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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Recurso educativo Open Access |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ963346 |
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Table of Contents:
- How to Build a Desk Statistics Tracker in Less than an Hour Using Forms in Google Docs Carter, Sunshine Ambrosi, Thomas Reference Services Library Automation Library Development Academic Libraries Computer Software Reviews Database Management Systems Knowledge Management Access to Information Records (Forms) Worksheets Data Processing Change Strategies Statistical Data The University of Minnesota-Duluth is the second largest campus in the University of Minnesota system. The UMD library, which serves more than 11,000 students and 500 faculty members, is primarily an undergraduate library. The reference team consists of eight librarians, including author Sunshine Carter, reference and electronics resources librarian, and author Thomas Ambrosi, head of reference services. The reference team assists with more than 13,000 in-person and 3,000 chat reference questions per year. Team members single-staff the desk 66 hours a week during the school year, with reduced hours in the summer. Their paper method did have its value. However, the downsides were many. The data needed to be gathered and entered into a spreadsheet by student reference worker, which took valuable time away from other tasks. However, in less than an hour, using Forms in Google Docs, the team was able to build a workable system after years of delay. Forms created an "aha!" moment for the team: nothing to install, nothing to purchase, accessible from any service point, no server space to negotiate, statistics automatically compiled, and easy to analyze. (Contains 3 figures.)