COUNTER - Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources
 

Register of Vendors

Last updated: December 2011

In Section 1 are listed those vendors and products/services compliant with the COUNTER Code of Practice for journals and databases. In Section 2 are listed those vendors and products/services compliant with the Code of Practice for books and reference works.

 

1a. Register of Vendors providing usage reports compliant with Release 3 of the Code of Practice for Journals and Databases

From 1 September 2009 only Vendors and Usage Reports included in this Register may be regarded as being COUNTER compliant

2. Register of Vendors providing usage reports compliant with Release 1 of the Code of Practice for Books and Reference Works

Only Vendors and Usage Reports included in this list may be regarded as being COUNTER compliant for Books and Reference Works

3. Protocols for Compliance with the COUNTER Code of Practice

3.1 Vendors and products

The Register of COUNTER compliance shall list vendor products/services rather than vendors. In cases where a vendor entry in the Register is unqualified by a specific product or service, it should be assumed that all of that vendor's online products that fall within the scope of a particular COUNTER Usage Report comply with the Code of Practice. This is more likely to be the case for small vendors with a small product/service portfolio than for a larger vendor.

3.2 Compliance process

Vendors shall make an application to the COUNTER Project Director, indicating which of their products/services they wish to submit for inclusion on the Register. Applications should be sent by e-mail to the Project Director (pshepherd@projectCounter.org ). Applicants should specify the following in their application:

3.2.1 The COUNTER Usage Reports that they wish to be designated COUNTER-compliant.
3.2.2 The products/services covered by these usage reports
3.2.3 The URL on which the usage reports are available
3.2.4 The date from which the usage reports will be available

The project director shall require the vendor to make available to at least one of the COUNTER library test sites, for a period of up to three months, the usage reports relating to the product/service for which compliant status is being applied. The Project Director shall select the test site(s) from the list in Section 1.4 below. In the event that none of the test sites is a customer for the product concerned, the vendor may nominate a selection of library customers for the product/service, from which the Project Director shall designate one or more test site(s) to be used in that case.

The test site(s) shall provide feedback direct to the vendor, copying the Project Director on all feedback. Only when the test site has informed the Project Director that the usage reports for the vendor product/service complies in every respect with the COUNTER Code of Practice shall the appropriate entry be made in the Register.

In the event that the usage reports for the vendor product/service fail to meet the requirements of the Code of Practice after three months from the date on which they were first made available to the test site(s), the vendor shall have a further three months to comply. If, after this period, the usage reports still fail to comply with the Code of Practice, the vendor shall have to submit a new application in order to begin the process again.
During the application process the vendor and its product/service shall be listed on the 'Current Applications for COUNTER Compliance' table, which shall be available on the COUNTER website. Successful applicants shall be moved to the Register.

3.3 Auditing

In order to maintain COUNTER compliant status from 2007 the vendor must agree to have its COUNTER usage reports audited according to the standards required by COUNTER. Such an audit is to be carried out within 18 months of the date of entry into the Registry, and annually thereafter. It shall be indicated in the Register which of the usage reports have been audited, and the date of the audit. A detailed description of the auditing process may be found in Appendix E of Release 2 of the Code of Practice for Journals and Databases and in Appendix D of Release 1 of the Code of Practice for Books and Reference Works.

3.4 Library test sites

The COUNTER Library Test Sites are at:

Cranfield University, UK
GlaxoSmithKline, UK
University of California, San Diego, USA
University of Leicester, UK
University of Liverpool, UK
University of Wales at Bangor, UK
Yale University, USA

  

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