CS 501 Home

Syllabus

Projects

Books and Readings

Assignments

Quizzes

Academic Integrity

About this site

Client

Nancy S. Skipper, Reference Services Coordinator, Olin Library, nss3@cornell.edu.

Web-based Reference Statistics

The objective is to create a database with a web-interface for gathering and reporting statistics for the reference services in Olin & Uris Library.  The intention is that this would be extended to other libraries at Cornell.  

Overall goal: Streamline and automate the gathering of data from multiple service points and enable flexible data out-put and analysis that will enhance the ability to make effective management decisions about staffing needs, based upon library patron trends and service-need patterns.

Preliminary specifications : The system would:

• allow staff from several service points to input data simultaneously (usually numbers and types of reference transactions in any given hour)
• allow retroactive data input  (to produce correct hourly time stamp) provide automated reporting of the aggregated data to produce hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly reports, cross-tabulated as necessary (Excel format if possible).

Notes by Nancy Skipper

In a previous CS 501 class (spring 2005), a team worked with Kornelia Tancheva (Mann Library) and Maureen Morris (Olin & Uris Library) to create a similar system to input, edit, search and track Instruction and Consultation related activities. This system uses PHP and a MySQL database. The library is currently implementing the use of this database in a pilot test mode for spring semester. We would like to build upon that success. Ideally, we would like both systems to work together, but this would not necessarily be a requirement.