Ben Kline

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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
Ben Kline Project Supervisor Circulation
Services University Libraries University of
Cincinnati
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
The Idea A circulation department is more than
just its terminal activity and items circulated.
But how to measure this? How to coordinate all
available data into a coherent, accurate body of
information?
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports

• How We Executed Our Idea
• Research.
• Discuss amongst staff.
• Develop forms.
• Trial period and results.
• Circulation Reports (Millennium Web Management
  reports).
• Circulation at a Glance.
• Analysis and action.

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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
Research We started with several articles and one
book in particular. Assessing Service Quality
Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers
by Hernon and Altman. However, we realized we
were overcomplicating for our needs. We had a
huge storehouse of data in Millennium, but we
were missing questions and actions taken at
service points, such as requests relating to
functions and responsibilities the department has
in the building. This returned us to the ARL
Statistics criteria.
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
This is a sample form used at University
Libraries to collect reference and directional
data for ARL during a fall study period each
year. From this we conceived our form.
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Forms After our research returned us to the ARL
annual statistics as a starting point, we created
our form for capturing data at the service points
both at our Circulation desk and our main phone
line. We started with the basics directional and
reference. Then staff members made quick lists of
top questions theyre asked or tasks they
complete at the service point, particularly ones
not captured via Millennium. The result
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
Trial Period We had 2 initial test usage periods
in June and July of 2005. Concerns about
recording the data while at the service points
were eased. We made refinements to the form for
more specific, localized data capture, as well as
for clarity in recording. The information we
learned became even more useful when we compared
it to the data generated in circulation-specific
statistical reports available in the Millennium
Web Management Reports module.
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Web Management Reports We wanted to compare the
data we collected at the service point to the
data captured via Millennium. We decided to do
some on a monthly basis, as daily or weekly could
prove too time intensive and might cause us to
miss seasonal trends. The next step then was to
generate the actual web management reports for
circulation. We used several different set ups in
order to look at the data from a few angles.
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Step 1 Generate the basic reports relating to
Circulation and Terminal Activity.
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Step 2 Select Checkout. Set date and info
parameters.
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When choosing only one location, as we do for
Langsam in Circulation Services at UC, you have
to choose your branch location.
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The reports generates circulation data for the
previous month, as well as comparing it to the
same month a year ago and the preceding month.
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Step 3 Generate reports on hourly item
circulation from the local collection.
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Beware, this function defaults to the oldest
month archived. You have to click Recalculate to
change the month.
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Select the month for study.
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Then, use the arrow button to scroll through the
stat groups to find the terminal group number for
the study location.
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Next, generate the hourly Patron transactions
for the same time frame and location. The
resulting chart will actual call them Borrower
Activity. Go through the same steps for
isolating the necessary stat group.
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
What we do with the data First, the data from
the daily work measurement sheets is compiled on
a single spreadsheet for the month. Of special
note are the patron totals for each day, phone
questions taken for each week, and the three
busiest hours of each day based solely on
questions answered and/or tasks undertaken at the
service points.
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Then, we combine the data from the monthly work
measurement form with the data extrapolated from
the web management reports to provide ourselves
with a snapshot of a months work activity. This
is called our Circulation at a Glance (monthly
report) This report intertwines the following
data patron counts circulation
statistics circulation desk questions phone
questions departmental emails
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
Analysis and actions (Examples) We examine the
activity numbers alongside days of the week and
attendance numbers (captured by an exit gate
counter.) This revealed evidence affirming
long-held theories, such as Monday being the
busiest day in everyway. But it also revealed
evidence refuting some theories. For example, we
used to think we received the most
interest/activity about community member
(non-affiliated) borrowing privileges on the
weekends. However, this turned out to be false.
Most of the activity occurs during the weekday
afternoons.
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
Analysis and actions (Examples) Busiest hours
staffing needs Example The busiest checkout
hours do not always mirror the busiest hours for
questions/patron assistance. So the traditional
ideas of having extra staff during heavy checkout
times needed rethinking. Types of questions new
resources Example new questions lead to updates
to Services Around Campus information
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At this point, its worth noting a few
things The forms are malleable. Weve altered
the columns on the Work Measurement Form a few
times to adapt to shifting trends. Weve also
revised the Circulation at a Glance reporting to
reflect both curiosities and to bring more focus
onto certain topics, such as Self
Checkout. Developing the work measurement and
web management together also introduced us to
some other Circulation uses for the Web
Management Reports.
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Other uses for the reports Shelf
reading OhioLINK tracking
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Shelf Reading This application of the module has
proven particularly useful. The report is
generated in the Circulation Crosstab
function Stat Type is Checkout. Date Range is TBD
specific to your inquire period. Limit is
System Rows are Call Numbers Columns are
Locations.
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Locations
Call numbers
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The results spreadsheet is then narrowed down to
our considered locations and provides us a tally
of items circulated in particular call number
area. The areas with the highest activity are
then the focus of more intensive shelf reading by
student assistants.
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OhioLINK data You can obtained detail
lending/borrowing info for INN-Reach activity by
using the cross tab and downloading the results
to Excel.
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Circulate Those Web Management Reports
Questions? Closing remarks klinedb_at_ucmail.uc.edu