MILS Statistics

This page contains statistics run by InfoNet staff for the MILS system and directions on how to capture your own.

Statistics Gathered by Maine InfoNet Staff

Patron Circulation & InterLibrary Loan

These are the numbers for the Annual Survey circulation questions in section 6 and questions 4.16 and 4.17   Circulation for each library, separated by adult, child, and “other” materials (adult/child only pre 2023).  Patron Circulation numbers already contain incoming ILL.  See downloaded sheets for more details.

Prior to 2022, these data were compiled from the Sierra Web Reports, running a cross tab report comparing item location and patron home library.

Collection and Patron Count

Annual Survey questions 5.1, 5.2, 5.5, and 5.7 ask about Item/Material count, while questions 7.1 and 7.2 address patrons.

Item Materials and Patron counts can be retrieved by running an item or a patron count report in Simply Reports or by using the Find Tool in Leap. Please refer to section “Record Counts in Leap.” for steps on using the Find Tool. Prior to 2023, counts were obtained from MILS Sierra, either the statistics snapshots or by running lists/review files.

Interlibrary Loan

These are the numbers for the Annual Survey questions 4.16 and 4.17.  It counts the number of transactions where the item and patron are from different locations.  Therefore, it does count walk-in borrowing of patrons from other libraries.

  • MILS Patron Circulation and ILL 2022  [2022 stats are all in one workbook, separated by sheets for each 6-month period and circulation vs ill.  They are a combination of various sierra and polaris reports because of our transition. ]

Prior to 2022, these data are compiled from the Sierra Web Management Reports Owning/Home report. or the Decision Center Owning Library by Patron Home Library reports.

Reporting Tools To Gather Your Own #s

MIL’s statistical reporting tools are powerful, but sometimes confusing. As a result, some background information is needed to understand which tool to use and how to use it for various purposes.

Polaris Reports Manager (website)

Polaris Reports Manager  contains circulation statistics and some other workflow reports.

MaineCat

Lending transactions specifically through the MaineCat Inn-Reach system are reported on the MaineCat statistical site.