Who says we're not busy? Library web page usage as a measure of public service activity
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the viability of web server statistics for library‐generated web pages as measures of public service activity. For years librarians have gathered, reported, and analyzed traditional measures such as reference transactions, patron visits, book and reserve item circulation, and interlibrary loan transactions. Since the advent of web‐based databases and services, some traditional usage statistics have declined. Such declines can have political and financial implications for libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The author did a literature review, studied a suggested revision to the NISO Z39.7‐1995 Library Statistics standard that includes counting usage of library‐generated web pages, participated in a task force on web statistics, and analyzed library web site statistics at a university library.
Findings
The recommendations of a task force on reporting web page usage statistics in an academic library are discussed. The reporting of the usage of library‐generated web pages can be a useful indicator of increased patron contacts and provide a more complete picture of public service activities.
Research limitations/implications
This is a new area for library statistics, and its impact on the perceptions of libraries as sources of information in the digital age has yet to be proven.
Originality/value
This paper is useful to libraries which wish to integrate web page usage statistics into their output measures and reporting procedures.
Keywords
Citation
Welch, J.M. (2005), "Who says we're not busy? Library web page usage as a measure of public service activity", Reference Services Review, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 371-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907320510631526
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited