Analysis and opinion: Metrics


– for example, by different departments or geographical locations. One pilot customer, he adds, decided to send both “department” and “country” information – and can now break down content usage using either field or both, while protecting the identity of individuals. Other possible applications could be a


cost code, an overseas campus or partner college, or some other identifier that’s meaningful to your organisation. From Elsevier’s point of view, a further


driver was the fact that the stats are being delivered via the system of federated access, based on the open SAML standard – which can save publishers time and effort on discussions with each


‘It was important that the new attribute should involve work with key federated access initiatives’


organisation. Because federated access data is shared within a network of trust, libraries and publishers don’t have to negotiate individually with each other about the data they provide and receive reporting on; instead, libraries simply use a standard field within a standardised system. This, says Meshna Koren, product manager II at Elsevier, is attractive to Elsevier as a publisher: “SAML is perfect for this because the identity provider can send any values they want; we just need to capture them and deposit them in usage reports. “The fantastic thing is that we don’t


need to know these values in advance, [or] negotiate anything; we simply agree on the


attribute and format – and the customer can send multiple attributes, on any level of granularity relevant to them, as long as it’s privacy-preserving.” Koren emphasises that it’s up to identity


providers to ensure that no personal data is provided as part of the attribute. “You can describe group properties on any level,” she explains, “but you should not identify individuals with these attributes.” That means, for example, no email addresses or student numbers in this column. The key, Koren adds, is that the attribute


“decouples” usage reporting from access authorisation. Meanwhile, the REFEDS standard says that consuming services – in other words, publishers – should not interpret the values in the attribute, other than as “opaque values to be matched for the intended reporting function”.


A community-wide approach A key benefit of federated access is that it has the support and trust of the global research and education community – and any changes to data standards should have that, too. It was important that the new attribute should involve work with key federated access initiatives such as REFEDS, which represents identity federations, and eduGAIN, which connects them. The process involved a working group and a public consultation period. “Before the pilot started, we were


working with REFEDS and the eduGAIN community, to have the attribute standardised and to add it to the eduPerson schema,” says Koren. After this was done, it could be implemented internally, and only then could the pilot start with customers. “Unless you make a standard out of it, it’s not going to catch on, and it’s not going to bring value. “The reason this is important is because


schemas don’t get altered many times. Adding this into the schema is quite a big thing. It means that this is accepted by the


community and can be used; it becomes part of the general documentation.”


Making the case for federated access As an advocate for federated access, Meshna recognises the importance of Elsevier not being the only publisher to offer the eduPersonAnalyticsTag attribute; the hope is that others will too. A technical standard is one thing, but it takes time for a new way of working to become standard throughout a community. Indeed, the principle of federated access is that it works best when it is adopted by the community as a whole – and that holds true for data attributes, too. “I wish more publishers would implement


this,” Koren says. “The more that usage is decoupled from access control, the fewer access issues users are going to have – and that means a more seamless and better user experience overall, which is great for everybody.” Humphreys notes that, during the


restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, soaring demand for remote access had helped to make the case for federated access to resources; this, he suggests, builds on the value proposition. In future, innovations such as the


eduPersonAnalyticsTag can continue to support the business case for federated access to resources. In other words, it’s a virtuous circle: as a library, if you’re able to see the value in the content you’re subscribing to, then you also gain more value from the technologies in which you invest. And if you’re a publisher, why not start


offering the eduPersonAnalyticsTag to your customers? It’s a way to give libraries the granular usage statistics they want, while getting the benefits of federated access.


Rob Scaysbrook is head of global sales and partnerships at OpenAthens


www.researchinformation.info | @researchinfo


Spring 2023 Research Information


13


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