Distributed Usage Logging

Distributed Usage Logging collaboration

Researchers are increasingly using “alternative” (non-publisher) platforms to store, access and share literature, e.g. via:

• Institutional and subject repositories
• Aggregator platforms (EBSCOhost, IngentaConnect)
• Researcher-oriented networking sites (e.g. Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley)
• Reading environments and tools (e.g. ReadCube, Utopia Docs)

Use of content on these platforms is by researchers who also have access to the same content via institutional subscription agreements. However, publishers are unable to report this use in their COUNTER-compliant reports, because it does not occur on their own platforms. This means:

• Publishers are unable to demonstrate the full value of their content to library customers. They are also unable to provide authors will a full picture of usage of their articles
• Because use is distributed, institutions do not have a complete picture of usage when making purchasing decisions

The Distributed Usage Logging collaboration is an R&D experimental initiative between COUNTER, Crossref members, and scholarly technology & service providers. This initiative, driven by the DUL working group, is exploring how to provide a private peer-to-peer channel for the secure exchange and processing of COUNTER-compliant private usage records from hosting platforms to publishers. All data provided back to the original publisher is anonymized, preserving individual user privacy.

The service is now production ready. At the moment, the following participants have implemented:

• DUL usage producers: Mendeley, Digital Science (in progress)
• DUL usage consumers: Elsevier, Taylor and Francis (in progress)

Resources

• COUNTER’s Distributed Usage Logging stakeholder demand report
• COUNTER Code of Practice v5 compliance requirements for processing and reporting data from non-publisher usage sources
• DUL proof of concept reference implementation of the end-to-end transaction pipeline with validation credentials
• DUL reference manual documenting technical specifications and the security infrastructure, also including supplementary materials: FAQs, best practices, reference implementation details, and reference works

If you’re interested in being a pilot partner, please contact Martyn Rittman.