Bibliostat Collect: Sneak Peeks

Introduction and General Information (Q1.1-Q1.40) sections: This is a little long, but please review, save for future reference, and be sure to read to the bottom even if you feel like you already know what I'm going to say about these two sections. 

🎗 But first, a reminder! 🎗You may login to Bibliostat Collect at any time to print a copy of any previous fiscal year's survey by going to: https://collectconnect.baker-taylor.com/login.aspx The FY2023 survey is in production from April - late June and you will not be able to see/enter data in the survey until July 1 when it officially opens. If you do not know or misplaced your username/password combination, please let me know! It is library-specific and does not change from year to year. I keep the list on my desk year-round.

🔐 PSSST: Included in your first Tips & Tricks email on July 1st, for your convenience, will be a PDF of the introduction section and a separate PDF of the blank survey. You may save or print the documents (or ignore them and find them later within the survey). A top-to-bottom list of definitions will be sent on request. Definitions are readily available after each entry point and as a separate printing option within the survey. See Introduction section below. 🔐

Now for the good stuff...🍫🍨🍕🍔🍤

Introduction

This section provides important date information, the purpose of the data collection, reminders, and printing instructions. There is a lot of valuable information on this page! Don't skip it. If you ask me a question that could easily be answered from this page, I won't hold it against you! I will gladly answer. Even if you ask me the same question multiple times. Life is hard and this is stressful and I'm here to help and guide you! Don't agonize over any question or hesitate to email or call me with questions. My contact information is at the bottom of this email.

General Information Q1.1-1.40

The general information section consists of demographic information for the library. Each library is considered the administrative entity and this information is located in subsection Identification Q1.1-1.24. For example, Fayette County Public Library is the administrative entity and has six (6) branches. Burnsville Public Library is the administrative entity and has zero (0) branches. Each library building is considered an outlet and outlet information is collected in the subsection Outlet Information Q1.25-1.40. For example, Fayette County PL has seven (7) outlets (i.e., one main location and six branch locations) and Burnsville PL has one (1) outlet (i.e, main location only). Please DO NOT delete your main library location/outlet from the Outlet Information section. It is "repeated" for a specific purpose.

***If you have recently closed or added a branch, make certain I have the exact closure or opening date information. If you only have partial year data on a recently closed branch, I cannot officially delete the branch from your survey until there is no data for a complete fiscal year. As this information is subsequently submitted to the Federal government, they have an exact procedure in place for deaths and births (their terms) and while you may have had "closure" with the decision, they have not!***

Most of the questions in the General Information section are locked. That means you can view them, but you cannot change the data. You will notice the data entry box is greyed out. PLEASE review this information and alert me to ANY changes. There are two options for data change requests: 

1. Email TBA with the name of the library outlet, the question number needing updated as well as the question description (for example 1.2 Library Street Address), and the new information.

2. Include a State Note on the question number with the information to be changed - preferred method (**More on Notes at a later time.)

🚨 It is important to note that only ONE person can be logged on to your survey at a time. If you have multiple people entering data, work out a system so you do not overwrite each other's hard work! If you work on multiple surveys, the same rules apply. Therefore, ANY information changes requested will not be updated by me until your survey has been submitted. IF you need me to review something on your survey while it is open, we will have to arrange a time for me to login. In this case, it is easier to ask permission than forgiveness! 🚨 

 😊 Also, please do not be offended if a previous director's name is listed on the survey. Demographic information from the FY2022 survey is populated into the FY2023 for consistency purposes with regard to names, abbreviations, and Federal-level questions. Considering that the production timeline ends a few days before the survey opens, I am not always able to make individual last-minute changes to each survey (even if I am aware of them). A simple change request as described above would be appreciated. 😊