| By Gale Staff |
Gale understands how important it is to have easy access to accurate, meaningful usage data. That’s why the Gale Usage Portal was upgraded in January 2025, offering users a new interface and enhanced reporting capabilities. Driven by a partnership with Scholarly iQ, this enhancement makes Gale COUNTER 5.1 compliant.
Have questions about the changes? Check out these FAQs about the new interface, reporting processes, and more.
What are the recent changes to Gale usage reporting?
- Access to the Gale Usage Portal is available through Gale Admin. This platform has a refreshed interface and includes COUNTER 5.1 reports, usage visuals, Gale usage reports, and COUNTER API (SUSHI) reports. No Gale partner product (third-party) reporting is available in the Portal. The Portal was recently updated in January 2025.
- Access to the Gale Usage Dashboard is available through usage.gale.com. This platform offers another option for visualizing data and includes standard reporting metrics, usage visuals, search terms, and partner product (third-party) reporting. While the user interface has not changed, the way metrics are calculated is slightly different.
How have reporting metric calculations changed?
The Portal and Dashboard are now both in line with COUNTER 5.1 metrics. COUNTER has a “double-clicking” rule, which means if the same user clicks on the same document twice or more within thirty seconds, that counts as one retrieval. In our previous reporting metrics, there was only a ten-second double-clicking rule. Retrieval numbers will appear lower now than in the past because of this change to match COUNTER guidelines.
While the data is the same in the Portal and Dashboard, only the reports in the Portal are truly COUNTER 5.1 compliant.
If you would like to compare current usage data to past reports, we recommend rerunning past reports to compare “apples to apples.” You can run reports back to January 1, 2022.
How do I determine which usage platform will provide the data I need?
The reporting metrics are the same in both the Portal and the Dashboard. Users can choose their preferred way to access usage data based on reporting needs and whether access to partner product (third-party) data is required. Use this Gale Usage Options tip sheet to decide which reporting platform is right for your needs.
Where do I get partner product (third-party) reports?
Partner products include: ChiltonLibrary, Gale Business: DemographicsNow, Gale Business: Plan Builder, Gale LegalForms, Gale Presents: Miss Humblebee’s Academy, Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test and Career Prep, and Gale Presents: Udemy.
Usage data for partner product resources continues to be available from the Gale Usage Dashboard. These resources are available for self-service, or reporting can be sent through an automated monthly email. Request monthly usage reporting by emailing us at [email protected].
Partner product reports are not available in the Gale Usage Portal.
When will Gale Usage Portal data be posted?
Following the launch of the new Gale Usage Portal, January usage data was delayed. While there were no issues with the data itself, there was a slight delay in the tool, and our team took time to ensure all data was accurate.
Usage data from January and February 2025 is now live, and we do not expect future delays.
How will users receive monthly reports?
For the Gale Usage Portal, monthly reports are no longer sent as attachments. Users will now receive an automatic email notification when the new Gale Usage Portal reports are available. This notification will include a link to Gale Admin so users can log in and access the Gale Usage Portal to pull the needed usage reports. This access provides users with better control, security, and flexibility in sharing sensitive or important reports.
For the Gale Usage Dashboard, accessing and retrieving usage data remains unchanged and continues to be self-service.
Where can I find more support and training resources to assist with usage reporting?
- Watch this recorded webinar for a walk-through of the new Gale Usage Portal.
- Read the complete FAQ guide.
- View Gale Usage Portal support documents, including the Gale Usage Portal tip sheet.
- View Gale Usage Dashboard support documents, including the Gale Usage Dashboard tip sheet.
Whom should I contact if I can’t access my account?
We’re here to support you. Please reach out to Technical Support at 800.877.GALE, option 3. If you have other questions or need additional support, reach out to your Gale consultant for assistance.