Penn State University Libraries - Focus on Assessment - Oct 25, 2010

Making collection development decisions with Director’s Station data

Submitted by Heather Ross

What if you could get a summary of your users’ checkouts for your collection development
group? Would you use it to decide as a group how your area’s collections funds are distributed?
What if you could get a list of books that your users checked out grouped by base call number?
Would you use it to make decisions about what to buy with your money?

What if you could get a list of books that your users checked out from the campuses or UP.
Would you use it to determine if you need to duplicate or start collecting in a new area? What if
you could get that list today with just a few clicks? Would you use it?

Director’s Station generates raw data files that can be overwhelming because there can be
thousands of lines of data and the only option is to sort by call number or the number of
checkouts. Useful reports can be created by manipulating Director’s Station raw data and using
Excel’s Pivot tables. Pivot tables use filters and variables to create summaries, which retain
access to the raw data. Once a pivot table is created, the details of the data that make up the
summary are available to view by double clicking on that number. This system allows librarians
to look at overall trends in use, while also being able to look at the details of specific titles.

This type of analysis would be beneficial to the Collection Development Council and the
collection development groups. Librarians can look at usage of their materials and use that
information to make informed decisions about future purchases. The Collection Development
Council can use this information to make fund allocation decisions.

Posted on the Libraries Assessment and Metrics Council website are Excel files for several
collection development groups (more groups will be added as they are completed).
(https://intranet.libraries.psu.edu/home/groups/assesscouncil/projsrepts/jeohdr10.html). Call
numbers were assigned to collection groups using Yankee approval profiles. Please take the time
to read the “Director’s Station-Collections Development Group Instructions” file as it explains
how the file and the pivot tables work. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me (hdr10@psu.edu). This project is part of my Job Enrichment with the Libraries
Assessment and Metrics Council. Thank you to Sydney Bennington for assistance with the
website.