Problem:
Our library spends a significant amount of staff time and resources ingesting and maintaining third-party MARC records (e-content providers, databases, and external links) into Vega Discover. Currently, we lack the visibility and metrics needed to determine whether this workload directly benefits our stakeholders or influences patron behavior.

Objective
Track and quantify patron redirect events—specifically when a user clicks a URL within a resource record to leave Vega Discover for an external, third-party resource.

Data Requirements (Desired Metrics & Dimensions)
The tracking solution should capture the following:

1. Target Domains: The top-level domains patrons are redirecting to (e.g., overdrive.com, ebscohost.com).

2. Exact Destination URLs: The specific resource-level URLs clicked by patrons.

3. Total Interaction Volume (Clicks): The absolute sum/count of redirect events.

4. Unique Patron Reach (Visitors): The distinct count of unique visitors/sessions initiating these redirects.

5. Contextual Filters: * Date Ranges: Ability to filter data by custom timeframes (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually).

Expected Business Outcomes
Securing this data will allow our administration to:

Optimize Staff Workload: Align staff hours spent on MARC data ingestion with actual patron usage.

Data-Driven Cataloging: Make evidence-based decisions on which third-party collections to continue, pause, or stop ingesting.

Targeted Marketing: Identify underutilized third-party platforms to develop targeted marketing and outreach strategies.