Introduction

Back in the early days of electronic resources, librarians were preoccupied grappling with the acquisitions issues associated with determining what access their institution was entitled to (paid, free, free with print), somehow acquiring that access, and then, maintaining it with a certain degree of predictability; in those days statistics were not even considered. In the adolescence of the electronic era, libraries became more concerned with moving their print resources to online versions, and seeking out the best financial deals possible through better negotiation and consortial participation. Statistics gathering then seemed to gain more relevance. Now that the electronic era is in its early middle age, librarians are building upon those experiences, and looking to either develop the necessary tools in-house, and/or acquire those tools from publishers and vendors, which will enable them to properly evaluate the level of usage of their electronic resources and make informed and reasoned collection development decisions concerning their electronic resources.