Introduction
Looking for missing OA_Gold usage in your COUNTER 5.1 reports? This article explains the changes in access types in COUNTER 5.1 and how publishers report them.
In COUNTER 5.1, Access_Type categories were updated to better classify free vs. paid content. The following access types are used in COUNTER 5 and 5.1:
The meaning of each Access_Type was clarified to reflect the item's status at the moment of access:
For detailed information and helpful guides on COUNTER 5.1, visit the COUNTER website: What's New in R5.1.
Majority of the publishers adopted COUNTER 5.1 during 2025; you can check current status at COUNTER 5.1 INFO. Individual timelines are widely variable, however, a frequent pattern is:
After transitioning to COUNTER 5.1, most publishers stopped reporting the OA_Gold access type and fully adopted the new 5.1 access types.
When comparing COUNTER 5 and COUNTER 5.1 data during the overlapping months, you will typically see the following patterns:
Book usage generally increases in 5.1 due to revised counting methods for items (book chapters). For example, Unique_Item_Requests will often be higher in COUNTER 5.1 than in COUNTER 5 for the same timeframe.
While total journal item usage often stays identical between COUNTER 5 and 5.1, the breakdown across access types generally follows one of two common patterns:
While most publishers transition cleanly to the new standard, you may occasionally find unexpected categories in your data:
We encourage you to explore the differences between your COUNTER 5 and COUNTER 5.1 datasets to maintain accurate and meaningful usage reporting. For step-by-step instructions on setting up side-by-side comparisons, see the KB article How to compare data between COUNTER 5 and COUNTER 5.1 | CELUS Help.
