The FOLIO (Future of Libraries is Open) library system provides support for transactional data entry, storage, and usage to staff members in the Cornell Library. Functional data areas for the data include accounting, circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, collection development, and collection management. Reporting services for that data are providing through the FOLIO LDP (Library Data Platform) reporting database. Reporting users may access data by running SQL queries using DBeaver, interacting with Tableau data visualizations, and downloading data directly from the transactional FOLIO application system. The Reporting Team provides support to library staff by creating and maintaining a library of SQL queries, automated reports, and data visualizations through Tableau on Cornell's Tableau server.
The FOLIO LDP enables library staff to create and run SQL queries on FOLIO data for key functional areas of the library such as circulation, acquisitions, cataloging to support daily library operations, data quality control, trend reports. The reporting database software allows for the ingest and use of additional data sources, such as historical data from the Cornell Library's legacy system, Voyager. The LDP Query Builder application allows users to build and run simple queries against the LDP from the convenience of the FOLIO Application interface. The LDP reporting software includes ldpmarc, a component that allows library staff to incorporate marc record attributes into their queries.
Working with data in the FOLIO LDP reporting database
FOLIO data in the LDP (Library Data Platform) are somewhat normalized. Some of the data is left untransformed in data arrays and must be extracted using specific JSON extract data functions in SQL. Queries against data in the LDP have many joins because there are many tables. The FOLIO Reporting SIG has created derived tables to make it easier to report on collections of related data. It also helps to create indexes on tables that are filtered within queries.
