Reference Desk Statistics Options

A recent discussion on the WEB4LIB listserv covered options for reference and service desk statistics packages.  Several librarians created in-house solutions using spreadsheets and Google Forms.  But the following products were suggested:

• Desk Tracker – Web-based statistics service from Compendium Library Services.
• Gimlet – Track questions, build a knowledge-base, and create reports the (successor to LibStats).
• LibAnalytics – SpringShare’s (home of LibGuides) service to track and analyze library statistics.
• RefTracker DeskStats – Electronic tally sheets and in depth statistical analysis from AltaRama.

Please let us know if you have others to recommend.

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OCLC Launches WorldShare Library Application Platform

OCLC has launched a new library application platform called WorldShare.  The web-based platform will allow OCLC member libraries to develop and share services and applications.  On OCLC’s WorldShare webpage, the company describes what it does:

The OCLC WorldShare Platform is the technical infrastructure on which OCLC’s Webscale services are built and provides data, tools and services for library developers, users and partners to create and share applications collectively. Libraries can build applications to meet local needs, while benefiting from the innovation of the broader global library community.

Part of the platform will be an App Gallery where users can find and download library-, OCLC Partner-, and OCLC-built applications.  It will provide APIs and Web services to library data including WorldCat.

Read the article from American Libraries magazine: OCLC Launches New WorldShare Platform.

Visit the OCLC WorldShare website.

For further reading, view the Libraries at Webscale, a 71-page “discussion document” which covers the impact of the Web, scaling services globally, and library collaboration  at “Web scale”.  In the report are essays by library trends writiers Thomas L. Friedman, Seth Godin, Steven Berlin Johnson, and Kevin Kelly.

ebrary Ebook Survey Results

ebrary released a summary of its 2011 Global Student E-book Survey.  From the press release:

Key findings of the survey of more than 6,500 students include the following:

• E-book usage and awareness have not increased significantly in 2011 over 2008
• Preference for printed books over electronic books has not changed: Both are still equally important
• The vast majority of students would choose electronic over print if it were available and if better tools along with fewer restrictions were offered
• There is a need for reliable social media tools geared toward research

Read the entire press release: ebrary Survey Suggests Students’ Research Needs Unmet, Results to be Presented at Charleston (PDF).