I just got new statistics for Cites & Insights usage in 2006, and did a quick comparison with the overall statistics (through the end of 2005).
It would appear that Library 2.0 and “Library 2.0” is now the most frequently-downloaded essay or issue of C&I, at least for downloads directly from the official site. (That caveat is because C&I 3.9, the CIPA Special Issue, which is still the issue with the most PDF downloads, is known to be mounted for downloading on at least one other website. I don’t believe any of the other special issues or essays are mirrored, but I don’t really know–and it’s perfectly legal to mirror any of the issues or essays, as long as the CC license is attached, attribution is provided, and the mirror site is freely available.)
What’s interesting, in some ways, is how that recent blockbuster passed the “biblioblogosphere” essay that had been the most frequent download.
“Investigating the Biblioblogosphere” shows 6,594 HTML downloads, while the issue (v.5, n.10) shows 3,111 PDF downloads.
Library 2.0 and “Library 2.0” shows 6,651 HTML downloads, but the issue–exactly the same content–shows 4,671 downloads.
That makes sense: The essay is way too long for most people to read on the screen, and the HTML version requires a lot more print pages than the PDF version (42 vs. 32, I believe, but that may depend on your local settings). Plus, hey, the PDF version is prettier.
(The CIPA Special, PDF only, has been downloaded 8,250 times from the C&I site alone: Even this late in the game, it’s the fifth most popular full-issue download this year, right behind the four issues of volume 6 that have been out long enough for reasonable exposure.)
It continues to be the case that most issues continue to be downloaded, relatively infrequently, long after they’re published–much more so, I suspect, than old blog posts. Different emedia, different usage patterns.
