Collection Usage Pre- and Post-Summon Implementation at the University of Manitoba

• Main Author: Lisa O’Hara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alberta 2012-12-01
• Series: Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
• Subjects: Resource discovery tools; Summon; collection use; usage statistics; University of Manitoba Libraries
• Online Access: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/12166/14469

<b>Objectives</b> – This study examines the use of print and electronic collections bothbefore and after implementation of Summon at the University of Manitoba Libraries.Summon is a web-scale discovery service which allows discovery of all of thematerials the library owns or has access to from a simple search box on the library’sweb page.<br><b>Methods</b> – COUNTER statistics were used to determine database, e-journal, and ebookstatistics, including database search statistics (DR1) from the COUNTERDatabase Report 1, full-text article downloads from the COUNTER Journal Report 1(JR1), and successful section search requests from the COUNTER Book Report 2 (BR2)for electronic resources. Sirsi, the University of Manitoba’s integrated library system,provided statistics on checkouts for the libraries’ circulating print monograph andserial collections. The percentage change from the pre-Summon implementationperiod to the post-Summon implementation period was calculated and these numberswere used to determine whether usage had increased or decreased for both print andelectronic collections.<br><b>Results</b> – As expected, searches in citation databases decreased because searches wereno longer being carried out in the native database as the metadata from the databaseis included in Summon. E-journal usage increased dramatically and e-book usage alsoincreased for four of six providers examined. Print usage decreased, but the resultswere inconclusive.<br><b>Conclusions</b> – Summon implementation had a favourable impact on collection usage.