To the Cloud!

How to Compile and Analyze Reference Statistics Easily and for Free

Sonnet IrelandFaith G. SimmonsUniversity of New OrleansLUC 2011

The Way We Were...

Originally, we used a printout sheet. This sheet was always at the reference desk in the Learning Commons.

Sheets were also printed out for the Circulation desk.

The Problems...

Messy--Was an absolute headache to compile and analyze Incomplete - pages were either missing or never created. Trying to use these sheets months later, it could be hard to figure out if a sheet wasn't created because there were no questions or because we were closed. With different access points throughout the library, many reference interactions went unmarked because of the inconvenience of the location of the sheet.

Why GoogleDocs?

Digital form--spreadsheets that can be used to calculate totals

Can be accessed and updated by multiple people at the same time

Free and user-friendly

Security--multiple options for allowing access to the sheet

How it works...

1. Duplicate the template for the day. 2. Update statistics throughout the day. 3. Copy statistics from GoogleDocs into a stable spreadsheet. 4. Save the stable spreadsheet in Sharepoint (paid program) and Dropbox (free)

5. Use the stable spreadsheets to calculate the totals and analyze the data

CALCULATIONSDemonstration of GoogleDocs

How many of you are familiar with using Excel formulas?

Benefits

Hosted offsite--available anywhere with an internet connection Multiple users can update the spreadsheet at one time Auto save Login options--password, or link, or username Published but not searchable Can export into a spreadsheet. Definitions of various interactions are spelled out in the sheet

Problems with Using Google

Too many sheets (for too many days) can get messy

Sometimes there are errors in the formula after duplicating the template multiple times

Communication--important that everyone is on the same page (numbers vs. tick marks; is phone virtual or in-person)

CALCULATIONSDemonstration of Sharepoint

Advanced formulas for analysis.

Why Dropbox?

Free account offers 2GB of storage

Saved across multiple computers and on the cloud

Can be shared with multiple people

Get even more storage with .edu email addresses

How Dropbox WorksGo to Dropbox.com

Create an account and download Dropbox on to your computer. You can download it onto several computers (your work, your home desktop, your laptop, your iPad) with the same account.

When you save a file, save it in a Dropbox folder. This will save the file on any computer with your Dropbox account.

Access the file from any of your Dropbox computers...or from another location, via Dropbox.com.

Any changes you make to the file will be automatically updated across all of your computers.

Dropbox Demonstration

Questions?

Resources

GoogleDocs docs.google.comDropbox dropbox.com

Sonnet Irelandhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/sonnet

Faith G. Simmonsfsimmons@uno.edu