Stats

How do I get a Stats account?

To request an account, go to: https://manage.library.link/organizations/[your link domain].html‌

For example: https://manage.library.link/organizations/link.goldcoast.qld.gov.au.html‌

On this page, you will see this box on the right hand side. Select "request access". Another way to get to this page is by going to the "Services" menu from any data page, then going to "Stats" and clicking on "cancel" when prompted to log in.‌

Complete all fields on the next screen and submit:

An admin will review and approve your request within one business day. Please include a note like "to access my Stats Dashboard" under Reason when asking for an account to expedite the approval process.

Where is our Stats Dashboard?

The Stats Dashboard provides statistics and a log console for Library.Link Network members. The dashboard provides information about the number and type of agents accessing the library catalog from the "borrow it" buttons on item pages. The Stats Dashboard is behind a username and password. The data is only available to library staff, and no personal identifying information is collected about those using library data.

Find your Stats Dashboard at https://stats.library.link/[your base url]/

For example: https://stats.library.link/link.trl.org/

Or you can navigate to Stats from the Services menu at the top of any data page.

How often are Stats updated?

Statistics are tracked daily and updated on a monthly basis. To see the most recent stats select the last calendar month available at the top of the dashboard.

What clicks are counted from Google?

Your Stats Dashboard shows borrow action clicks from Google, including Search, Books and other products that use Google’s Knowledge Panels.

What clicks are counted from Library.Link Applications?

Your Stats Dashboard shows borrow action clicks from Library.Link Network Applications that create new ways to bring users to your catalog.

Examples of this include collections.library.link to create and share or custom lists and mixes designed to be embedded in other Web applications. This section also includes clicks from knowledge graph widgets created for your catalog including the More About Author widget available currently for BlueCloud Visibility libraries.

What clicks are counted from the Open Library?

‌Your Stats Dashboard shows borrow action clicks from direct syndication with Open Library via the “Check Nearby Libraries” service. Supported by the Internet Archive, Open Library is an open, editable library catalog building towards a web page for every book.

What clicks are counted from social media?

‌Your Stats Dashboard shows borrow action clicks from social media sharing platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, as well as email. These clicks are only counted when shared via the share menu available at the top of any data page.

What clicks are counted from the embed service?

Your Stats Dashboard displays clicks associated with users that engage with library material via the Library.Link Network Embed Service.

The Embed Service generates views of your catalog within your data pages. This includes Lists, such as NYT Best Sellers and NoveList Enrichment Lists. The service also includes views created from Concepts Topics, People, and other Bibframe Resources.

You can also embed views of your library material directly into your catalog. The "Related Resources" widget for BlueCloud Visibility customers shares the view of items related to one another from the linked data created from the item's record.

What clicks are counted from the Open Web? What all falls into the other category?

Under the "Open Web / Other" category, your Stats Dashboard shows clicks that are unattributed to dedicated syndication services that we do on behalf of Libraries. These may include users that find Library material via search engines on the Web or other new ways in which applications are using LLN data that aren’t yet tracked.

A library’s catalog is often hidden from traditional web search engines and 3rd party applications. Library.Link Network data pages provide reference-able, discrete access points to every aspect of the library’s catalog (Person, Place, or Thing) and are made available to such tools on behalf of the library.

How search engines and 3rd party applications act or utilize this data is different depending on the service provider. Borrow action clicks that are unattributed, such as those found via search engines, are included under the "Open Web / Other" category. As we see patterns associated with increased usage, these may be aggregated together under existing (or new) groupings.

Where can I get more details?

Monthly details of all Borrow Action clicks associated with link domain is available via a downloadable CSV file. Click the "Download CSV Log" to get more information. Here is an example from Dallas Public Library:

What is the retention schedule for Stats?

To request stats from January 2019 to December 2019, please send a request to support [at] library.link.

What is the cause of an empty referrer field in the detail logs?

The Stats Dashboard provides statistics and a log console for Library.Link That means that the visitor did not send a referrer for the request. Referrer is optional and cannot be guaranteed to be provided or accurate. Blank referrer fields can happen if:

The user was a direct visitor, and typed the URL into the browser bar or used a bookmark.
The user followed a link from outside the browser (for example from an email or mobile app.)
The user came to your non-secure http site from a secure https site and the browser hid the referrer for security reasons.
The user modified their browser not to send a referrer (such as using a browser extension to hide the information.)
The user is using a proxy server that removes referrer headers.
The clicked link has an HTML5 rel=noreferrer attribute.
A site uses JavaScript to link to your site. Many browsers don't send a referrer when JavaScript uses window.open or location.href to open or set a URL.
A page redirects to yours with a meta refresh. Browsers either reset or remove the original referrer with this type of redirect.
The request was made by a robot that is not programmed to send referrer information. Sometimes legitimate robots such as Googlebot do not send a referrer. Please note that we have filter bots from detailed stats on an on-going basis.