Tip of the Week

Tip for: 04.25.2005

Super Summary Formats

Summary: The Super Summary report found under Item reports can be very useful for obtaining an overview of the age, value, and usage of your library. This tip discusses the different formats available to help you determine which one will best meet the needs of your library.

Report Formats

Regular: The Regular format is divided into 3 main sections. The first section displays the number of titles, copies, items with no copies (i.e. websites), new items, items inventoried, the value of the section, the value of items lost, and the value of items discarded by call number classification and then by policy and medium type. The next section displays the number of items discarded or lost, the date range each item fits into, and the average age of each classification. This information is also shown by policy and then medium type. The final section displays the usage for each call number classification, policy, and medium type by month. At the end of each section a total is displayed for the entire collection.
Note: Be aware that any call number prefix Alexandria doesn't recognize will be assigned to the OTHER classification.

Regular – Ignore Super Summary Classification: The only difference between this format and the previous one is that, rather than assigning a certain call number prefixes to specific predetermined classifications, each library's prefixes are used to divide out their collection. This makes the Other classification unnecessary.

Missouri: This format was created specifically for our customers in Missouri. The Dewey classifications are grouped differently than the Regular format (as required by the state of Missouri). The report is divided to display the Holdings for each area, as well as the number of items in each area, which are older or newer than the prescribed age. The final column displays the percentage of items that are newer in each area. It also displays this information by policy. As with the Regular report format, Alexandria assigns specific call number prefixes to predefined areas. Any items with unrecognized prefixes are assigned to Other.

Missouri – Ignore Super Summary Classification: This format displays the same information as the regular Missouri format, but divides out each prefix area in the collection rather than attempting to assign them.

Collapsed: The Collapsed format is similar to the Regular format, but only displays the statistical information by call number rather than by policy and medium. It also compresses each classification. For example, instead of the Reference entries being divided out by Dewey numbers (e.g. Reference 000-099), you will simply see an abbreviation of REF for that complete classification. This is a great option for those who want a very basic overall picture of their collection. At the bottom of each of the three sections are combined statistics for the entire collection.

Collapsed – Brief – Landscape: This brief, one-page format is in landscape layout to make efficient use of space and uses the Collapsed format's compressed classifications to indicate the number of titles, copies, items with no copies, new copies, discarded copies, and lost copies. It then indicates the life-to-date and year-to-date usage of each classification, as well as the number of items used last month, this month, and the average age of each area. At the bottom of the report is a total of each column for the entire collection.

When looking for an overview of your collection, the Super Summary can be a very useful report. Use the Inventory Start Date field to indicate the start date for your statistics. This can help determine whether the report displays statistics for the past month, year, or several years.

Thank you,

The Alexandria Staff Librarians

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