Having visualizations to quickly intake various inter-related data points can help with decision-making and communicating value to stakeholders move more smoothly. While there are several applications that can be used for visualization purposes, not every library has the staff capacity or software resources to develop or license a robust visualization tool. Utilizing a common application such as Microsoft Excel can provide a low barrier entry point and serve as a good foundation to expanding one’s knowledge and comfort in developing formatted tables, charts, and filters using slicers. This session intends to show how to set up a master data table in Excel, create PivotTables and PivotCharts, as well as several slicers to isolate resources by cost, percent changes, usage, fund source, subject area, and LC class to monitor trends over multiple years. Use cases will also be shared on how this dashboard has helped view trends on the increase of open access usage in comparison to controlled usage, communicate cost trends to executive leadership, and provide Acquisitions staff a better view on struggling resources to keep a closer eye on. Additionally, this topic can aid newcomers to learn how to manage and maintain data regarding the library’s continuing resources and databases.
Learning Outcomes This presentation benefits library staff who need to collect and share resource information in a visualized manner without access to or experience with other tools such as Tableau or PowerBI.
Attendees will be able to organize their database renewal data and create tables and charts using Excel for collection assessment purposes. They will learn how to build formatted tables, PivotTables, PivotCharts, and multiple slicers within Microsoft Excel. Attendees will also receive a step-by-step handout and practice data to readily apply the concepts presented.
