About the Reporting SIG

Owned by Peter Murray
Last updated: Sep 26, 2022 by Angela Zoss (Old)
3 min read

Mission Statement

The Reporting SIG will examine the reporting needs of institutions, offer advice on the design of FOLIO data models and reporting solutions, contribute time to the development of sample queries, provide documentation and training on topics related to FOLIO reporting, and offer a space for subject matter experts and technical experts to engage in discussion and collaboration.

Statement of Scope

Supporting FOLIO Reporting tools and platforms

The FOLIO Reporting Special Interest Group (SIG) engages in the following activities related to support of FOLIO reporting tools and platforms:

  • offer support for the development of tools within the Library Data Platform project*, which is developed by Index Data and sponsored the Open Library Foundation:
    • gather reporting requirements from the broader FOLIO community
    • offer feedback on software features and design
    • serve as software testers
    • engage in query development activities organized by LDP product owner
    • offer support to FOLIO community members using LDP tools and associated queries
    • maintain FOLIO end user documentation that connects to LDP project documentation
    • stay connected to changes in FOLIO app development and relate relevant information to LDP developers
  • advocate within the FOLIO community for the infrastructure necessary for production reporting environments
  • offer guidance on how SIG members can connect FOLIO data to non-FOLIO data (from small, temporary data to large, legacy datasets)
  • stay connected to non-LDP FOLIO reporting solutions by welcoming tool developers and users to SIG meetings and discussions, especially those solutions that are open source and actively seeking partnerships with FOLIO community members
  • participate in discussions about reporting features within FOLIO apps

* - including but not limited to: LDP, Metadb, LDLite, ldpmarc, FOLIO Analytics, LDP App

Communication and Training

The FOLIO Reporting SIG engages in the following activities related to communication and training:

  • develop and host training on topics related to FOLIO reporting (e.g., FOLIO data structures, basic SQL query development skills)
  • create and maintain connections to functional area SIGs to facilitate tight connections between reporting tools and FOLIO app features and data structures
  • provide an opportunity to share information between query development teams and subject matter experts, as well as people interested in different aspects of FOLIO reporting
  • advocate for transparency in FOLIO governance practices to ensure that reporting considerations are being addressed
  • advocate for additional community resources to be dedicated to reporting software and query development
  • share updates on SIG activities with the broader FOLIO community
  • maintain a public record of SIG activities
  • engage in outreach to recruit new SIG members
  • advertise the benefits of SIG participation to individuals (personal development, networking), institutions (representation, visibility), and the FOLIO community (design of effective reporting solutions)
  • maintain FOLIO end user documentation that connects to LDP project documentation
  • help clarify features of different reporting solutions and hosting options

FOLIO SIG Commitments:

  • The working group will likely meet weekly for several months at a minimum.

  • A subset of the SIG will be asked to contribute, write, and/or edit features.

  • SIG members will be called upon as experts in other FOLIO SIGs to make presentations, review documentation and code, and answer questions about privacy needs.

  • A SIG member will serve as the convener of the SIG (see definition in the Product Council SIG documentation), a SIG member will be asked to participate on the FOLIO Forum Facilitators SIG (details), and a SIG member will be asked to report progress to the Product Council.  One or more than one person may fill each of these roles, and a person may fill more than one role.

  • Participants are expected to have knowledge or access to knowledge about professional practices and regional requirements.


SIG Type: Topical Group (discussion group to take up a subject of interest)

SIG Roles

SIG roles (e.g., SIG convener, SIG member) are defined in the FOLIO Special Interest Groups (SIG) Charge 2.0. Guidance on the role of Product Owner is described at What is a Product Owner?.