Item Statistical Reports

Item statistical reports produce aggregated statistical data gathered from the PolarisTransactions database. Item record transactions are generated by library staff (such as adding or deleting items) and by patrons who use library materials (such as checking out items). Use item statistical reports to produce detailed metrics related to library use and staff activity. For general information on creating, saving, and running statistical reports, see Create a statistical report.

Important: To gather transaction data used in SimplyReports statistical reports, Polaris must be set up to log the appropriate transactions. For every type of transaction you want to include in a statistical report, transaction logging must be set to Yes in the Transaction Logging database table in Polaris Administration. The transactions are logged from the point you turn the logging function on. See the topic “Collecting Transaction Statistics” in Polaris staff client help.

To specify the transactions to include in the report

Important: For statistical reports, the Run report now checkbox is not selected and the Execution timeout is set to 300 seconds or 5 minutes. Innovative recommends that you do not change these settings because running statistical reports when the library is open may slow your system’s performance. When you are finished setting up a statistical report, save it and schedule it to run after hours. See Using Saved Reports.

Tip: To clear your selections on a subtab, click the subtab heading. The subtab settings revert to the default settings.

1. Select the Items tab, and select the Item statistical reports subtab.

2. Select a statistical category in the Statistical categories list. The selection in the Statistical categories box determines the selections in the Available subcategories box.
3. Select a subcategory in the Available subcategories list. The selection in the Available subcategories list determines which filter is activated. For example, if you select the Vendor account subcategory, you can select the Vendor account filter.
4. Select the report type in the Report type list. The available detail levels depend on the selected report type. See Create a statistical report.
5. Select the detail level for the report (if applicable) in the Detail level list.
6. Select from the following options under Report Focus:
   • Run report by transacting organization only
   • Include transacting user detail and select one or more users from the User box.
   • Include transacting workstation detail and select one or more workstations in the Workstation box.
   • Library quick pick - Select a library or libraries in this list box. All associated branches are selected in the Transacting branch box.
   • Transacting branch - Select the branch or branches for which you want to report transactions and the details to include:
     • Include branch name
     • Include branch abbreviation
     • Include branch ID
     • Combine branch totals
7. Select Date range to specify a date range for the transactions to be included, and select dates in the Start date and End date boxes.
8. Select Relative date to specify a period of time before the report run date for which you want transactions data included. Then, type a number, and select Days, Months, or Years.
9. Select Include header rows to include headers in the report.
10. Select the file type in which to save the report: Text file or Excel file. If you select Text file, select an entry in the Delimiter type box.
11. Apply any other filters to the data.
12. Click Submit to save the report output.

Note: If you selected Run report now at the top of the window, the Report Preview window appears. You can download the report, save the report parameters, or put the records in a record set.

13. If you did not select Run report now, select Save report parameters for later use.
14. Type a name and description for the report, and click Save. The following message appears: Your report: name of report has been saved.
15. To see the saved report, click the My Reports tab, and select the report type in the list box. The report appears in the list. For more information, see Using Saved Reports.