Poster presented by Shona Thoma, Irish Research eLibrary, at CONUL conference, May 2017, Athlone, Ireland

1. IReL
The cost per use (CPU) is calculated by dividing the
total cost of a resource, by the total usage for the
year. This is used to compare resource performance
across subject areas and database types. It is a key
factor in defining value for money.
The IReL consortium consists of the seven Irish
universities (Dublin City University; National
University of Ireland, Galway; Maynooth
University; Trinity College Dublin; University
College Cork; University College Dublin;
University of Limerick) and RCSI.
Supporting research everyday
NRPE fields
Thank you
Monitoring usage
Cost per use (CPU)
The usage is monitored on an annual basis for all
resources. COUNTER compliant and other custom
usage reports are gathered and analysed. The
usage for 2015 was used in this poster to
illustrate the average daily activity throughout
the year. The usage recorded for IReL resources
has increased steadily across all database types
since 2004.
IReL: Supporting Research Everyday
Shona Thoma, IReL Officer
Irish Research eLibrary (IReL)
Thanks to Rita Pinhasi, IReL Manager, and the IReL
Steering and Monitoring groups for their support in
the production of this poster
30,174
journal articles
accessed
( PDF & HTML)
11,573
database uses
8
key research
fields served
(NRPE fields)
97,652
FTE students have access
103
subscriptions
maintained
more than
25,000
full text journals
available
7 + 1
7 Universities plus RCSI.
Also supporting research at DIT,
Teagasc, and DIAS
€0.15
Average Cost per Use
(CPU) for one of the
most used resources
23
databases
2,561
eBook sections
accessed
IReL in a
Day
In 2015 there were over 16 million article
downloads, database searches, and e-book uses
recorded for IReL Resources. The consistently
strong usage of resources and the variety of
subject areas served by IReL is clearly
demonstrated. This poster gives a visual insight
into the vital role that IReL resources play in
supporting research across the Higher Education
sector in Ireland.
The National Research Prioritisation Exercise fields
were developed by the IUA iResearch project team.
1. Medical, Health and Life Sciences & Technologies
2. Environment including Climate Change
4. Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Food, Fisheries,
Marine & Natural Resources
5. Physical & Chemical Sciences & Engineering (incl.
Materials, Advanced & Emerging Technologies)
6. Information & Communication Technology
7. Transport, Infrastructure, Manufacturing &
Production
8. Social Sciences, Economics, Law & Business
9. Humanities