Curating Usable ILS Data for Selectors

Caroline Muglia | USC LibrariesSCELC Lightning Talk | March 2

What is the Content Gains and Losses Report?● New content for previous month

○ Print and electronic books, serials, other formats (sound recordings, DVDs), databases, DDA activity, and

ILL activity (lending, borrowing, document delivery)

● Collaboration with Collections, ILL and ILS departments

● Multi-tab, sortable GoogleSheet with Excel version stored on Intranet

How are people engaging with report?

● Knowledge of new titles

○ Selectors informed about titles on approval plan in their subject area and collection overall

● Communication with teaching faculty

○ Cut and paste new titles for faculty as outreach and information

● Learn about gaps in subject areas

○ ILL report shows titles that USC students are borrowing from other institutions, which could

be gap in collection; and titles that other institutions are borrowing from USC, which could

refine circulation/usage stats

How are people engaging with report?

● Learn about usage in subject areas

○ DDA report shows overlap of eBook purchase and print copy in collection providing selectors

a chance to review titles and determine if changes in approval plan or book buying need to

change

● Transparency of ILL and DDA activities

○ Reports are now in conversation with new content when they weren’t before

● Confirming discoverability of materials

○ Double checking that materials selectors ordered become discoverable

What to remember if you want to replicate?

● Reuse existing data

● Embrace iteration

● Provide entry points to data

● Collaborate!

Thank you!