About Alma Analytics

Alma Analytics makes library data available as report,dashboards, or visualizations.  Reports can also be added as widgets to your Alma home page.  Ex Libris has created many “out of the box” reports and we are building a library of custom reports. 

Definitions:

• Reports: Data sheets on a single topic.
• Dashboards: Groups of reports that are displayed as a multi-page sheet
• Widgets: Reports that can be embedded in your Alma home page
• Scheduled Dashboard or Report: a dashboard or report scheduled to be emailed to certain staff or run on a specified interval
• Visualization: trend reports that can be built with graphical elements
• Analytics Objects: reports, dashboards, or widgets made available to staff through the Alma interface. 

How to Add Analytics Objects to your Favorites in Alma

Reports and dashboards shown on your Analytic page are dependent on your Alma roles.

1. Click on Analytics from your Alma home page.
   
2. Search for the reports you wish to consult by keywords such as fulfillment, discovery, or acquisition.  Or browse all objects you have access to.  You can also use the filters to narrow the list.
   
3. Click the ellipses and choose to pin a report or dashboard to your personal Analytics list.
   
    
4. Click on "View full report" to view it in a new tabor window. 

How to Add Widgets to your Alma Home Page

Widgets shown are dependent on your Alma roles.

1. Go to your Alma  home page by clicking the UA Logo in the upper left corner. Then, Click the + sign at the top right-hand corner of your home page. 
   
2. In the manage Widgets box, click the Active check box to add widgets to your home page. 
   
3. You may need to refresh your browser to see the new widget.

There is a need for meaningful and consistent file naming. Using consistent language, schema, and version control is essential.  

Guidance from multiple cultural heritage and higher educational institutions stresses the following, 

• Meaningfulness: User-friendly file names assist our memory, describe the file's contents, and help us find or recognize it when we look for it later. Avoid using initials, abbreviations, spaces, and codes that are not commonly understood.
• Consistency: Consistency in file naming yields more accessible files. Allows multiple people to access files from various locations.
• Length: File names should be kept as short as possible without losing their meaningfulness. Long file names lead to long URL paths, which increases the likelihood of error.  

There are several ways to file name, but the two that are the most consistent, easy to use, and don't lead to possible path errors are,

• The use of dashes to connect words, e.g., Discovery-Primo-Usage-Dashboard
• The use of CamelCase, e.g., DiscoveryPrimoUsageDashboard 

The following recommendation is advised for those creating Analytics folders, sub-folders, reports, widgets, and dashboards in the future, 

• Use of CamelCase file naming
  • Folder level, e.g., ReillyMichele
  • Sub-folder level, e.g., Reports
  • File-level, e.g., DiscoveryPopularSearchesByMonth 

If you have any questions when naming your files, please do not hesitate to contact Michele Reilly at @reilly.uark.edu.