I'm in a bit of a quandary about what to do about search statistics from Discovery services.

I can't find anywhere a definition that includes them, yet when I look at some of what we are receiving from our vendors, I can't EXCLUDE them from the stats  to determine individual database usage either.
What is being requested.. (these originally were in the ARL supplemental stats)
Number of successful full-text article requests (journals)
Number of regular searches (databases)
Number of federated searches (databases)
When you look at the ARL supplemental definitions, it says:
"Questions 18-20.  Use of Electronic Resources.  Items reported should follow definitions as defined in  the COUNTER Code of Practice (www.projectcounter.org<http://www.projectcounter.org>). In a footnote, please include the types of resources for which you are reporting data.  It is recommend that ONLY data that follow the COUNTER definitions be reported. Any exceptions should be documented in a footnote."

And when you go to the COUNTER pages, the list of "known" federated search engines while quite lengthy does not include the discovery services.
Any thoughts welcome.
Chuck

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Charles Hamaker M.L.S | Associate University Librarian Collection Development and Electronic Resources
UNC Charlotte | J. Murrey Atkins Library
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