RSC Publishing today announced that they can now deliver COUNTER 3 compliant usage statistics for journals, thanks to a new service provided by MPS Technologies. 

RSC Publishing is the first chemistry publisher to announce COUNTER 3 compliance - and well in advance of the compliance deadline of July 2009. 

The objectives of the new COUNTER release are: to improve the reliability of COUNTER usage reports; to provide tools to facilitate consolidation, management and analysis of COUNTER usage statistics; and to improve COUNTER usage reports for consortia. 

RSC Publishing has chosen MPS Insight as the provider of its COUNTER 3 journal usage statistics. MPS Insight, a new service from MPS Technologies, has been certified as COUNTER compliant by an independent auditor. It provides an easy-to-use interface and greater flexibility for users. 

Librarians who tested the MPS Insight beta site reported it was: 

"Easy to use and the functions are laid out clearly and logically." Helen Lloyd, Senior Librarian, University of Newcastle, Australia 

"Very basic and easy, even for non-native English speakers." Mary Joan Crowley, Librarian, University of Rome, Italy 

The key new features and benefits for registered RSC journal customers are: 

• Reports can be delivered in SUSHI (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative) format, enabling automated report collection 
• Improved library consortium usage reports: designed for consortia administrators, who can access both consolidated and individual member sites' stats from a single log-in 
• Easy to use: an attractive interface, easy to navigate and access reports 
• Easy administration: libraries can make changes to their accounts and passwords. They can also request additional user accounts, allowing other faculty staff to access the reports 
• Timely delivery of reports     

Historical data from 2007 and 2008, where available, is included alongside the January 2009 data. 

Full details of version 3 of the COUNTER Code of Practice for Journals are available on the COUNTER website.