COUNTER: Release 5 of the Code of Practice

Librarians need to measure returns on the investments that they make, and for digital content, the COUNTER Code of Practice for usage statistics is an important metric. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper is a viewpoint.

Release 5 of the Code of Practice has been developed to make it easier for publishers to be compliant. It can be adapted and extended as digital publishing changes over the years.

Release 5 consists of four master reports, a reduced number of metrics and additional attributes. These will enable librarians to roll up or drill down through reports with ease, eliminating the need for the kinds of special-purpose reports required previously.