The Challenges of Nonstandardized Vendor Usage Data in a Statewide Metasearch Environment: The Library of Texas Experience

Abstract

This article describes a research and development project the objective of which was to develop a means to produce standardized statewide usage data made available from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Using a range of data collection and evaluation methods, the project staff determined that there were significant problems in producing statewide standardized and comparable database usage statistics. This article provides background information on key issues related to these problems, offers a number of techniques that might be adapted for use in other situations, indicates the opportunities presented by metasearch applications for recording usage data, and makes recommendations for future research and work to obtain more accurate and standardized database usage statistics