[WEB4LIB] public library usage statistics

[Scritchfield, Larry]

Jim >The public
Jim >library where I work is becoming increasingly interested in measuring
Jim >and evaluating the public's use of its branch library web pages.  Are
Jim >there any forums or resources available for sharing and comparing usage
Jim >statistics for public library web sites?

Any comparison of (say) my statistics with yours would be apples and
oranges.
The reason for that is, there is no accepted definition of "hit" or "visit."
Some sites count hits as every .gif, .jpg, .html/.php/whatever, .css, and
script. Others, only html.

And if you go for visits not hits, there is a time factor. When do you start
counting hits from the same IP as coming from a new visitor? (Here, we guess
that the average visit lasts 10 minutes.)

Proxies and caches throughout the Internet also muddy the picture.

So all you can practically do is track trends at your own location.

Larry Scritchfield                       lscritch at mail.co.washoe.nv.us
Internet Services Librarian                             (775) 327-8349
Washoe County Library System                      www.washoe.lib.nv.us