Interview: Matthew Ragucci, Member of COUNTER's Executive Committee

In the latest in our series of posts introducing people within the COUNTER community, we interview Matthew Ragucci, who is a member of COUNTER’s Executive Committee.

Who are you and who do you work for?

I am the Director of Institutional Product Marketing at global publishing and education company Wiley. In this role, I work to ensure that the librarian perspective is embedded in our products, policies, services, and messaging.

I am a member of the NISO Information Discovery and Interchange Topic Committee. I am also an Executive Board Member of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG), as well as a Member of the Scholarly Networks Security Initiative (SNSI) University Relations Working Group.

How are you involved with COUNTER?

As a member of the Executive Committee, I work alongside its small but mighty team, providing input on organisational matters. I work to translate and demystify COUNTER for library partners. I also do this with my sales and marketing colleagues at Wiley.

Additionally, I present on COUNTER at industry events and educational webinars, advocating for the adoption and application of this essential standard.  I’m excited to share that I have one such speaking engagement at the NASIG Annual Conference in May. I will be a part of a panel discussion on the use of COUNTER (and other metrics) to assess the value of Open Access publishing.

When and why did you get involved?

I joined the COUNTER Executive Committee in 2023. I had previously worked with COUNTER activities and messaging internally within Wiley. Through this I had the opportunity to collaborate frequently with my predecessor on the COUNTER Executive Committee, fellow Wiley employee Conni Junge, before her retirement. She passed the torch to me and I was honoured to continue her work. I strive to uphold the high standards she set while contributing meaningfully to the committee.

How has COUNTER grown and developed over the time you have been involved?

In my two years on the Executive Committee, I’ve witnessed significant changes and development. The rebrand to COUNTER Metrics was a monumental undertaking, and I want to commend Tasha for her outstanding work in leading this effort. Outsiders often see a rebrand as a simple logo or colour change, but Tasha has driven much more. The COUNTER rebrand enhances the website’s look and feel, and ensures that our messaging resonates more strongly with the community. Another important change has been Siân Harris joining the COUNTER team. Her contributions have significantly boosted COUNTER’s communication and engagement efforts, increasing visibility for our brand and highlighting the importance of our work.

Lastly, I’ve seen the update of the code of practice from version 5.0 to 5.1. I wasn’t part of the committee during the migration from COUNTER 4 to 5. However, the transparency with this latest update has provided valuable insight. It has helped me become a better messenger for these changes.

Why is it important that COUNTER exists?

Its existence is vital. COUNTER ensures consistency, transparency, and accuracy across the industry. It empowers libraries, publishers, and researchers to make informed decisions about collection development and resource allocation. By providing a common framework, COUNTER enables institutions to assess the value and impact of content more effectively. This leads to smarter, data-driven decisions. I’m very passionate about standards, and, when broadly adopted, they do make workflows and processes move much more smoothly.  Additionally, COUNTER has successfully brought together stakeholders from across the industry. This has fostered a sense of collaboration and fuelled metrics-based innovation in the field of scholarly communications.

What role do you anticipate COUNTER will play in the future?

There is no question that the scholarly communications landscape is rapidly evolving. COUNTER will play a crucial role in ensuring that industry standards and metrics remain relevant and adaptive. COUNTER’s ability to track and report usage data in a consistent, transparent manner will be essential as new publishing models emerge.  A great example is Open Access. As approaches continue to evolve there will be a greater need for new, different, and more nuanced metrics. Additionally, as AI transforms research and content usage patterns, COUNTER will need to evolve to capture data that reflects these changes. This work is already well under way.

I’m confident that COUNTER will continue to provide value to the community, ensuring that the needs of all parties—libraries, publishers, technology vendors and users –are met and they have the insights they need to thrive.  I am proud to be a part of this organisation and contribute to the work it does and will produce in the future.