Libraries generate a lot of data. Evergreen can only report on data that is being collected and stored in the database. It’s important to ensure that data you need is being entered consistently and that your staff know what data to collect and where in Evergreen to enter it. If data is missing or incorrect it can cause problems for your patrons using the library, your staff helping your patrons, and any statistics your library collects and may need to report on.
To protect your patrons you should only be collecting the information necessary to provide your services to them. Co-op Support recommends reviewing what data your library currently collects and considering whether you’re collecting unnecessary data or not collecting needed data; both can be true.
The best practices outlined in this chapter are intended to assist libraries in collecting and managing their library’s data in Sitka’s Evergreen in a consistent manner. This includes recommendations on local policies to create, features and functions in Evergreen that can be used, and report templates that can be run to catch incorrect or missing data.
When embarking on a data management project there is some set up and potential staff training involved.
Co-op Support recommends starting with the following:
-
Determine what data should be collected.
-
This includes data that must be collected, that could be collected, and data that shouldn’t be collected.
-
-
Document what data should be collected and what values should be used for things like patron profiles, circulation modifiers, etc.
-
In Evergreen set up templates and customizations to aid in consistent data collection.
-
Set up recurring reports in Evergreen to report out on things that should be checked on a regular basis.
-
Ensure applicable staff know how to use the interfaces in Evergreen designed to track potential issues such as Hopeless Holds and the Transit List.
-
Ensure your staff know your policies and procedures for handling your data.
It’s very easy to pick the wrong circulation modifier or patron profile or statistical category value by accident; having policies, procedures, templates, and recurring reports in place with staff aware of them should help significantly to cut down on future incorrect or missing data.
The intervals given here are general recommendations. Libraries may find that certain tasks should be run more or less frequently at their library.
-
Clear your holds shelf
-
Correct incorrect fixed fields as you come across them to ensure bibliographic records have correct icons and appear as expected in search results
-
Check your holds pull list
-
Close staff accounts when staff leave the library
-
Run and review reports for the following and resolve issues revealed:
|
Note
|
Reports can be set up as recurring reports or run as needed. If you want to set up recurring reports but monthly is too frequent for your library, consider setting the recurrence interval to 4 Month(s) (quarterly) or 6 Month(s) (biannually). |
-
Search for library staff accounts and confirm they are up to date and are only for current staff
-
Delete pre-catalogued items that have a status of Cataloguing
-
Resolve any Hopeless Holds
-
Check the Transit List for items that have been in transit longer than normal
-
Check for patrons with negative balances and resolve as appropriate
-
Enter known Closed dates for the year
-
Review your library contact details, addresses, and hours of operation
-
Review your library settings
-
Review your circulation policies
-
Review hold policies
-
Review your group penalty thresholds
-
Review your shelving locations
-
Review your patron statistical categories and associated values
-
Review your item statistical categories and associated values
-
Review cataloguing templates (holdings, MARC) to ensure they are up to date and staff are using the same templates
-
Review your patron notifications
-
Review receipt templates on relevant workstations
-
Review the logo and colours used for your public catalogue
-
Review the reports run by your library and the templates used
-
Review any 3rd party services and ensure discontinued services are reported to Co-op Support if they authenticated against Evergreen.
As you work through this checklist you may find a significant amount of data clean up is needed for your existing data. This can be a daunting task and Co-op Support recommends deciding what is of priority to the library and then working through it as staff have capacity.
For example, you may decide that resolving hopeless holds is a high priority for your library so that patrons aren’t waiting months for holds that are never going to come.
Libraries should maintain local lists of:
-
circulation modifiers used by the library and what type of item specific modifiers should be used for.
-
information to be collected in the patron account
-
information that specifically should not be collected in the patron account
-
patron main (profile) permissions groups used by the library and which how to decide which one to use for a patron
-
any other information where library staff need to know what specific values to select or what information is important to collect
Evergreen has a number of templates that can be set up to save staff time and help keep data consistent:
Regularly running a report on your current collection enables you to see at a glance where data issues may lie. You can use the report template Title & Item Count by Shelving Location and Circulation Modifier to run a monthly report that shows a snapshot of your collection.
With this report you’re able to see at a glance if you have items without circulation modifiers and if you have items with circulation modifier/shelving location combinations that don’t make sense for your library. You can then run additional reports to discover what items need to be reviewed and possibly updated. Report templates found in the Item List by Item Attributes folder are especially helpful. This folder is found under Shared Folders → Templates → Sitka_templates → Collection.
You can use the output from these reports to easily batch edit items through Item Status. Instructions on loading report files through Item Status can be found in the section called Upload from File (Choose file) in Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation.
Co-op Support strongly recommends setting up and using holdings templates when cataloguing items. If you have multiple cataloguers we recommend setting up templates on one cataloguers account and then sharing them with any other cataloguers. Holdings templates are commonly used to automatically apply values for shelving locations, circulation modifier, age hold protection, loan duration, and statistical categories.
Co-op Support also recommends library staff set their Holdings Editor Preferences. This allows staff to hide item attributes not used by their library. Staff are less likely to enter values in a field not used if it’s not visible in the Holdings Editor.
The following best practices will help with consistent data collection for patron accounts:
-
Customize the drop down for the Main (Profile) Permission Group field in the patron account.
-
Customize the display fields for the patron account.
-
Set applicable patron statistical categories as required to ensure values are filled in.
-
Ensure Free Text is set to false for patron statistical categories where consistent values are needed.
At least once a year library staff should check the logo and colours used on their public catalogue to make sure they are current and match what is used on your website. If your library has additional links beside your logo they should be checked as well to ensure they are still current.
In Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation, the section called Public Catalogue Customizations outlines what can be customizes in your public catalogue.
Please contact Co-op Support if your public catalogue needs to be updated.
In Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation, the section called Maintaining Reporter Data outlines best practices for handling reporter data.
Local system administrators should:
-
periodically run a report using the template Reports Run In Specified Time Period By Specified Library to see what reports are being run at their library.
-
ensure reports aren’t being run directly off of Sitka templates.
-
ensure reports aren’t being run from accounts for former staff members.
-
check to see if there are newer templates avaiable after every Evergreen upgrade.
Library staff accounts and authentication accounts for 3rd party services permit access to Evergreen and all the data for your library contained within.
Co-op Support strongly recommends:
-
encouraging all staff to update their passwords on a regular basis and ensure passwords are kept private.
-
checking that staff have the appropriate level of permissions for the tasks they need to perform and updating their main (profile) permission group if they have a higher level of access than needed.
-
tracking who has additional access to reports and the acquisitions module.
-
reviewing your staff accounts to ensure only staff currently working at the library have access to the library system.
|
Note
|
If you see staff accounts with the name Sitka please leave them be. These are troubleshooting accounts used by Co-op Support. Integrated 3rd Party Services ^^^^^^^^^^^ If you cancel a subscription or retire a piece of hardware, like a self check, that authenticates through Evergreen please let Co-op Support know as soon as possible. This enables us to remove accounts associated with the service so that your patrons' information is no longer available to the vendor. |