OCLC Collection Analysis

 

OCLC Collection Analysis A. Creating a search B. Massaging the results Putting the results through Excel Drafts

 

[version 20070625]

 

This exercise is just for the Liaison Librarians (unless Wilma specifies otherwise)

 

Okay, first comes the REALLY TOUGH PART.

You must actually read one of the instruction manuals I have online.    Yeah, I know ... I'm merciless, aren't I?

 

* Click here to read the instructions on using OCLC Collection Analysis.

If you need the logins, check with Martha or Dennis.  Oh, and BTW (By The Way): the logins would go nicely into your Keepass, wouldn't they?

 

We're going to go step by step, and use both the wiki here and the instructions on the web page.  Remember that OCLC changes the layout and such sometimes, so my instructions may not match up exactly.  They have more people in the world changing things than I have time to keep up!

But the general instructions should still be useful.

 

You're going to actually create a search and work with the results to put them into a format for faculty.    No, really -- you can do it!

 

* Step down through the steps.  On step 5, select one of the possible lists and pick five libraries (that's the maximum).  Just pick five of the Arkansas libraries, if you like.

 

* Continue through until you Save the search.

 

* Now relax, you've got a little while (usually a day or so) while OCLC gets the data set up.

 

* Check back after a day and keep checking via the steps under Selecting Records, until your file is present, and continue from there with the steps 1 through 7.

 

A. Creating a search

 

* When you log in (ask Martha or Dennis for the login), you click on the Collection Analysis tab and get a divided list.

 

* Ignore the list on the left ("Basic Analyses") and look on the right ("Peer Comparisons") for your list.  Select it.

 

This compares the WHOLE catalog of ALL the libraries you selected to our WHOLE catalog.  You need to narrow that down.

 

* Click the Limit Analysis button.

 

* For the Library section, just click on Check all.  You want to compare all the libraries to us.

 

* For Holding Count just click on Check all for now.  This decides that if at least 1 library holds, or at least 2 libraries hold, or... etc.

 

* For Division, let's assume we need information on nursing.  There are actually two categories that fit that (although only one of them mentions nursing specifically).  Find and check them both.

 

* Under Publication Date, we want only recent materials.  Check 2001 through this year.

 

* Under Language, let's keep it to English, shall we?

 

* Format is a tough one.  For example, we don't want just books, we also want serial publications in book form (annual editions and so on). 

Let's check Books, Serial Publications, and Texts, Electronic just to be on the safe side.

 

* For Audience check Adult. 

 

* Now click on Run Analysis to make the search.

 

* Once you get the Analysis Result page, click on Uniqueness tab.

 

This gets the items that we have that the others don't, and that the others do that we don't.

 

* Click on the number in the Unique column on the line for the test name (not our library -- we're not interested in what we have that others don't).  It will take a little bit to generate the results.

 

 The result is a list of titles from those formats selected, which the other libraries have and we don't.

If you need to narrow it down, you can start at the Holding Count and remove checkmarks, starting from the 1.  If that's still too many, uncheck 2.  Continue until you get a manageable number.  That means that if only one library holds it, you eliminate it.  It must have at least 2 libraries.  Or, you eliminate the 2 and then at least 3 libraries must hold it to be included.

 

* Now you can go through and see what titles you might like to eliminate at this stage.  For example, "The proteasome-ubiquitin protein degradation pathway" might not be all that vital to general nursing.  You can check boxes to mark these if you like, and only take those.  Or, you can just take everything and let faculty sort it out.

 

* On the little buttons at the bottom of each page, click on Export.

 

* You get a choice to take everything in a tab-delimited file.  This is fine.

 

* You are asked if you want to open this into an Excel file.  Do it.

 

B. Massaging the results

 

Putting the results through Excel

 

The results will open in an Excel file.  It's a little messy-looking at first, but you can clean it up.

 

* Widen the columns for OCLC number, title, and author by clicking on the right border and -- when you get the arrow on both sides of a vertical line -- dragging it right.

 

* For LC Call number, you can delete the column by clicking the letter (D) at the top of the column so it all highlights, and then right-click and selecting delete.

 

* You can also eliminate the NLM number and the LC number, the Physical description, Language, Format, Genre, Price and Series Statement.  These are not needed for most evaluations, and I don't need them to order.

 

* Please leave me at least the OCLC number or the ISBN or both, for my ordering purposes, when you create lists.

 

* Now, go up to the Excel toolbar and click on File drop-down menu, then Page Setup.

 

* Page tab: change the orientation to Landscape.

 

* Margins tab: change the side margins to 0.5 and the bottom to 0.5.  Leave the top at one inch.

 

* Header/Footer tab: Click on Custom Header. 

 

* In the left section, use the calendar pages icon for date, and the clock for time.

 

* In the center section, put "Boreham Library Nursing Materials".

 

* In the right column, click on the Page (page with # on it), then type "of" and then click on Pages (page with two pluses on it).

 

* Click on OK.

 

* Sheet tab: Under "Rows to repeat at top", click on the icon at the right of the box.  You get back to the spreadsheet, with a box labeled Page Setup - Rows to repeat at top:.  Click on the header row (with OCLC , Title, etc.).  It appears in the box.  Close the box by clicking on the red X.

It should now read $1:$1

 

* Check the Gridlines box.

 

* I prefer to check Over, Then Down but you may not.

 

* Click Print Preview and see how it will print out.  You can make adjustments now, before you print.

 

I think it helps to see the authors, the editions, the publisher info (since some titles may be exactly the same across several publishers), along with the titles.

 

* Save in C:\Data\Excel\ as "Nursing Materials" in format Microsoft Excel 97 - Excel 2003 & 5.0/95 Workbook (*.xls).

 

* You can print this or not.

 

 

 

 

 

Drafts

 

 

Draft 1

Draft 2