September 12, 2013

Question

Bruce Pomerantz (MN)

Has anyone decided for their own state to collect e-magazine subscriptions (e.g. Zinio selection, Wall Street Journal, NY Times) as a counterpart to print periodicals? If so, would you please share the definition you created?

Also, is anyone tallying the downloads as circulation? If so, is it being entered in your annual reports and if yes, where? 

I didn’t find anything the Data Element Definitions: Questions, Comments Feedback. . . If this has been discussed before please point me the way.

Thanks.

SDC Comments

Joyce Chapman (NC)

Yes, we added both the count and the circulation as local questions this year. We just copied all the verbiage from some other IMLS question for the e-periodicals subscriptions. We were planning to include the e-periodicals circulations in the new IMLS question 552 Circulation of Electronic Materials along with e-books and e-audio, and we are not counting e-periodicals in databases. We forgot to add a downloadable video circs question this year (sadly) so it will have to wait until next year to join #552, since our survey is due today!

Here are our new questions:

523.        E-periodicals subscriptions

Report the number of e-periodical subscriptions, including duplicates, for all outlets. If data on the number of units subscribed to is not available, the number of titles may be counted. E-periodicals packaged together as a unit (e.g., multiple titles on a single circulating tablet device) and checked out as a unit are counted as one unit. Report only items the library has selected as a part of the collection (exclude public domain / uncopyrighted e-periodicals that have unlimited access). 

NOTE: For purposes of this survey, units are defined as “units of acquisition or purchase.” The “unit” is determined by considering whether the item is restricted to a finite number of simultaneous users or an unlimited number of simultaneous users.

Finite simultaneous use: units of acquisition or purchase is based on the number of simultaneous usages acquired (equivalent to purchasing multiple copies of a single title). For example, if a library acquires a title with rights to a single user at a time, then that item is counted as 1 “unit”; if the library acquires rights to a single title for 10 simultaneous users, then that item is counted as 10 “units.”

Unlimited simultaneous use: units of acquisition or purchase is based on the number of titles acquired. For example, if a library acquires a collection of 100 books with unlimited simultaneous users, then that collection would be counted as 100 “units.”

619.        E-periodicals circulation

Circulation of electronic periodicals, for example, Zinio.

Bruce Pomerantz (MN)

Joyce,

I do not know if the vendor can distinguish between an e-periodical downloaded on a library’s computer or a mobile or stationary device not at the library. If the distinction can be made, do you count as circulation an e-periodical downloaded and read at the library, i.e., an in-house use count? 

Joyce Chapman (NC)

We don’t have in-house use counts. We just ask them to report all the e-periodical circs in one category. Same with technology lending: we make no distinction about whether it’s lent for use inside or outside the library. Just one circulation count.