Alma analytics: a useful tool for access services?

Chris Sharpe, Kennesaw State University

Abstract

The latest generation of integrated library systems, Alma, was released back in 2012 along with a data analysis tool called Alma Analytics. Although there are conference presentations on using Alma Analytics, there is a lack of articles reviewing its effectiveness and user experiences. This article reviews Alma Analytics and describes how it is used by an Access Services unit at a large university. The author concludes that Alma Analytics is an effective tool to discover errors, identify trends, and demonstrate the activities of the unit, but the learning curve can be time intensive.