysis of local and vendor counts

Vendor-supplied e-resource statistics are often unavailable, unreliable, or not comparable across vendors. This study compared locally generated usage statistics to those supplied by four major publishers, and analyzed the resulting patterns of use. The additional information provided by vendor statistics was assessed to see how it might be utilized selectively to provide a better understanding of the importance of individual titles. The local statistics for all titles provided by the four publishers were then compared. A strong similarity between the two datasets was found, supporting the position that local statistics are a viable alternative to vendor statistics. Another finding was that the 80/20 rule is closer to 80/30 in the online environment. Some of the issues for subject librarians and electronic resources librarians are discussed.