Database Usage
Use of library subscription databases remained healthy despite VDOT's sudden shift to telework as a safety precaution in the face of the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the incredible disruption this event caused, database use maintained higher than normal for the quarter, though it dipped a slight amount at the end of the quarter. Our 5-year average is around 3,100 downloads a quarter and this quarter we saw a total of 3,329, with strong showings by ASTM Compass, followed by library catalog clickthroughs (where patrons click on a URL in a bibliographic record in the library's catalog), followed by Knovel, and Skillsoft Books. It will be interesting to see if next quarter's statistics show any changes in activity based on adjustments to COVID-19.
The Library continues expanding access to resources through "self-service" online databases. We provide 16 subscription databases to VDOT employees (14 are "full text" resources). Because we serve VDOT's engineering and business needs, we tend to see steady usage month to month. Tables here show the number of downloads per month (below) from each database, and the trend over the past year (right), which saw an unexpected increase last October, followed by a marked decrease in October.
| Subscription Downloads By VDOT: FY20 Q3 | ||||
| January | February | March | Total | |
| ASTM Compass | 395 | 449 | 448 | 1,293 |
| Non-Subscription Downloads (Library Catalog) | 166 | 154 | 155 | 475 |
| Knovel | 181 | 136 | 109 | 426 |
| Skillsoft Books | 90 | 124 | 120 | 334 |
| Transportation Research Record | 95 | 82 | 60 | 237 |
| ASCE Library | 66 | 78 | 92 | 236 |
| *Other (miscellaneous journals) | 32 | 50 | 26 | 108 |
| ICE Virtual Library | 20 | 18 | 37 | 75 |
| EBSCO Business Source Corporate Plus | 46 | 6 | 13 | 65 |
| EBSCO eBooks | 25 | 7 | 19 | 51 |
| ScienceDirect | 5 | 9 | 9 | 23 |
| EBSCO Business Book Summaries | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Monthly Totals | 1,128 | 1,113 | 1,088 | 3,329 |
Note: Miscellaneous resources includes International Journal of Pavement Engineering, Corrosion and Road Materials and Pavement Design.
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