Improve Alma Analytics to allow for more straightforward and accurate COUNTER usage data and Cost Per Use reporting.
Improve Alma Analytics to allow for more straightforward and accurate COUNTER usage data and Cost Per Use reporting. To address the following:
Simplify CPU Calculation: Improve the system to allow straightforward calculation of Cost Per Use (CPU) by including financial data in the usage subject area, eliminating the need for SQL joins.
Increase Data Update Frequency: Increase the frequency of usage data updates in the e-inventory subject area and fix the date of the job, as the current monthly updates, which have variable dates, cause scheduling issues.
Enhance Data Accuracy: Address inaccuracies and missing data due to limited match points (title and ISSN). Examples include:
a/. Titles with only print ISSN in the Counter file.
b/. Title changes by users, leading to mismatches.
c/. Inability to link usage to CPU due to mismatched ISSN or titles, resulting in incorrect CPU calculations.

-
Anonymous commented
Response to data accuracy problem:
3. Data Accuracy
a. There are numerous examples where the online ISSN is missing from the counter file and/or the name in the counter file does not exactly match that in the bib record.
i. E.g Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals
1. Actualités Pharmaceutiques (no online ISSN in counter file)
2. Aircraft Design (no online ISSN in counter file and title suffix in Alma)
ii. Sage Journals (KB+ Read and Publish)
1. Angiology
2. HERD
b. The journal of economic perspectives : a journal of the American Economic Association – see logged call 07163169.
i. The online ISSN was missing from the Counter file and the 245 field in the Community Zone record had been changed to include the suffix. Therefore, neither of the fields could be used to match data. This was noticeable in a small collection but wouldn’t be picked up in a larger journal collection. The supplier has since updated the counter file to include online ISSNs.
c. A solution would be to increase the number of match points e.g. to match to the print or online ISSN. An alternative solution would be if cost information could be linked to the usage data subject area – there are more options to filter within the usage data subject area to the required content rather than rely on matching to an e-collection. -
Anonymous commented
Response to scheduling issue query:
2.Scheduling Issues:
a. Usage data is only imported into the e-inventory subject area roughly once a month. This is too infrequent and causes a delay in reporting if new usage data is added to Alma or needs reharvesting due to data reinstatement by either the supplier or Jusp.
b. The date varies each month. If the date was fixed, we could time our Sushi harvest to take place just before the update so the e-inventory subject area data would include the most recent usage data. A fixed date could also be used in analytics to pro-rate usage. -
Anonymous commented
Hello Hadas,
The responses to questions raised are as follows (I have added a separate post for each query):
1. Financial Data:
a, We would want POL line and invoice details to be available in the the same subject area so Cost Per Use can be easily calculated, without the need for complicated SQL joins. Further details are as follows:
i. Limited number of report types and metrics in the e-inventory subject area means that to produce a cost per use report using DR, PR, TRB3 data, that JOIN needs to be used to combine the POL information (cost) with the usage.
ii. For those resources which use TRJ1 or TRB1 and should work within the cost usage section of the e-inventory subject area, if the Title and/or ISBN/ISSNs do not match between the Counter file and the bib record, then there is no match of titles and usage (see below for more detail).
detail). -
Hello,
We would like to clarify some of the point -
1. There is a mention of "financial data" - what type of data would you want? Can you give an example of a report you are creating today with SQL joins and explain the purpose and usage of such a report?
2. Can you tell us more about the scheduling issues?
3. a. Can you give an example of such a title?
b. Can you give more information about this use case? What kind of title changes?
c. Can you give an example of such a case? What type of enhancement is requested here?Thanks,
Hadas
-
Michelle Halpin commented
Would it be possible to enable time based portfolio counts within the system please. It may be me not knowing how to do this - I can see when portfolio were created and modified but do not appear to see a measure to enable specific portfolio availability at a specified time duration. Thank you.