{"id":33239,"date":"2025-07-28T11:16:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/?p=33239"},"modified":"2025-07-28T11:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:16:22","slug":"librarians-using-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/2025\/07\/28\/librarians-using-data\/","title":{"rendered":"One Librarian\u2019s Journey Using AI and Power BI to Harness Data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Michelia Mason didn\u2019t start out as a data expert. In fact, when she first opened Power BI, the data visualization tool felt more intimidating than intuitive. \u201cData analysis was not my background,\u201d she admits. \u201cUsage reports were about it.\u201d But as the librarian at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swri.org\/\">Southwest Research Institute<\/a> (SwRI), a nonprofit based in San Antonio that supports everything from space science to automotive fuel research across 10 technical divisions, Michelia knew her library needed a better way to communicate its impact. So, she got curious\u2014and started experimenting with AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michelia\u2019s story is a reassuring one for academic and public librarians who might feel unsure about how to begin using data or integrating AI tools into their workflow. With no formal training in Power BI or AI, she simply started asking questions. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t know how to do something, I\u2019d ask ChatGPT,\u201d she said. \u201cIt would give me a step-by-step DAX expression or Power Query action I could plug into Power BI. If I got an error, I\u2019d feed that error back into ChatGPT and it would help me troubleshoot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That back-and-forth with AI became a practical, hands-on way to learn\u2014what she calls \u201ca journey that\u2019s still ongoing.\u201d Over time, Michelia has used ChatGPT and Power BI to build dashboards that help answer key questions, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Are we maintaining equitable distribution of interlibrary loan (ILL) requests across responsive libraries?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do ILL request trends reveal consistent content gaps in specific research areas?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the prevalence of Open Access scholarship in peer-reviewed publications by research area?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Data as Advocacy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Michelia\u2019s biggest takeaways is that data isn\u2019t just about measurement\u2014it\u2019s about storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want to move beyond cost-per-use,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to understand our impact. What are researchers publishing? Which journals are they citing? And how much of that content is the result of our subscriptions?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In one analysis, she found that 88% of peer-reviewed citations in published research were directly supported by library-provided content. That\u2019s a powerful stat when advocating for funding or demonstrating return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019s also starting to collect more qualitative data and documenting time spent with researchers, publications supported, and department-specific engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI-1024x483.png\" alt=\"The power Bi dashboard used by Michelia Mason to analyze data\" class=\"wp-image-33251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI-1024x483.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI-300x142.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI-768x362.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI-1536x725.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Scopus-Publications_PowerBI.png 1696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her team now pulls in data from Tipasa (for ILL analytics), Scopus (for bibliometric analysis), and COUNTER reports (for e-resource usage) to create dashboards embedded in SharePoint. While nothing is fully automated yet, Michelia has created and used code, in the form of Python scripts, again with AI&#8217;s help, to streamline how monthly data is uploaded and organized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u2019t need to be an expert in Power BI or AI to get started. You just need a question. \u201cI had a vision in my mind,\u201d Michelia said, \u201cand I used ChatGPT as an assistant to help me bring it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SwRI is a special library, but she has advice for librarians in any setting. \u201cOwn your data. Start with the story you want to tell.\u201d Whether it\u2019s demonstrating the value of your services to funders or identifying trends in patron behavior, tools like Power BI and ChatGPT can help you speak in the language of stakeholders\u2014data and dollar signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if it still feels daunting? Michelia suggests you \u201cstart small, keep learning, and don\u2019t be afraid to try.\u201d After all, she\u2019s still learning too and has a goal to go back to school for data science with hopes of sharing what she\u2019s learned with other librarians who want to do more with their data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to know it all,\u201d she says. \u201cYou just have to start.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michelia Mason didn\u2019t start out as a data expert. In fact, when she first opened Power BI, the data visualization tool felt more intimidating than intuitive. \u201cData analysis was not my background,\u201d she admits. \u201cUsage reports were about it.\u201d But as the librarian at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), a nonprofit based in San Antonio that&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":33242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[669,15],"tags":[994,955,1132,635,550,1135,1131,1136,1134,904,1133],"class_list":["post-33239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ill","category-technology","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-chatgpt","tag-data","tag-ill","tag-michelia-mason","tag-power-bi","tag-san-antonio","tag-southwest-research-institute","tag-special-libraries","tag-srwi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33239"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33252,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33239\/revisions\/33252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}