This seminar is aimed at those responsible for collecting, analysing and making recommendations based on usage data, whether in a library setting or within a publishing organisation. This online seminar will take place over two days 3rd & 4th November (9:00 start), for more details please visit the programme section below.
When
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 – 12:45 GMT
to
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 – 12:00 GMT
Where
Online
United Kingdom
About
Programme
Feedback
Registration
Contact
Share
About the Event
Registration
Click here to register
UKSG membership rate: £70+VAT
Non-membership rate: £82.00+VAT
Details of membership can be found at https://www.uksg.org/join
Event Summary
Those with a responsibility for overseeing the management of library collections have more access than ever to statistical data to assist with evaluation and to justify return on investment, and enhancement of the user experience. Understanding the library’s use of this data is also vital for publishers. Advances in standardisation led by the COUNTER initiative have made statistics more accessible and reliable as a basis for decision making.
Increasingly, libraries are being asked to make extremely difficult decisions about the priorities for their spending within a strategic context. Although this presents huge challenges, it can also be an impetus to change the ways in which services are provided. Publishers need to be aware of what statistics librarians are looking at and how they are being used to inform collection development.
This seminar provides illustrations by expert decision makers on how statistics are used to make strategic decisions. It will also present the challenges, such as demonstrating value and presenting data to different audiences. Future developments within the field will also be addressed, together with considerations of how these will impact on decision making in the future, for example new approaches to analytics. There will be discussion on how the development of open access is impacting on usage behaviour and influencing considerations for collection development.
Delegates will have the opportunity to reflect on the role of statistics in the broader context of further and higher education, and the culture of assessment that is becoming increasingly prominent within the sector. Delegates will be encouraged to actively participate throughout the day.
Who should attend
This seminar is aimed at both those in libraries who need to analyse or interpret usage data to support decision making about resources and collections, within a strategic context. It will be of interest to those with a responsibility for overseeing the management and evaluation of library collections in the further and higher education sector, and who need to demonstrate impact and value to senior leadership teams, rather than those involved in the operational role. It may also be of interest to those working in other areas of the scholarly information industry. It will also be of importance to publishers who need to understand the collection development decisions of their customers.
Please note: This seminar does not cover the practical aspects of collecting usage data, or of creating reports. These topics are covered by the UKSG Practical Usage Statistics for Librarians seminar, a hands-on workshop on gathering and manipulating usage statistics.
Both days will be recorded and available for playback on demand post event for registered delegates.
We welcome participants from all corners of the globe to join our seminars, however speakers and topics are generally UK focussed, if you have any doubt about the suitability please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Learning Objectives
Delegates will:
- gain a greater insight into the wider environment and context in which usage statistics decision making is carried out and new approaches to this
- learn about ways in which library resource usage statistics have been used by staff in university libraries to inform decision-making processes
- develop an understanding of how usage statistics can be used to demonstrate value from a publisher perspective
- gain knowledge of the impact of open access publishing on usage statistics and demonstrating value
Attendee Information
The webinar tool we use is Go to Webinar. To test your system ahead of time visit https://support.goto.com/webinar/system-check-attendee
Accessibility
UKSG wants to provide the best possible experience for all our delegates, making presentations as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Our intention were possible is to strongly encourage our speakers to provide auto generated closed captioning for both live and recorded events as well as to make sure their slides as easy as possible for all people to read. In addition we can provide auto generated transcripts post event for each of the recorded sessions.
If you have particular accessibility needs or questions about this seminar/webinar, we welcome you to contact events@uksg.org
Recording
The sessions will be recorded and available to all registered delegates only after the event, so if you unable to join us live or want to review any presentation this will be available.
Programme
- Day 1 – 3 November
- Day 2 – 4 November
Time
Programme
Speakers
12.45
Introduction & welcome
All times stated are GMT
.
.
12.40
Library Usage Data for Strategic Decisions
How can library usage data move beyond reporting to support better strategic decisions? This presentation explores practical approaches to using usage data, visualisation, automation and AI in an academic library environment. Drawing on real examples from London South Bank University, it will demonstrate how Alma Analytics, Power BI, Python and SQL can help inform collection decisions, renewal discussions, service planning and resource management. The presentation will also explore the emerging role of AI in analysing and summarising usage data, while considering where human judgement remains essential when interpreting trends and making decisions with financial or service implications.
Abdul Qadeer Khan
London South Bank University
See Biography
Abdul Qadeer Khan is an Acquisitions & Fulfilment Team Leader at London South Bank University, with professional experience spanning library acquisitions, systems, digital resources, data analytics and service improvement. Previously a Systems Librarian, he has worked extensively with Alma Analytics, Power BI, Alma, Leganto and other library technologies to support reporting and evidence-based decision-making. He holds an MSc in Data Science and is Microsoft PL-300 certified in Power BI, with practical experience using Python and SQL for data analysis and automation. Abdul is particularly interested in applying data and emerging technologies to improve library services, resource management and strategic decision-making.
13.20
Break
13.40
Generative AI and data analysis: Some reflections
Generative AI has many applications in library work. One potential use is to support the analysis of data. This presentation explores how it might be used and how to manage the risks. It begins by reflecting on both our ambivalence about metricisation in general as a wider social trend and our specific concerns about how far generative AI can be trusted. It gives examples of the kinds of usage that can be made of generative AI for data analysis, and suggests what safeguards need to be put in place to ensure responsible use. This interactive session is an opportunity for participants to share how they are using generative AI in data analysis and what their main concerns are.
Andrew Cox
Sheffield University
See Biography
| Andrew Cox is a senior lecturer at the School of Information, Journalism and Communication, University of Sheffield, UK https://sheffield.ac.uk/ijc/people/andrew-cox. He is convenor of the IFLA Special Interest Group on AI and a former chair of ASIS&T’s AI SIG. As well as author of many recent peer reviewed journal articles on AI and libraries, he is author of AI for Knowledge, published by CRC press, and AI for the Information Professional: A critical Guide, published by Facet in 2026. |
14.20
Break
15.00
Data Analyses for Non-Statisticians: The Intellectus Tools for Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analyses
Statistical analyses are essential research methods and can be a challenge for researchers who are not statisticians. Choosing the appropriate methodology and implementing the methods are complicated, requiring technical skills and significant efforts, especially for qualitative analyses. Intellectus 360 provides a suite of tools, enhanced with AI, that provides guidance and scaffolding interactions that enable the researchers to make the right decisions in the context of their research. Intellectus Qualitative streamlines and reduces the rater-biases in creating themes and codes from the qualitative analyses of interviews and open text responses within minutes, not months. The session will showcase the tools.
Gerry Hanley
California State University, Long Beach/ MERLOT-SkillsCommons/ CUDA
See Biography
| Gerry Hanley Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Usability in Design and Accessibility at the California State University Long Beach and the Executive Director of MERLOT and SkillsCommons (free, online educational libraries in academic and workforce disciplines). He received his BA, MA, and PhD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in Experimental Psychology. For over 10 years, he has been the strategic advisor to Intellectus, focused on the design of data analytic technologies that enable professionals with research questions to accurately use quantitative and qualitative statistical analyses to produce reliable evidence to inform decisions |
15.40
Round up of Day 1
16.00
Close
Time
Programme
Speakers
9.00
Welcome
9.10
Under the COUNTER when usage data is harder to find
COUNTER stats are great for the majority of our journal and ebook holdings, but what about the resources which don’t supply COUNTER stats? As libraries are increasingly asked to give access to a range of non-traditional resources such as maps, business data and law sites, as well as specialist journals and magazine titles the job of gathering and analysing usage can be complex. This session will look at some of the other places Edge Hill goes hunting for usage, including directly from publishers websites, as well as using data from EZProxy to gain evidence of usage, as well as addressing some of the drawbacks to these methods
Ruth Smalley
Edge Hill University
See Biography
Ruth is the Content and Discovery Manager at Edge Hill University. In her current role she manages the purchase of both print and e-resources as well as ensuring discoverability on the library catalogue. Ruth has had a varied career with roles in PR and teaching, before a career change took her to working in public libraries and then moving into higher education libraries. Ruth has a particular interest in evidence based collection decisions and is actively working to certification as a Power BI user
09:50
Break
10:10
TBC
TBC
TBC
See Biography
TBC
10:50
Break
11.10
TBC
TBC
TBC
See Biography
TBC
11.50
Round up of day 2
TBC
TBC
See Biography
TBC
12.00
Close
Feedback
The variety of perspectives made it really interesting
Previous delegate
Fantastic lineup. Learned from all presenters. A couple who really stood out were Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Aron Lindhagen, and Andrew Knight. Their presentations were particularly relevant to my work and they had information on specific, practical processes and tips.
Previous delegate
Intense and information-packed. The sessions were just long enough and being split between two days made it easier to focus (and also schedule around work).
Previous delegate
Registration
£ 70.00
+14.00 VAT
Member
£ 82.00
+16.40 VAT
Non-Member
NB: UKSG reserves the right to alter or vary the programme due to events or circumstances beyond its reasonable control without being obliged to refund monies.
Contact
General queries – events@uksg.org
Please take a look at our code of conduct
Cancellations
The closing date for cancellations is Friday 9th October, after which date cancellations will not be eligible for a refund. Cancellation should be sent into writing to events@uksg.org.
All registrants will be sent a link to the recording after the event for their personal viewing.
The UKSG terms and conditions can be found here