DeskStats – Statistical tally sheet

Use this page to collect statistical information about those questions that do not need to be entered into RefTracker in detail – i.e. those questions that are answered in full whilst “face to face” – often called answers “on the spot”.

If the question you are handling cannot be answered on the spot, or requires more details about the question to be recorded than is allowed for on this DeskStats screen use the New question function on the RefTracker header function bar instead of using DeskStats to record this question. Alternatively, if you need to record the answer you just gave “on the spot”, so that someone else does not have to research the same topic again (for example a news item that you have been asked about several times today), or with more details than can be collected using DeskStats so that billing can be done, you can do that by using the New function on the RefTracker header Function bar.

By using DeskStats to enter statistics for all queries handled by your library, that do not need to be recorded in detail using RefTracker, RefTracker statistics can be used to create a complete picture of the level of service being provided by your library.

Alternatively your library may choose to just use DeskStats, either continuously for for statistical just for specific sampling periods.

Live and Batch modes of operation

This DeskStats screen operates in two modes – Live DeskStats and Batch DeskStats – so that statistics can be collected as they happen, or so they can be entered at a later time, from tally sheets, or as a single number for multiple similar transactions.

In Live mode you can enter a statistic with as little as one click or screen touch. just choose to click in the grid box that best describes the service you provided.

Batch mode is for entering more than one statistic at a time.  In this screen you enter a count of the number of services you provided in the data entry grid that best describes the service you provided.  The data on this screen is not saved until you click a Save button, or until 19 minutes after display when it will be automatically saved.  If you change the staff member, date, or time, the system remembers that setting for the rest of your session (until you log off).  This is great for entering stats on behalf of another user, but beware, if you have been entering stats on behalf of someone else, you will need to reset these values back to yourself and the current date and time, if you want to also enter stats for yourself.  Details like Received via, Status and Location all automatically revert to their default values after a stat is recorded, as usual, even when Staff member, date and time are being remembered.

The initial mode of operation that you see will be the same mode that you last used.  Other characteristics such as which request grouping data entry grids are shown on this screen, are controlled by the DeskStats Preferences function provided at the bottom of this screen, and in My preferences under Home.

Your system administrator may have set up the initial display of this screen for you, but if not you must follow the instructions provided in the DeskStats Preferences section near the end of this help screen, before using this screen for the first time. If you cannot see anything that looks like a grid of boxes in this screen, your DeskStats have not been set up and you should go the DeskStats Preferences information near the end of this help screen now.

You can show more details of Request group sections within this screen by clicking on the  to the left of the item. You can minimise a Request group section within this screen by clicking on the  to the left of the item. To use this screen initially you will need to click on the plus sign next to the Request types that you want to use. This will shown the grid for entry of statistics.

If you are using DeskStats on a touch screen, click the “Touch layout” button in the header, or just above the footer, to make each data entry grid line a little taller and easier to touch with a finger.  When in “Touch layout” a “Standard layout” button is provided to allow you to swap back to the mode designed for use with a mouse, at any time.

The DeskStats screen remembers the layout of the screen last time you used it (each time you save a statistic or a Preferences change). It remembers whether you were using the touch layout or standard layout, the Request groups that you had open and the size and positioning of the screen, and will reopen next time with that same layout and positioning.

Using this screen

This screen is divided into sections as follows:
Details – The information in this section is recorded with every DeskStat entered. Your system administrator has determined the fields that appear in this section as being the fields of interest to your library when recording details of “on the spot” transactions for statistical purposes. Sensible defaults are usually provided for all fields in this section, but before entering a DeskStat you can choose to select more appropriate values for things like Staff location at which the question was received, Client location, Closing status, Received via, and any other code tables that have been included in this section. Where [selection option] is showing in a drop down box in this section, the selection of a value for that code table is optional. If a field in the Details section is mandatory it will be highlighted by a coloured bar immediately to its left – the bar serves as a reminder that even if a value has been defaulted into this field, it should be reviewed and amended if appropriate.
Note that if you wish to change the Details to be recorded with this question, you must do so BEFORE you click the appropriate cell in the DeskStats data entry section (or Save button), as clicking on the cell (or Save button) records your statistic. After you have recorded your statistic, all of the values in this section will revert to their default values, and if appropriate, will need to be reset appropriately for the next statistic to be recorded.
DeskStats data entry – This section provides a grid for selection of the type of query and time taken to respond to the query. The grid is shown by clicking on the  to the left of the Request group you want to use, and will remain showing until you click on the  to the left of it to hide it.
In Live mode simply click in a box in this section to record a statistic (note, your library may have defined some columns to be inactive in which case you will not be able to click in them).
In Batch mode enter a numeral representing the number of transactions of this type answered in the batch period. You can enter numerals in more than one box if all the details of all these questions were similar except for Duration and Request type.
If you make a mistake, you can use the [Undo] link for that entry in the History, at the bottom of this screen, to remove the incorrect entry so it can be re-recorded.
DeskStats hints & tips is a hyperlink under the data entry header, where your System Administrator may have chosen to provide additional information about how to use the columns, rows and fields provided by DeskStats, according to your service policies.
Comments can be used to enter comments or details about a question e.g. “We need more books about digital photography”. The comments will be included in DeskStats statistics when they are run. Comments can be up to 2,000,000 characters long.
When you enter a Comment, it will be recorded with the next statistic that you Save, and the field will be cleared.
When using the comments field in conjunction with Batch mode please beware! The comment will be reported against EVERY statistic that you record with that Save. So, if you are recording a comment in Batch mode, be sure to separately Save the statistical information for only that one question.
The Comments field can be set as Mandatory for completion (in which case the “required” symbol, usually a tick or asterisk, will precede the box), it can be optional, or the box can have been entirely removed by your system administrator.
The Batch/Live mode button in the header can be used at any time to switch between Live and Batch modes (Use DeskStats Preferences to set the mode in which DeskStats opens initially).
Save only appears in Batch mode and should be used to save the numeric values entered in this section, when they are correct. In Live mode a statistic is recorded each time you click in a box, so a Save function is not required.

Resources – If this section appears (it can be configured out using parameter 7.21 if you so desire), it provides a grid for recording information about resources used in answering the question. The resources showing in the section have been defined by your system administrator using the Resources code table, so contact them if you would like to recommend a change.
To record that a resource has been used simply click on the small tick box, or, you can enter a description (maximum 1000 characters) of the particular resource used in the larger box, which automatically ticks the box for use of that resource. More than one resource can be chosen. For example, you could click on Library catalogue, and RefTracker database as resources used in finding your answer, and you could also enter the description “Information technology” under the Resource “Informit”, indicating that it was the Information Technology database under Informit that was used. This additional description will assist your library to obtain more detailed statistics about the resources that are proving most effective in answering questions. The Resources showing in this section have been chosen by your system administrator.
Note that if you wish to record information about Resources used, you must do so BEFORE you click the appropriate cell (or Save button) in the DeskStats data entry section, as clicking on the cell(or Save button) records your statistic.

Preferences – To access DeskStats Preferences click on the  next to its name (located near the bottom of the screen).
This section provides the ability to define how DeskStats will look and operate specifically for you. You can determine the Request groups that will display in your screen in order to make the screen most efficient for you, and you can determine whether the screen should initially open in Live or Batch mode.
Request groups to be displayed provides a list of all Request groups defined for your library. Only the request groups that you leave ticked will display in your version of Deskstats. Note that choosing a Request group in this manner inserts the Request group into your DeskStats screen in an unexpanded format i.e. with a  icon beside it. Clicking on the plus sign will expand the display for this Request group and it will show a Request type/time grid for each Request type in that Request group. Selecting a Request group for display, but leaving it UN-expanded provides the flexibility to be able to enter a statistic for a rarely occurring type of request, after expanding it, without it always taking up valuable screen space.
Note for System administrators – the order in which Request groups display on the DeskStats screen is determined by the sort order that you define for them in the Request groups code table. Similarly the order in which Request types display under the Request groups is controlled by the sort order that you define for them in the Request types code table.
Default Mode sets the mode (Live or Batch) you will be presented with when DeskStats is first displayed in any RefTracker session (use the Switch mode button to change modes within a DeskStats session).
Save preferences must be used each time you make a change to any setting in the Preferences section. The DeskStats screen will immediately be redisplayed with your new setting. You can change the DeskStats Preferences that you choose, at any later time.

History provides a summary of the statistics that you have been recording using DeskStats.
In this section, the [Undo] link  can be used to remove the statistic showing on that row, where that statistic was recorded incorrectly.
[Back] on the History division header line allows you to see earlier stats that the last 10 that show by default.

Hint: Keep a print of this page handy as a manual tick sheet that can be marked up for any statistics that occur when RefTracker is unavailable (such as during Internet failures). Use Batch mode to enter the statistics you have marked up, when the system comes back on line.