FirstSearch
Find information about OCLC Usage Statistics for FirstSearch and see a description of the available FirstSearch reports.
Using OCLC Usage Statistics for FirstSearch
OCLC Usage Statistics for FirstSearch contains information about your library's use of the FirstSearch service. This assists you in monitoring user capacity and evaluating which databases are searched most often. Here are some examples of how you might apply the information provided by these reports:
- Usage Statistics provides you with a tool to evaluate how many simultaneous logins you need to purchase overall and how to set user limits at the database level for mid-year additions or annual renewals.
- You can use Usage Statistics reports to monitor database usage. A database that is offered per search may get such heavy usage that it is economically advantageous for you to purchase a subscription to that database. Conversely, a database that receives little usage might be offered per search in the future instead of via subscription. Or, you may want to promote use of a given database that has been purchased via subscription in order to boost its usage.
- You can use statistics to adjust database user limits. You may note that user limits have been set too high in one database and too low in another. You may want to change the user limits for these databases in the upcoming renewal year.
- You can use statistics to determine when subscribing to a journal is more economical than purchasing its articles individually through per-article purchase. Reports in the OCLC Usage Statistics service include per-article purchase data by journal.
Legacy FirstSearch reports
Legacy FirstSearch reports are available at authorization, institution, consortia and subgroup levels. Legacy reports will only appear for a given month if there was activity during that period.
See About FirstSearch COUNTER 5 reports for information on COUNTER 5 reports.
| Legacy FirstSearch report name | Description |
|---|---|
| Overview reports | Provides general information about FirstSearch usage including the number of sessions, searches and full text documents viewed. |
| Searches Used reports | Provides information about the searches performed in each FirstSearch database. |
| Institution Summary report | Provides a roll-up of search and full text activity for all consortia and subgroup members who used the service during the month specified. Available for Consortia and Subgroups. |
| Simultaneous Usage report | Provides simultaneous user information and search information by database for databases purchased via subscription. |
| Full Text Used report | Provides the number of FirstSearch Full Text Documents Viewed in each database by pricing method. |
| Overview of ECO Full Text Used report | Provides general information about the Electronic Collections Online™ (ECO) full text used. |
| Institution Summary of ECO Full Text Used report | Provides a roll-up of full text activity in the Electronic Collections Online (ECO) database for all consortia and subgroup members who used the service during the month specified. Available for Consortia and Subgroup. |
| Journal Details of ECO Full Text Used report | Provides information for each Electronic Collections Online (ECO) journal about the ECO full text used. |
| FirstSearch ILL Link Activity report | Contains the number of Patron ILL requests sent by the given institution from the FirstSearch patron interface. |
| Library Type reports | Overview, Searches Used, Simultaneous Usage, and Full Text Used reports are further broken out by Library type for Consortia and Subgroup accounts. |