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Library Quarterly Report FY19 Q3: January-March 2019


Database Usage

Use of library subscription databases was above average this quarter and approached record levels, with strong showings by ASTM Compass, Skillsoft BooksASCE Library and Knovel. However, this quarter we were surprised to see the second highest number of downloads coming in the form of 472  "clickthroughs" of non-subscription resources from the Library's Online Catalog. Use of Skillsoft Books was again higher than normal this quarter, riding a wave of usage following the databases' redesign and rebranding from its previous incarnation, Books24x7. Average quarterly use for that resource is 327 downloads but for this fiscal year the average has been 477 downloads. Worth nothing this quarter is the library's trial of the ICE Virtual Library database. We will continue assessing the resource next quarter.  If we license it, it will be the first new full-text database since the library acquired ScienceDirect in 2015.

 

With the addition of a new database trial (the ICE Virtual Library) the library continues to expand access to resources through "self-service" online databases. VDOT has 14 subscription databases (13 are "full text"). Because the library serves the entire VDOT community, we continue to see a shift from printed book checkouts to self-service access through subscription databases. The tables show total downloads by month (below) for each database, and the trend over the past year (right), which has been consistent for the past 12 months.
Subscription database usage FY19 Q3.

 

 

Subscription Downloads By VDOT: FY19 Q3
January  February  March  Total 
ASTM Compass  235  291  262  788 
Non-Subscription Downloads (EOS Clickthroughs)  175  144  153  472 
Skillsoft Books  143  175  120  438 
Knovel  175  93  117  385 
ASCE Library   113  127  93  333 
EBSCO Business Source Corporate Plus  97  74  177 
TRR  42  56  48  146 
 EBSCO eBooks  43  60  104 
ICE Virtual Library (trial)  38  34  81 
Other (miscellaneous journals)  9   10   13   32 
EBSCO Business Book Summaries  20  26 
ScienceDirect  13 
Monthly Totals  1,052  1,095  848  2,995 

 

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