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The following was distributed by Executive Director Chuck Thomas to USMAI members through Campus Contacts on September 21, 2020:
Colleagues, please find attached guidance and information about the USMAI committee structure for the remainder of the current fiscal year (through June 30, 2021). This guidance is based on work done by a small task group I convened over the summer to represent diverse expert viewpoints within the consortium.
As you review the attached guidance, you will note that it temporarily keeps in place much of the previous structure, with some adjustments to reflect both recent disruptions and changes since April such as the decision to commence the LMS migration process.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about this document, please feel free to contact me directly via email. I appreciate all the work done both by member library staff and by consortium employees to support USMAI.
Sincerely,
The data warehouse reporting environment has been upgraded to version 7.8. While this version upgrade should not greatly alter your experience with the data warehouse, there are a few new improvements to highlight.
UX improvements to "Select Visualization Type" screen
Choosing a visualization type (e.g., Table, Crosstab, etc.) is a beat more intuitive in the new version. Each visualization now includes details about the requirements for each visualization. An "Apply and Close" button has also been added to make the process of applying your visualization selection more intuitive.
New "page tree" and "heat map" visualizations
Is there anything better than finding new ways to visualize data? If you answered "no", then you'll want to check out the five new visualization types in this version: Heat Map, Time Series Heat Map, Tree Map, Dual-Measure Tree Map, and Parent Tree Map.
As an example, the following is a "Parent Tree Map" of the distribution of items counts among Aleph's sublibraries. You can find this in the Public folder of the Repository at Ad Hoc Views → Collections (Current) → Visualization: Distribution of Items by Sublibrary and Collection. Hovering over any sublibrary will show the exact item count. Clicking on a sublibrary will show the distribution of items among the collections of that sublibrary.
Have an interesting visualization? Share a screenshot of it in the comments. If it seems applicable to all USMAI libraries, we can look into adding it to the Public area of the Repository.
"Edition" attribute now available in "Collections (Current)" and "BIBs and HOLs (Current)" reporting topics
A bug that we reported with Jaspersoft was preventing us from adding this useful attribute to these two reporting topics. Now that the bug is fixed in this version, we have added the "Edition" attribute to both the "Collections (Current)" and "BIBs and HOLs (Current)" reporting topics. For new ad hoc views, you can find this attribute in the "Basic Bibliographic Info" attribute group.
For existing ad hoc views, you will need to add this attribute into the list of available attributes before you can use it.
- Click the three vertical dots next to the "Domain" bar in the ad hoc editor
- Click "Choose Visible Fields"
- Highlight the "Edition" attribute and click the arrow that points to the right to move it into the "Visible Fields" box. The "Edition" attribute will automatically be placed within the "Basic Bibliographic Info" attribute group.
- Click "OK"
- You can now add the "Edition" attribute to your ad hoc view in the same manner as any other attribute!
Submitting Issues and Questions
CLAS reviewed this version upgrade prior to releasing it in order to minimize unintended negative consequences. However, it's possible something may just slip through the cracks. If you encounter any issues or have questions about something that seems different/wrong after the upgrade, let us know at libclas@umd.edu. We'll check it out. Happy reporting!
Archived recordings of the three-part LLAMA/CORE webinar series, "Stories from Inside the Data Warehouse" are now available on the Member Portal. You will need to log in or create an account to view. A description of the series is below.
Find more opportunities for continuing education on our Professional Development page.
About the Webinar Series
If your academic library is planning to build a data warehouse, you can learn what works best and how to avoid common pitfalls by hearing from librarians who have experience with this complex process. The Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) will present “Stories from Inside the Data Warehouse,” on July 21, August 5, and September 9. This three-part webinar series will feature 10 panelists who will share their unique perspectives, experiences, and insights.
Participants will:
- Discover other institutions who are in various stages of a library data warehouse building project
- Learn about the practical and the philosophical issues faced by other academic libraries
- Identify your institutional ecosystem’s strengths and areas for growth toward building or completing a data warehouse
- Formulate your own data warehouse building next steps
This webinar addresses several of LLAMA’s Foundational Leadership Competencies including: collaboration and partnerships, evidence-based decision making, ethics, project-management, assessment, and technology management.
Webinars
Part I: Quantifying Library Engagement
Panelists
Ken Varnum, University of Michigan
Joe Pirillo, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Kyle Jones, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis
Jen-chien Yu (“Jen”), University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
Moderator
Kirsten Kinsley, Florida State University
Part II: Sustainability and Approaches to Data Management
Panelists
Margie Jantti, University of Wollongong
Kristin Briney, California Institute of Technology
Rebecca Croxton, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Moderator
Mark McCann, Arizona State University
Part III: Analysis, Reporting, and Communication
Panelists
Michael Levine-Clark, University of Denver
Selena Killick, The Open University, UK
Megan Oakleaf, Syracuse University
Moderator
Becky Croxton, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Stew of the Month: August 2020
The following is excerpted from the most recent edition of DigiStew:
The CLAS team responded to 103 Aleph Rx submissions and 26 e-resource requests from across the consortium’s libraries in August.
COVID-19 Support
CLAS continues to be available to respond to your support requests. Please use our regular support channels if you need any assistance.
Preparing for Reopenings
We continue to work with USMAI libraries as they begin to make their library collections available again. Eight member libraries reopened access to their collections this month. A few other libraries are set up in Aleph TEST and awaiting testing/review before “going live”. Special kudos go to David Wilt for keeping on top of all of the service requests and configuration changes that go along with this!
We are also tracking which libraries are ready to resume resource sharing in the consortium (a.k.a. “Status 3”). Please visit the Aleph Configurations for Reopening Scenarios page for more details about options for Status 3 and how to indicate that your library is ready.
OPAC Redesign for Accessibility (ORA)
Changes for the redesign of the Aleph OPAC were released in the Aleph LIVE OPAC on August 13th. This set of changes provides a foundation for incremental improvements in the coming years. (We already have a backlog!)
Marcive Authority Control Service Implementation
Reviewers completed the review of Marcive’s sample set of processed records. There were a number of issues identified. These have been shared with Marcive, and Marcive has provided responses/follow-up. The review group and Metadata Subgroup are currently working to formulate next recommended steps. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped review the sample records!
MD-SOAR
We’re pleased to report that CLD has approved an additional 3-year commitment, which will keep MD-SOAR running on DSpace hosted by UMD Libraries through at least the end of fiscal year 2024. MD-SOAR is currently used by 10 academic libraries in Maryland and is available to any USMAI library in need of an institutional repository platform.
The "Collections (Current)" and "BIBs and HOLs (Current)" reporting topics have been refreshed with data that is current as of September 1. All reports run in the Reporting Environment will now include the refreshed data set.
The next data refresh will take place in early October.
Visit the Data Warehouse web page and read the Data Warehouse Reporting Environment User Guide to learn more about the Data Warehouse and running your own reports.
The USMAI Library Consortium is sponsoring group registrations for several webinars and virtual conferences in September. Unless otherwise stated, we have multiple logins that we can distribute to staff at USMAI member libraries. For details on the distribution of logins for an event, please click "Request One Here." Clicking the link will take you to the Eventbrite page for the event.
Access information for archived recordings of these events will be made available to staff at USMAI member libraries after the event.
Demonstrating the Return On Investment: The Library’s Role and Contribution
UPDATE: Click the link above to access a recording of the event. (9/11/2020)
1:00 - 2:30 | Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Logins Available for Staff at Registered Libraries
Registered Libraries: BSU, LNDL, MSU, TU, UB, UMCP, UMGC
Privacy in the Age of Surveillance: Everyone's Concern
12:00 - 4:00 | Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Logins Available for Staff at Registered Libraries (Request One Here)
Registered Libraries: HS/HSL, LNDL, TU, UMCP, UMGC
NISO Humanities Roundtable 2020
1:00 - 2:30 | Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Logins Available (Request One Here)
Stew of the Month: July, 2020
The following is excerpted from the most recent edition of DigiStew:
The CLAS team responded to 79 Aleph Rx submissions and 21 e-resource requests from across the consortium’s libraries in July.
COVID-19 Support
CLAS continues to be available to respond to your support requests.
Preparing for Reopenings
We continue to work with USMAI libraries as they begin to make their library collections available again. In July, three member libraries reopened access to their collections using curbside pickup or other special procedures. A few other libraries are set up in Aleph TEST and awaiting testing/review before “going live”. Other USMAI libraries who are planning to reopen access to their collections should review “Aleph Configurations for Reopening Scenarios” and put your request in early; reconfiguring Aleph to accomplish your goals does take some time, and you’ll want to do some testing first.
OPAC Redesign for Accessibility (ORA)
Changes for the redesign of the Aleph OPAC were released in the Aleph TEST OPAC on July 21st. The release in the Aleph LIVE OPAC is planned for Thursday, August 13th. The ORA project’s goals are to improve the accessibility of the OPAC and modernize the user interface. More details can be found in the USMAI Member Portal blog post about the project and its release schedule.
Marcive Authority Control Service Implementation
Significant progress was made on the implementation of Marcive’s Authority Control Service in July. CLAS developers modified the programs that extract and load records from/in Aleph. A full extract of records in Aleph was sent to Marcive for processing. We have received back a sample set, which is currently being reviewed by volunteers from USMAI libraries. The review will be completed on August 7th, at which point feedback on any issues will be sent to Marcive. Once Marcive resolved any issues, they will provide a full set of processed records to load in Aleph. From that point on, new records will be sent monthly for processing. The Marcive service will improve the quality of USMAI’s bibliographic records, creating a better discovery experience for patrons of USMAI libraries.
The "Collections (Current)" and "BIBs and HOLs (Current)" reporting topics have been refreshed with data that is current as of August 1. All reports run in the Reporting Environment will now include the refreshed data set.
The next data refresh will take place in early September.
Did you see our July announcement? The Data Warehouse Reporting Environment has an updated interface and now includes snapshots of EZproxy session counts.
Visit the Data Warehouse web page and read the Data Warehouse Reporting Environment User Guide to learn more about the Data Warehouse and running your own reports.