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Events & Workshops

PTPL holds an annual meeting and offers occasional workshops and trainings.  Suggestions for potential workshops are welcome.

Upcoming events

    • 29 Oct 2026
    • 9:30 AM
    • 30 Oct 2026
    • 3:30 PM
    • Zoom
    • 298
    Register
     

    SWIMMING IN THE DATA LAKE

    EXPLORING THE DEPTHS OF ALMA ANALYTICS AND DATA VISUALIZATION

    Date: October 29 and 30, 2026

    Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm EDT

    Day One: Getting Your Feet Wet 

    There’s a lot of documentation out there for both Alma Analytics and Data Visualization. Unfortunately, it’s quite sparse for beginners. Most of it is task-based and assumes you already know enough to navigate the interfaces and understand the questions you need to ask. For most folks, report generation is a small part of their larger job, and dedicating time to that level of research and testing can be difficult. In this introductory webinar, we will spend the day showing you how to get started in both Analytics and Data Visualization. We’ll look at key vocabulary, how the interfaces are structured, how to navigate around them, and how to begin making your own reports or searching out and modifying existing reports.

    Learning outcomes

    By the end of this webinar attendees will:

    • Be able to navigate the Analytics and Data Visualization User Interfaces
    • Be able to create and edit Alma Analytics reports
    • Be able to create and edit Alma Data Visualization workbooks
    • Be able to format Alma Data Visualization workbooks

    Day Two: Swimming in the Deep

    Alma Analytics and Data Visualization give libraries powerful options for data reporting and analysis. Use of tools such as formulas, filters, and prompts allow us to produce reports, dashboards, and visualizations for data exploration, answering questions, and communicating data stories. As strong as these tools are, though, they become even more powerful when used together. This workshop will explore features in Analytics and DV to tailor reports and address more complex data needs. We’ll then look at how they can be used together and with Alma itself to fit holistically into your organization’s larger workflows.

    Learning outcomes

    By the end of this webinar attendees will:

    • Be able to apply column formulas, filters, and prompts in Analytics and Data Visualization
    • Understand how to create and edit data sets in Data Visualization that can drive reports in both DV and Analytics
    • Be able to join subject areas and data sets in DV
    • Understand how Alma, Analytics, and DV can work together
    • Be able to distribute report results using a variety of methods

    Speaker Bios:

    Kimberley A. Edwards is the Head of Data Discoverability at George Mason University Libraries. She received her MLIS from the University of Kentucky and prior to her current role she worked in the circulation and technical services departments of several college and government libraries. Her areas of interest include collaboration, interdepartmental communication, and collection organization, and she has written and presented on those topics for a range of publications and conferences.

    Emily Nilson is the Database Integrity & Analysis Specialist at George Mason University Libraries. She earned her MLIS at the Catholic University of America. While on a quest for a sunburst diagram in 2022, she began using Alma Data Visualization and has spent the intervening years leveling up both her knowledge and enthusiasm for the tool. Emily currently serves as the Deputy Coordinator for the Analytics Community of Practice where she excitedly moderates a Basecamp site and monthly meetings for the nascent Data Visualization sub-community.

Past events

17 Apr 2026 PTPL 101st Annual Meeting
18 Jun 2025 Cataloging Board Games and Objects
22 Apr 2025 Automating Metadata Manipulation with MarcEdit
15 Nov 2024 PTPL 100th Annual Meeting
30 Jul 2024 Making Proposals for LCSH: Process and Demonstration
12 Jul 2024 Automating Metadata Manipulation with MarcEdit - Second Session
17 May 2024 Fundamentals of Moving Image Cataloging
19 Apr 2024 Automating Metadata Manipulation with MarcEdit
13 Oct 2023 PTPL 99th Annual Meeting
18 May 2023 PTPL Workshop
14 Oct 2022 PTPL 98th Annual Meeting
15 Jul 2022 Alma Analytics: A Holistic Approach
11 Jul 2022 Serials (a.k.a. indeterminate successive diachronic works): a Workshop
03 Jun 2022 Metadata Makeover: clean, enhance, and reconcile messy bibliographic data with OpenRefine
27 May 2022 Metadata Makeover: clean, enhance, and reconcile messy bibliographic data with OpenRefine
15 Oct 2021 PTPL 97th Annual Meeting
09 Aug 2021 Metadata Makeover: Transforming messy data with OpenRefine and MarcEdit
07 Jun 2021 Metadata Makeover: Transforming messy data with OpenRefine and MarcEdit
16 Oct 2020 PTPL 96th Annual Meeting
18 Oct 2019 PTPL 95th Annual Meeting
30 Apr 2019 WebDewey 101: Dewey Decimal Classification Tips and Tricks
12 Oct 2018 PTPL 94th Annual Meeting
07 Jun 2018 Automating Metadata Manipulation with MarcEdit
20 Oct 2017 PTPL 93rd Annual Meeting
02 May 2017 MarcEdit Workshop
01 May 2017 MarcEdit Workshop
21 Oct 2016 PTPL 92nd Annual Meeting
19 May 2016 MarcEdit Workshop
23 Oct 2015 PTPL 91st Annual Meeting
29 May 2015 Workshop: Building Your Licensing and Negotiation Skills Toolkit
17 Oct 2014 PTPL 90th Annual Meeting
25 Jul 2014 RDA Access Points in Original Cataloging
11 Jun 2014 Using the RDA Toolkit
11 Oct 2013 e-Books: Lifecycle Management and Workflows
12 Jun 2013 RDA from Scratch for Catalogers with Shana McDanold
15 May 2013 RDA from Scratch for Catalogers with Shana McDanold
12 Oct 2012 ERM & U: Workflows in the Electronic Age
07 Nov 2011 XML Workshop
21 Oct 2011 RDA or not -- here we come!
13 May 2011 XML Workshop
29 Oct 2010 Kaleidoscope of Choices - Collection Development Today
24 Jun 2010 MarcEdit Workshop
11 May 2010 Metadata & Digital Library Development
07 Jun 2007 A Supervisor's Academy: Essentials of Supervision for the Professional Librarian
26 Apr 2006 Managing E-Resources
14 Oct 2004 E-Journal Archiving: Who Is Responsible?
10 May 2004 Through Fire and Flood: Disaster Planning and Response
31 Mar 2002 Serials Holdings
31 Mar 2002 Advanced Serials Cataloging
24 Feb 2002 Basic Serials Cataloging
24 Feb 2002 Electronic Serials Cataloging
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