Why this blog...

For a few months now I have toyed with the idea of starting this blog. Nothing glamorous. Just a blog to keep track of what I have learned while working with the reporting module of Evergreen.  I thought a couple of my fellow PINES folk might even find the blog helpful.

But while presenting at the 2011 Evergreen International Conference, I suddenly met all sorts of folks struggling to get the data they needed out of Evergreen. I also learned at the conference that the Evergreen community has been growing quite fast. (Go here to learn how to submit your prediction of when the 1000th library will migrate to Evergreen.)  Of course with more libraries adopting the Evergreen ILS, there will be more folks struggling with Evergreen reports.

So I decided to go for it. Share what I have learned thus far. And share my current challenges. And hope that it is helpful. 

This blog is basically an extension of my conference session, Making the Most of Evergreen Reports with Excel.  Except this time I do not have to worry about a 20 minute time limit, the small screen size of my netbook, nor my internet connection not working. (Of course, the lesson there is to always create an offline backup for any presentation. Always!).

I certainly do not know everything about Evergreen reports; I am still learning. My experience is limited to the staff client, although one day I hope to learn more about SQL reporting. 

I most certainly do not know everything there is to know about Excel.  I learn new tricks as they are needed.

My hope is that this blog will be useful not only to those just getting started with reports but also to those more advanced reporters.  I am hoping this blog will be a place where folks feel comfortable asking questions -- simple and advanced.  Of course, I hope folks will also share their tips, tricks, and best practices along the way.

Finally, my greatest hope is that through the work of all the libraries and consortia paying for development, through the work of the Evergreen's Reports Taskforce, and through the discussions we have here, at the conferences, and elsewhere, we one day might not have to struggle quite so hard to get the data we need. Until then, let us embrace the struggle!

(Edited for grammar on 5/15/11.)