Electronic usage data serves an important purpose for librarians who need to assess user activities with electronic collections. Comparing usage reports by different vendors requires sorting out the various types of reports that are available and assessing how and if they can effectively be compared. This book attempts to investigate what makes vendor usage reports compatible or incompatible, and to what degree. It includes a case study where the authors analyze and interpret their institution's data in order to provide others with possible strategies for productively engaging with e-book usage reports. Chapter 1 gives a brief account on Project COUNTER (Counting Networked Electronic Resources). COUNTER supports the process of collection assessment by providing standards for vendors and publishers to follow in delivering usage data to libraries. The COUNTER Code of Practice aims for usage data to be credible, consistent, and comparable, three core principles. This chapter describes the purpose of COUNTER, its underlying principles and core standards, and more importantly, who will benefit from the COUNTER standards.
