Hello, everyone. I’m curious how libraries, especially in North Carolina, get the most accurate FY collection and circulation statistics from Sierra. We need #'s for things like cataloged 1) adult, 2) young adult, and 3) kids fiction books and the circulation (checkouts & renewals) of all young adult and kids books for our state library’s annual report. I’ve tried different approaches, from running statistics queries to using review files, but get different numbers. Thanks for any words of wisdom! I’m a newbie.
Hi Krystal,
For annual circulation statistics, we use Web Management Reports, both the browser and spreadsheet versions (see Sierra Guide > Using Web Management Reports).
We used to have Decision Center for all annual reporting but cancelled it. Before we cancelled, I made sure the Web Management Reports were accurate, and they do indeed return the same answers as DC.
For collection size counts, we use the statistics module in Sierra, but you could also use Create Lists for item counting.
Happy to share more detail on web management reports - 2024-25 was the first reporting year I have relied on them for circulation, and they did the job.
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Thanks, Brian. Appreciate the info.
Glad to hear Web Management Reports has proven accurate for circ stats. That’s what I used. Because of various item type/code decisions over the years (plus human error, which is to be expected), at this time, I believe a call #/location cross tab yields the most transparent results for us. Unfortunately, I am just unable to get the granularity our state library wants. It’s not too far off, though, and at least I know where the discrepancies are.
Would love to hear your (or anyone’s) approach to gathering collection size counts in the statistics module. I tried using it, but didn’t feel confident in the results, and stuck with call # review files.