Bulk Edit Discovery Research

Identifying needs for .csv-based editing in FOLIO

November 8, 2021

Ryan Walter

Senior UX Researcher

rwalter@ebsco.com

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| Background

As plans for the updated FOLIO roll-out, stakeholders are concerned about the time it would take to develop an in-app editor. If users see the ability to download a .csv file as a boon based on their needs, we may be able to implement it as a stop-gap measure prior to unrolling a full-featured in-app editor. This idea was initially floated to the FOLIO advisory board with mixed response.

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| Research goal

The goal of this research is to identify the needs of metadata librarians when making edits, particularly bulk edits, to records in FOLIO. The insights from this research will be used to inform decision making on whether edits in FOLIO should be restricted to an in-app editor or include an option to download .csv to make offline edits over time.

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| Research questions

• How do users make bulk edits to catalog records?
• What do users identify as some of the biggest challenges in that process? What problems should take priority in any future updates to FOLIO?
• What do users see as the drawbacks and advantages to editing local .csv files?
• To what extent, if any, do users see the drawback outweighing the advantages? What drawbacks in particular tip the balance for their workflow or institution?
• What features would need to be in place in order to adopt a .csv workflow for making bulk edits?

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| Research design

• Moderated interviews consisting of open-ended questions designed to identify users’ workflow and toolset for adding and editing catalog records
• Assessment of pros and cons of in-app v. .csv editing workflow
• Assessment of role of student workers in that workflow
• Reaction to only being able to use a .csv option
• Assessment of requirements to adopt a .csv-only option

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| Participant breakdown

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Research findings

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| Bulk editing use cases

• Duke wants to move all its graphic novels spread throughout its libraries to a single, special collection
• U of Chicago is moving 180,000 physical holdings to an offsite annex
• UMass is shifting its science collection to empty shelving on a different floor to make space for new volumes
• Items being withdrawn
• Damages items being sent for repair (or withdrawn)
• Journals (or other loose periodicals) being sent to bindery

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| How it’s done: identifying records

Query-based

Records are populated based on conditions, e.g. “source type” or “location,” etc.

Itemized

Barcodes (or other identifier) are already known and provided

Combination

Populate records within a known set based on conditions

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e.g. “change the location of the following holdings that are not current checked out”

In a real-world scenario, this is most often the case

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| How it’s done: making the change

Once the appropriate records have been identified, they can be edited in two ways…

Native editing

Cataloging platform has some affordance for making bulk changes directly within the app

Local editing

Harvesting files from platform, making changes in an external editor, and re-uploading

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| How it’s done: making the change

Native editing

Cataloging platform has some affordance for making bulk changes directly within the app

Local editing

Harvesting files from platform, making changes in an external editor, and re-uploading

Normalizes data behind the scenes and present meaningful, editable fields to user

At the mercy of platform UI

Exposes meaningful and less-meaningful data in an often obtuse and chaotic .csv file

Prone to errors with few opportunities to rollback or undo

Lack substantial feedback and error reporting

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Working directly with the .csv files just feels dangerous. There’s so much that can go wrong and when you bring it back in, it’s hard to know what was changed, and if there is an error or a mistake, it’s a pain to track down

– Metadata librarian, UMass

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Participants showed enthusiasm for an in-app solution that can can streamline workflow and reduce risk when bulk editing

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Doing the local edits makes it easier because I don’t have to give admin right to all the students I’m working with. They can save and hand off the file. I’m the only one who does the actual uploading.

– Library assistant, K-12 school

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None of the academic participants employed students for bulk editing because the process is perceived as too complex

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| What does this mean for FOLIO?

An in-app editor that cuts through the data-level noise is the best long-term option for user workflow and customer satisfaction

Long term

Users are likely to accept a .csv-only editing solution IF

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• It is explicitly positioned as a stop-gap measure on the way to an in-app solution
• A few features are put in place to reduce risk and increase feedback

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Short term

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| Clear error reporting

• Provide a more transparent way of understanding what FOLIO did when batch processing
• Better understanding of what a failure means -- did it revert the record, delete the record, invalidate the record?
• Itemize failures so it’s easy to identify affected records, e.g. “record #XXXXXX failed,” not “7 of 10,000 changed failed”
• Pay particular attention to global failure where feedback is especially spare
• Give some indication, if possible, of how failure can be avoided
• Provide some indication on how to re-try or follow-up from a failure

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| “I just want to understand what’s happening”

U of Chicago librarian on error reporting when harvesting and uploading files

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| Putting some guardrails on the process

• Optimize .csv files for understandability, avoid EBSCO-centric jargon or codes
• Make it very clear which fields can or should be edited and which should be avoided
• Provide some degree of instruction on how to make changes to commonly edited fields like status and location
• Give users the power to rollback changes upon upload if files are corrupted or mistakes were made
• Anticipate potentials error and provide warnings, e.g. “Is this correct?,” “Are you sure?”

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| Sophisticated editing tools

• Find and replace or find and add feature for making bulk edits to note fields
• Find and delete feature for bulk deleting unnecessary fields

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Recommendations

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| Recommendations

1. Plan for building an in-app editor (likely longer term) and return to customer group for concept and usability testing (we can help with that)
2. Roll out .csv bulk editing with very clear messaging that this is short term
3. Create crystal-clear error reporting with plenty of feedback and reassurance. Help users understand what’s happening.
4. Provide instruction on exactly which fields need to be amended to make common changes, particularly status and location
5. Have some affordance for rolling back or cancelling changes in the event of a human or computer error
6. Give user tools to be able to retrace their steps and amend any wrong or corrupted records

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Remember this is primarily about communication. Users want to feel seen and understand the roadmap.

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Thank you

Ryan Walter

Senior UX Researcher

rwalter@ebsco.com

| www.ebsco.com

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