Consortial Analytics vs. Rialto Collection Development Workflows: When to Use Which Tool?
Two powerful tools are available to Alma Network Zone members to support collection development analysis and tasks. This page explains the differences between these tools and helps you understand when to use each one.
In short, use Consortial Analytics to decide where to start. Use Collection Development Workflows to finish the job with recommendations and actions.
Consortial Analytics
Consortial Analytics provides curated dashboards designed for comparative insights and detecting overlap/gap opportunities across institutions. Data refreshes monthly. Ideal for consortial alignment and project selection.
Collection Development Workflows
Your workbench:
- The retention workflow identifies essential copies based on your criteria and lets you commit to retaining them efficiently.
- The deselection workflow identifies items for deselection and enables you to remove or reassign them seamlessly.
Both the retention and deselection workflows operate within the Alma database and use real‑time data to generate recommendations. The recommendations include direct Alma actions, all consolidated within the workflows to provide a complete end‑to‑end experience.
Availability and Setup
Consortial Analytics is currently limited to Network Zone members, while Rialto Collection Development Workflows are available to all Alma users (regardless of Rialto marketplace implementation). Consortial Analytics requires the NZ admin to grant permissions to members. See the following links for more information:
Which Tool Should You Use?
This table explains the strengths and intended use cases of Consortial Analytics and Collection Development Workflows, helping you decide which tool is best for each collection development task.
|
If your goal is to… |
Consortial Analytics |
Collection Development Workflows |
|
Get a big-picture, cross-institutional view |
Best choice: See overlaps, gaps, and comparisons across consortium members using the four curated dashboards. |
Designed for focused institutional areas rather than broad cross-institutional analysis. |
|
Identify where to start a retention or deselection project |
Best choice: Explore high-overlap areas, low-usage segments, and potential focus subjects. |
Used after prioritization to scope a specific project. |
|
Prioritize institutions or subjects for collaborative work |
Best choice: Identify partners with strong shared overlap and aligned needs. |
Benchmarks against selected institutions but does not provide a visual overview |
|
Create actionable recommendations |
Provides Title Level Lists for review. |
Best choice: Generates actionable, item-level recommendations. |
|
Take actions |
No direct action capabilities. |
Best choice: Built for actions like withdraw, commit to retain, remove from list, bulk updates, and set creation. |
|
Track project progress |
No project tracking. |
Best choice: Tracks statuses, progress counters, and integrates with physical inventory Analytics. |
|
Work with or without Analytics skills |
Requires navigating dashboards and reports. |
Best choice: Provides a guided, step-by-step interface without building or modifying reports. |
In summary, use Consorital Analytics to scope your project and use Collection Development Workflows when you are ready to take action.
FAQs Customers Often Ask
Can I edit the OTB consortial reports?
No. These curated reports are not modifiable, but they include filters for focused analysis.
Are Consortial Analytics available to all Alma institutions?
No. Only Network Zone members can use Consortial Analytics (depending on the Network Zone Administrator's permissions). Collection Development Workflows are available to all Alma users.
Do Rialto Workflows require the Rialto marketplace?
No. Collection Development Workflows are available to all Alma customers who opt in by consenting to share holdings data.
How current is the data?
Consortial Analytics updates monthly, similar to the Title Subject Area in Classic Analytics. Workflows use real-time data and your selected criteria to generate recommendations.