Stats

 

Creating the Monthly Stats Report

 

 

Introduction

 

The job of the stats person is to collect stats from various sources, enter them into an Excel spreadsheet, then from this information create a monthly report that is given to the board. Stats are also reported to the state and federal government and used in surveys conducted by government and not for profits.

 

 

Timing

 

The timing for monthly stats report is attached to the timing of the Library Board meeting, which is on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Find the fourth Tuesday on the calendar. Stats are due to Laura and Susan the Tuesday before the Board meeting. Contributors should have their stats to you by the 12^th of the month. 

 

 

Some Tips

 

1. If this is your first time:
1. Take some time to study the monthly stats report. It’s long, so you’ll find it easier to work in it later if you have some idea of the categories, etc.
2. Set up a stats folder in your email program for stats-related emails and reports.
2. Write a reminder in your calendar for when you want to:
1. Send a reminder email to contributors letting them know when you need their stats.
2. Get your finished report to Laura, who makes copies for the board packets.

 

 

URLs, Usernames, and Passwords

 

You will use these websites:

• Director’s Station
• Kalendi calendar

Get the usernames, passwords, and URLs from the outgoing statistics-gatherer

 

Where Stats Come From

 

When two people love each other very much…The stats come from multiple sources (see attachment A for a line-by-line look at which source provides which info):

1. Contributors: the branch contributors send their stats to you via email. In-house contributors enter their stats into an Excel spreadsheet made for them. This spreadsheet is located at: Public > Stats > Contributors Here! > Contributors Stats

• ·         Current tabs in use in Contributors Stats:
• §  Cataloging
• §  Juv
• §  YA
• §  Older Adult
• §  Reference

The other tabs in the Contributors Stats sheet have not been in use for some time.

           

• ·        
• §  Read and Return
• §  ASP hours
• §  The current AmeriCorp worker with volunteer hours
• §  ILL, items purged and mended, and discards (found in his monthly report)
• § 
• §  Special events attendance numbers

 

 

2. Stats drawer: in the stats drawer each month you’ll find:

• ·         Library traffic (gate) count

 

 

3. Sirsi reports: these reports are automatically emailed to you on the 6th or 7th of each month. The reports you’ll receive are:

• ·        
• ·        

Contact Marc Stratton at WSL if you are not receiving these emails.

 

      4.   Director’s station: these circulation reports are available after logging on to DS

• ·         Item by Location (Circ Home loc/item type)
• ·        
• ·         Branch Circulation (Circ Rock River)

Note: if you need to make changes to or rerun reports, speak with Marc Stratton at WSL.

 

4. Meeting room stats:

• · Kalendi Meetings calendar
• ·         Large Meeting Room reservation binder at the circulation desk

 

Getting to Know the Stats Spreadsheet

 

The stats spreadsheet (Public > Stats > STATS > STATSFY12) tracks activity for the fiscal year, which runs July to June. The spreadsheet is made up of a number of parts:

1. First, there is a worksheet containing stats for the previous fiscal year. (This is the tab marked FY11.) Within this worksheet, as you scroll across the top headings, you’ll notice individual stats for each month of that fiscal year, then YTD (year-to-date) accumulative stats for that fiscal year.
   
   
2. Second, there is a worksheet containing stats for the current fiscal year. (This is the tab marked FY12.) Within this worksheet, as you scroll across the top headings, you’ll notice individual stats for each month of the current fiscal year, then YTD (year-to-date) accumulative stats for the current fiscal year. This is the spreadsheet where you enter new numbers each month.
   
   
3. Finally, there is a worksheet for each monthly stats report (this is the one that goes to the board). You don’t enter any stats into this one: it draws completely from the other two worksheets. Before you submit stats to Laura and Susan, check over this tab to make sure that the information was extracted accurately.

 

Spreadsheet Notes:

 

The row titles in each worksheet match exactly: i.e., row 82 is the same no matter which worksheet you’re in. Since the monthly stats report is designed, using formulas, to pick up data from the other worksheets, it’s important to pay attention to the impact of any changes you make. For example, if you add a row in FY11, add the same row in the other two worksheets (and be sure to re-check the formulas).

 

The row headings in FY12 and the monthly stats report are linked – if you change the name of a row in FY12, it will automatically be changed in the monthly report.

 

All the spreadsheets make use of formulas. The YTD accumulative portions, for example, are all done automatically. Keep your eye on these formulas (mostly by making sure nothing on the monthly report looks out of whack), and make sure you understand what the formula is doing before making any changes.

 

Monthly Checklist

 

• o

 

• o

1. Open the spreadsheet: Public > Stats > FY12

 

• o
• o

1. Open two windows in Excel and have Contributors Stats and current monthly report open. Type the data from one to the other.
   
   
2. Library traffic (gate) count

 

• o

1. Items Marked Used report: scroll to bottom for ### Transactions Selected.
2. Count New Users: scroll to bottom for ### Transactions Selected.

 

• o Enter data from the contributors who email you directly with their numbers, rather than recording it in the Contributor’s sheet:

1. Sarah with Read and Return
2. Kathy with ASP hours
3. The current AmeriCorp worker with volunteer hours
4. Nathan with ILL
5.  
6. Susan with special events attendance numbers

 

• o
• o

 

These reports are gathered from Directors Station:

1. Item by Location
2.  

                                          i.    Go to Directors Station

                                         ii.    Click on the SirsiDynix toolbar on the left.

                                        iii.    From the menu, choose My Folder > CircbyMonthItemCat2byItemType

                                        iv.    Click the drop down menu on FY June July and select the appropriate fiscal year (we’re currently in the 2012 fiscal year--through the end of June 2012), quarter, and month. Click OK.

                                         v.    Most circulation stats come from this single page in Directors Station.

Of course there are exceptions:

 

2. Reciprocal Borrower
3. My Folder > RecipBorbyMonth
4.  
5. Click on the export button, which is on the middle left of the screen and looks like this:

 

 

 

 

1. Auto-sum the total circulation numbers (ignore the percentage figures).

 

3. New Spanish Language Books
4. NewSpanLangCircbyMonth report

 

4. Spanish Language Books
5. BooksSpanLangCircbyMonth report

 

5. New Large Print Books
6. NewLPCircbyMonth report

 

6. Ephemeral (uncat PBK)
7. CircbyMonthEphem report

 

7. Patrons Added
8. PatronsAddedbyMonth report
9.  

 

8. Centennial and Rock River Circulation statistics
9. Go to CircbyMonthItemCat2byItemType report
10. Select correct fiscal year, quarter, and month
11. Export (as you did with the Reciprocal Borrower report, above)
12. Auto-sum the circulation numbers line by line (so that you have totals for each branch by age range: juvenile, young adult, and adult)