Jaclyn, Southside
Leslie, BPL
Terri, Vestavia Hills
Theresa, Hoover
Shannon, Hoover
Elizabeth, JCLC
Holley, EOL
Patricia, Hoover
Dianne, Bessemer
Deidre, Bessemer
Maura, Trussville
Gina, Gardendale
Angie, Gardendale
Leigh, North B'ham
Jon, Avondale
Topic: Sierra's Decision Center (DC) Module, Collection Analysis Tool
To access DC, visit http://dc-jeffa.iii.com. You can also access Decision Center through the JCLC Intranet. There is a link under Sierra. Any username & password combination used to sign into Sierra should work to enter into DC. Important to know: there is nothing you can do to "break" the system.
 |
| This is what the front page of Sierra's Decision Center looks like. |
Elizabeth encourages you to get into the module and experiment. Some search results will be similar to those performed through "Create Lists" but others can pinpoint things Create Lists cannot. The only way to learn to effectively utilize DC is to use it.
The four parts to DC are: Evaluation, Development, Balancing and Maintenance. These are free for anyone to explore.
Useful Note: If you hover over anything on the page within DC, a popup explaining its purpose will appear. Very useful when working out how to use each module.
Other specifics that are useful: a) "Year-to-date" means from January to current date. b) Physical formats are the ITypes of items, but not all ITypes are individual choices within DC. They have been grouped together by Elizabeth. Like codes are together. If you need to analyze more discreetly, please inform Elizabeth and she can work to implement your IType needs. c) There is currently no ability to create reports by Call Numbers --YET. As soon as that capability becomes available, Elizabeth will let us know. d) "Collections" within the module are the Location Codes.
First: Evaluation- There are four subsets to this module. Acquisitions, which is only used by BPL and EOL. Then there is Circulation, which has numerous useful subsets that determine such things as circulation by transaction type, circulation by patron postal code, etc. Next useful module is Collection. This allows you to look at your collection's circulation such as item trends and turnover. Finally within Evaluation is Encore, this allows you to look at how patrons are using the public face of Sierra, such as what searches are most often used.
Second: Development- the two sections here are Budget and Selection. The Budget tool looks at how you are using your expenditures within your collection. The search tool allows you to look back several years. The Selection tool allows you to determine most popular/least popular authors in your collection. It also determines supply and demand for popular titles, projecting what should be ordered in the future. It also gives Hold-to-Item ratio buying information.
Third: Balancing- the only working component here is Collection Use. This is used to evaluate usage of your collection for making purchasing and weeding decisions and allows you to analyze the usage of your collection by types.
Fourth: Maintenance- within this, useful tools are Weeding and Clean-up. Weeding gives you high circulating items and low circulating items. Clean-up gives you Missing items, but are not necessarily marked as missing in Sierra. It shows you In Transit/On the Holdshelf items that have lingered for longer than set periods of time so that you can track items down. These tools will also include useful information about an item such as it being last copy in your branch and/or the system. You can analyze the age of your collection and determine supply and demand.
Search Results: a) Everything created from searches within modules can be exported. All are able to export into Excel files and some are able to export as .pdfs. Within the exported file, you will be able to sort any column. b) Some search results can be exported into Create Lists as well.
Flipster Representative: Kirk Langlois
Kirk spoke briefly on EBSCO's eperiodical product called "Flipster". As of now, BPL and its branches along with EOL have subscriptions to this online tool and app. Basics to know: No platform fee, 5% service fee, created only for the Library market (unlike other tools created as a consumer product). Most periodicals have a subscription fee for unlimited usage. A few magazines have "100 simultaneous users" limitation, but even the largest library systems currently using Flipster have not needed more than that. They also have Time, Inc. periodicals which include some of the most popular titles such as People, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, Cosmopolitan and Consumer Reports. Another item worthy of note, if you currently get your hard copy periodicals via EBSCO, you automatically receive a 25% discount on Flipster costs. According to Kirk, the app installation & use is very user-friendly and works on all electronic devices. Full page, full text & photos are accessible through Flipster.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 10 am at the Hoover Public Library's Theatre Level Meeting Rooms
Topic: Conclusion of our months-long research into eperiodical vendors and their products. First: Overdrive's Nook Newsstand presentation by Fritz Schanz (30-40 minutes), Then: Compare/contrast all vendors. [Zinio/Recorded Books vs. Flipster/EBSCO vs. Overdrive's Nook Newsstand]
2016 Tentative Schedule:
(Topics subject & locations of meetings subject to change)
January 21, 2016 at Hoover Library
Topic: Employment Search Support
March 17, 2016 at Vestavia Hills Library
Topic: Adult Outreach, Collections, Programs,
May 19, 2016 at Hoover Library
Topic: Using Social Media to Your Advantage
July 21, 2016 at Hoover Library
Topic: Reference Resources, Or "should it stay or should it go?"
September 15, 2016 at Hoover Library
Topic: Maker Spaces & Unique Places/Collections
November 17, 2016 at Hoover Library
Topic: Library PR, promoting events, collections, etc.
