Tip of the Week

Tip for: 01.03.2006

Return Statistics and Other Useful Usage Information

Summary: Welcome back! We hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday and that this coming year will be tremendous. With statistics being so important these days, we thought it would be helpful to share a tip regarding some of the statistical reports you can run, particularly the Return Statistics report.

We often focus on how many items we check out and how many times a particular item was checked out, but have you ever wondered how well things are returned on time to your library? Since many of you don't charge fines for overdues, it might be of value to see what the average deviation is between due dates and return dates.

The other reports available from Usage Statistics allow you to compare usage by different policy groups or the usage for a particular period, such as hour of the day or by day of the week or month. These Usage by Period formats can enable to see patterns of library usage, which will be helpful when scheduling staff.

To run a Return Statistics report:

With Alexandria running, select Usage Statistics from the Report drop-down menu at the top of your screen or window. With the upcoming 5.5.1 update of Alexandria, you will find this option renamed Statistics Records.

Change the Report Name drop-down menu to Return Statistics.

Use the Select By drop-down menu to choose whether to show all statistics or to narrow it down by a particular date range.

Click Print to print the report to screen. To save selections for later use, click on Create Quick Report and give it a name.

Once you have reviewed the report on the screen, you can send it to your printer by selecting Print from the File menu or clicking cmd-P (Macintosh) or ctrl-P (Windows).

To run other Usage Statistics reports:

Select Usage Statistics from the Report drop-down menu at the top of your screen or window.

Use the Report Name drop-down menu to choose the desired usage report.

Select the desired format, from the Format drop-down menu.
The Sort By and Select By menus should also be set as desired.

Click Print to run the report.

There are several different reports that offer usage information, but these reports help to compare usage of different types of items by different groups of patrons based on policy as well as showing statistics about the return of items. We think you will find these statistics helpful as you determine how to deal with overdues and when your library is used based on hour of the day, day of the week, etc.

Thank you,
The Alexandria Staff Librarians

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