Web Analytics Strategies for Information Professionals


Book Description

Investing time in customizing your settings in Google Analytics helps you get the most out of the detailed data it offers, particularly if your library’s web presence spans multiple platforms.




Harnessing the Power of Google


Book Description

This informative and practical book teaches how to get better and faster results from Internet searches and methods for maximizing the potential of the world's most popular search engine. Mastering Internet research skills is a must for today's information professionals and LIS students, as well as for educators and all high school and college students. But without specific instruction in how to conduct online research, people are destined to waste time in their Internet queries or to come up emptyhanded when the information they're seeking is, in fact, available. Harnessing the Power of Google: What Every Researcher Should Know offers simple strategies that streamline research and improve anyone's search results. It will specifically benefit information professionals, students, and academic researchers in disciplines like international studies, political science, and statistical research. Illustrated with helpful screen shots, this handbook will be an often-consulted desk reference and can serve as a workshop guide or supplementary reading in courses on online research skills. The book starts with a review of general guidelines for searching that covers topics like the difference between primary and secondary sources, determining authority, citing sources, indexing, and ranking before addressing Google's power-searching features, such as the ability to search by top-level Internet domain or file type. The book describes the history of information access over the past century, culminating in today's digital information archives and how Google now augments—not replaces—what libraries provide. The three Google interfaces that together comprise a powerful toolkit are covered in detail: Google Web for finding primary source materials; Google Scholar for full text searching of scholarly, peer-reviewed material; and Google Books for searching the full text of a very high percentage of books.




Maximizing Google Analytics


Book Description

Are you getting your money’s worth out of Google Analytics? Investing time in customizing your settings in Google Analytics helps you get the most out of the detailed data it offers, particularly if your library’s web presence spans multiple platforms. In this issue of Library Technology Reports, experienced trainers Farney and McHale point you to the high-payoff priorities, with specific advice on such topics as How to implement Google Analytics in common content management systems, OPACs, discovery layers, and institutional repositories Cross-domain tracking, including guidance on when and how to combine or separate data across multiple domains or subdomains Identifying your website’s purpose and using Goal Reports to measure results Using filters to exclude activity by library staff from your data Using event tracking to get data on use of PDFs, video player widgets, and other non-HTML objects Sample easy-to-implement HTML code is included in this issue, making it even more valuable.




Research Data Management


Book Description

It has become increasingly accepted that important digital data must be retained and shared in order to preserve and promote knowledge, advance research in and across all disciplines of scholarly endeavor, and maximize the return on investment of public funds. To meet this challenge, colleges and universities are adding data services to existing infrastructures by drawing on the expertise of information professionals who are already involved in the acquisition, management and preservation of data in their daily jobs. Data services include planning and implementing good data management practices, thereby increasing researchers' ability to compete for grant funding and ensuring that data collections with continuing value are preserved for reuse. This volume provides a framework to guide information professionals in academic libraries, presses, and data centers through the process of managing research data from the planning stages through the life of a grant project and beyond. It illustrates principles of good practice with use-case examples and illuminates promising data service models through case studies of innovative, successful projects and collaborations.




Using Digital Analytics for Smart Assessment


Book Description

Tracking the library user's journey is no simple task in the digital world; users can often navigate through a series of different websites, including library websites, discovery tools, link resolvers, and more just to view a single journal article. Your library collects massive amounts of data related to this journey—probably more than you realize, and almost certainly more than you analyze. Too often library analytic programs simplify data into basic units of measurements that miss useful insights. Here, data expert Farney shows you how to maximize your efforts: you’ll learn how to improve your data collection, clean your data, and combine different data sources. Teaching you how to identify and analyze areas that fit your library’s priorities, this book covers case studies of library projects with digital analytics;ways to use email campaign data from MailChimp or ConstantContact;how to measure click-through rates from unavailable items in the catalog to the ILL module;getting data from search tools such as library catalogs, journal search portals, link resolvers, and digital repositories;using COUNTER compliant data from your electronic resources;techniques for using Google Tag Manager for custom metrics and dimensions;descriptions of analytics tools ranging from library analytics tools like Springshare’s LibInsights and Orangeboy’s Savannah to more focused web analytics tools like Google Analytics, Piwik, and Woopra; anddata visualization tools like Tableau or Google Data Studio. Focusing on digital analytics principles and concepts, this book walks you through the many tools available, including step-by-step examples for typical library needs.










Information Technology for Librarians and Information Professionals


Book Description

This comprehensive primer introduces information technology topics foundational to many services offered in today’s libraries and information centers. Written by a librarian, it clearly explains concepts familiar to the I.T. professional with an eye toward practical applications in libraries for the aspiring technologist. Chapters begin with a basic introduction to a major topic then go into enough technical detail of relevant technologies to be useful to the student preparing for library technology and systems work or the professional needing to converse effectively with technology experts. Many chapters also present current issues or trends for the subject matter being discussed. The twelve chapters cover major topics such as technology support, computer hardware, networking, server administration, information security, web development, software and systems development, emerging technology, library management technologies, and technology planning. Each chapter also includes a set of pedagogical features for use with instruction including: Chapter summary List of key terms End of chapter question set Suggested activities Bibliography for further reading List of web resources Those who will find this book useful include library & information science students, librarians new to systems or information technology responsibilities, and library managers desiring a primer on information technology.




Information Services Today


Book Description

This essential overview of what it means to be a library and information professional today provides a broad overview of the transformation of libraries as information organizations, why these organizations are more important today than ever before, the technological influence on how we provide information resources and services in today’s digital and global environment, and the various career opportunities available for information professionals. The book begins with a historical overview of libraries and their transformation as information and technology hubs within their communities. It also covers the various specializations within the field emphasizing the exciting yet complex roles and opportunities for information professionals. With that foundation in place, it presents how libraries serve different kinds of communities, highlighting the unique needs of users across all ages and how libraries fulfill those needs through a variety of services, and addresses key issues facing information organizations as they meet user needs in the Digital Age. The book then concludes with career management strategies to guide library and information science professionals in building not only vibrant careers but vibrant information organizations for the future as well.




Product Information Management


Book Description

Product Information Management is the latest topic that companies across the world are deliberating upon. As companies sell online, they are confronted with the fact that not all information necessary to sell their products is available. Where marketing, sales and finance have been core processes of the corporate world for a long time, PIM is a new business process with its own unique implementation and management challenges. The book describes the core PIM processes; their strategic, tactical and operational benefits and implementation challenges. The book has been written for managers, business users as well as students, and illustrates the different concepts with practical cases from companies like Coca Cola, Nikon and Thomas Cook.