Data Manipulation and

Analysis for Libraries

…Four hours in class can save you hours of hard work and frustration!

The ability to manipulate data can make a long project short or an impossible project possible. Data analysis is critical when designing solutions and applications for libraries, as well as for understanding users' information needs and patterns of use.

Often, the data we need to use is not available in a form that works for us. We may need to load users from a MS Word table into a Sirsi Symphony database on Unix, gather statistics from Web server logs, or analyze data for a report. For large files, it may not be possible to even consider processing the data manually. In Data Manipulation and Analysis for Libraries, you can learn the basics of making data do what you need! Learn to use readily available software to create load files, statistical reports, to separate or aggregate data, and to analyze your web logs. A software CD containing useful utilities and a manual containing useful information for both Windows and Unix/Linux will be included. You will learn shortcuts for handling information and how to use utilities such as grep, sed and awk (and their Windows counterparts) to make your life easier and more productive

Below is shown a brief sample from a table in Microsoft Word, containing information on hundreds of new users who need to be added to your Sirsi user Database. With the help of some useful free software, you can easily transform the information from a Microsoft Word table into a correctly formatted Sirsi User Load file, such as the example shown below:

Student’s Name	ID#	Department/Degree	Privileges
Aaron, Mary	1M1B12J4	English	Undergraduate
Abbott, Amanda	343T44Q3	Computer Science.	Undergraduate
Abbott, Marcus	Z567R544	MBA	Graduate

If the data is presented to you in what is called a CSV (a “Comma-Separated File”), a spreadsheet or just plain text, you can move it into the User Load file format just as easily.

In this class you will learn to work with information from Sirsi Reports; Sirsi Pipe delimited report files; data from Microsoft Excel, Word or Access; text files and log files. You will not be limited to re-arranging your data – you can also use these tools to modify or analyze information. Learn how to combine or modify fields, add a note field to a MARC record or pull statistics from a web log file.

Recommended: Some familiarity with Microsoft Office products. (The class will present tools and examples for both Unix and Windows, however, since many people store and transfer data in Microsoft Office formats, some experience with them is helpful.)

Time: Four Hours.

Questions/Email: Sharon.kelley@lamar.edu

About the Teacher: Sharon Kelley, a System Software Analyst for Lamar University in Beaumont Texas, has more than twenty years of Library Automation experience. She enjoys the challenges of developing new applications and the satisfactions of finding new ways to help Library staff work smarter rather than harder.