Database ROI Tip: Usage Monitoring

“Every man with an idea has at least two or three followers” -- Brooks Atkinson (American Journalist and Critic, 1894-1984)

Both ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/) and EbscoHost offer massive numbers of technical articles that will help the engineers and scientists in your organization do their work.  Taking biodesulfurization as an example, here are selections from both databases.

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ScienceDirect

Mixtures of Pseudomonas putida CECT 5279 cells of different ages: Optimization as biodesulfurization catalyst  Process Biochemistry, Volume 46, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 1323-1328

J. Calzada, A. Alcon, V.E. Santos, F. Garcia-Ochoa

EbscoHost

Enhanced biodesulfurization by expression of dibenzothiophene uptake genes in Rhodococcus erythropolis

Ze-long Wang; Dan Wang; Qiang Li; Wang-liang Li; Huang Tang; Jian-min Xing

World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology, Sep2011, Vol. 27 Issue 9, p1965-1970, 6p

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Your technical talent can use these databases to help them help you create value for your organization.

But, here’s the problem … are your people actually using the resources you provide?  The only way to know for sure is to monitor use statistics for each subscribed service.

Usage monitoring provides three important insights …

1 Are you subscribing to the right services for your particular needs?

2 If so, are your people using the subscriptions to their maximum potential?

3 If they are not, think about ways to encourage them to do so

Both ScienceDirect (http://usagereports.elsevier.com/asp/main.aspx) and EbscoHost (www.ebscohost.com/academic/ebscohost) provide usage monitoring tools as a part of their service.  If you are not using the monitoring service, ask your vendor representative how to do so.

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And, if you are considering subscribing to any of the other technical databases available on the Web, ask about usage monitoring before you sign your agreement.

By the way, you can monitor time saving tips and tricks for effective online research by following the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/).  Better yet, add an RSS feed of the Blog to your Intranet.  It will help you educate your people on the best way to use your subscribed databases.