COUNTER Code of Practice

We do not specify licenses for reports delivered under the Code of Practice

COUNTER Members have voting rights at our annual general meeting, are eligible to join our committees and working groups as vacancies arise, and receive our consultations and quarterly newsletters and updates. We also work with our members on projects including the development of tools, training events, and resources. https://www.projectcounter.org/become-member/

Under consideration

COUNTER is a non-profit organization supported by a global community of library, publisher and vendor members, who contribute to the development of the Code of Practice through working groups and outreach. We are governed by a Board of Directors responsible for ensuring we deliver on our mission, while our Executive Committee oversees operational activities including technical development of the Code of Practice. You can find out more at https://www.projectcounter.org/about/

We release updates to the Code of Practice on average every five years, though some small clarifications and backwards-compatible features may be released in the interim if the community requires it.

Since launch, COUNTER has been led by three Project Directors: Peter Shepherd, Lorraine Estelle, and now Tasha Mellins-Cohen. We are not for profit and not for sale. There's an article in Serials, the UKSG journal, describing our foundation: https://serials.uksg.org/articles/10.1629/15161 The history of our Board of Directors and finances can be accessed from Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04865179

We know that implementing the Code of Practice can be challenging for smaller groups, either as report providers (publishers) or report consumers (libraries). Additional funding would enable us to develop new tools to help these groups implement the standard, as well as allowing us to provide more support through our outreach and education initiatives.