Accessible Archives Announces COUNTER Membership

MALVERN, Pa., Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Accessible Archives, Inc^®, an electronic publisher of full-text primary source historical databases, has joined COUNTER as a full member and announced its intent to become fully compliant with the new COUNTER Code of Practice for e-Resources: Release 5.

In scholarly publishing, one way of measuring return on investment is to assess circulation and usage statistics. For digital content, the assessment method of choice is COUNTER reporting. In 2016, the COUNTER team began drafting a new version of the Code of Practice to replace Release 4, addressing its inconsistencies while also taking into account the changing needs of both publishers and libraries. The resulting COUNTER Code of Practice: Release 5 was published in July, 2017.

Lorraine Estelle, COUNTER Director, welcomed Accessible Archives' membership: "We are delighted AAI has begun transitioning to Release 5 at this early stage. COUNTER was born from collaborative efforts of scholarly publishers and librarians in 2002. Effective collaboration is still our driving force and therefore having AAI becoming a member is a great bonus! Members make COUNTER possible. Their expertise and support help develop and maintain the Code of Practice to a high standard. Members benefit by being eligible for membership on committees and working groups as vacancies arise. Members also receive our newsletters, ensuring they are up-to-date with developments and can be first to register for events. Their feedback through our annual membership survey informs our priorities every year."

At the heart of Release 5 are four Master Reports, each associated with several pre-set filtered Standard Views, but also conforming to the needs of the person working with the report. Flexibility is enhanced through attributes, pieces of information that can be associated with multiple metrics. Providing information about such matters as publication year, access method and data types ensures that reports can be rolled up or drilled down through with ease, eliminating the need for special purpose reports.

Release 5 is internally consistent, unambiguous and flexible, easing publisher compliance. The Code of Practice is designed to be adapted and extended as digital publishing changes over the years. Release 5 will be subject to a continuous maintenance process, evolving over time to stay relevant, instead of being replaced by Release 6. Compliance is mandatory for COUNTER reports from January 2019 onwards.

Unlimited Priorities LLC, a firm specializing in support for small and medium-size companies in the information and publishing industries, is coordinating Accessible Archives' new relationship with COUNTER. Iris L. Hanney, Unlimited Priorities president, discussed the importance of this collaboration: "In managing library resources in today's exploding world of information, independent usage reporting is critical in demonstrating content value. Upgrading to COUNTER R5 compliance continues Accessible Archives' ongoing commitment to serve the library community with the most up to date methodologies, while its COUNTER membership guarantees access to developing activities within that organization."                                        

About Accessible Archives, Inc.

Accessible Archives utilizes a team of digital technology and conversion specialists to provide vast quantities of archived historical information previously available only in microform, hard copy or as images only.  Databases containing diverse primary source materials – leading books, newspapers and periodicals – reflect broad views across 18th and 19th century America. Accessible Archives will continue to add titles covering important topics and time periods to assist scholars and students at all academic levels. Unlimited Priorities LLC is the exclusive sales and marketing agent for Accessible Archives.

Contacts:

Iris L. Hanney                                                   
President                                                         
Unlimited Priorities LLC                                     
239-549-2384                
[email protected] 
www.unlimitedpriorities.com

Lorraine Estelle
Director
COUNTER
+44 (0) 1963 866843
[email protected] 
www.projectcounter.org

SOURCE Accessible Archives, Inc.