FY20 SLAA Users Guide

State Library
Administrative Agency
Survey, FY 2020
Web-Based Data Collection Tool
User’s Guide

Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is authorized under 20 U.S.C. Chapter
72 to fulfill the congressional mandate to carry out analyses of the impact of library
services.

Table of Contents
1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1

2

LOGGING IN .................................................................................................................. 1

3

NAVIGATION ................................................................................................................. 2
3.1

DASHBOARD ........................................................................................................... 2

3.2

GO TO BUTTON ....................................................................................................... 2

3.3

SAVE & NEXT AND SAVE & PREVIOUS BUTTONS ................................................... 3

3.4

STATUS INDICATOR FOR EACH SECTION ................................................................. 4

4

PRINTING ...................................................................................................................... 4

5

DATA ENTRY ................................................................................................................ 5

6

EDIT REVIEW AND RESOLUTION ................................................................................... 6

7

DATA SUBMISSION ........................................................................................................ 8

8

STATE LIBRARIAN CERTIFICATION ............................................................................... 9

9

POST-EDIT SURVEY FOLLOW-UP................................................................................... 9

10

CHANGES FROM THE PRIOR SURVEY .......................................................................... 9

10.1
11

HELP SECTION ..................................................................................................... 9

LOGOUT ..................................................................................................................... 9

Table of Figures
FIGURE 1. THE “FORGOT PASSWORD?” LINK ON THE LOGIN SCREEN. ................................... 1
FIGURE 2. THE TOP PORTION OF THE DASHBOARD OR HOME SCREEN FOR THE SURVEY ......... 2
FIGURE 3. THE GO TO BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF A SURVEY SECTION .............................. 3
FIGURE 4.THE SAVE & PREVIOUS AND SAVE & NEXT BUTTONS FOR A SURVEY SECTION.. 3
FIGURE 5. SURVEY SECTIONS WITH THE STATUS FOR EACH PART OF THE SURVEY ................ 4
FIGURE 6. THE REPORTS SCREEN .......................................................................................... 5
FIGURE 7. SECTION LINKS ON THE EDIT REPORT SCREEN ..................................................... 7
FIGURE 8. THE SAVE JUSTIFICATION BUTTON ...................................................................... 8

ii

1 Introduction
This user’s guide provides information needed to complete the FY 2020 State Library
Administrative Agency (SLAA) Survey. There are six steps you must complete to
submit your data: log-in, data entry, edit review and resolution, data submission, State
Librarian certification, and post-edit survey follow-up (if needed).
If you encounter any problems with the system, please contact the survey administrators
at RTI International (RTI) at SLAA@rti.org or 1-866-509-7472. The Help Desk is open
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Respondents who require assistance
outside of these hours may schedule an appointment with the Help Desk.

2 Logging In
Key holders will receive a user ID and temporary password in a separate document.
You must change your password when you log in to the system for the first time. If you forget
your password when accessing the survey in the future, click the Forgot Password link
to gain access to the survey.

Figure 1. The “Forgot password?” link on the login screen.

After reaching the website through your browser, type in your user name and password,
then click Log In. After your credentials are authenticated, you will be taken to the
Home Screen.
After a successful login, click Start in the Action column to begin a part of the survey.

1

3 Navigation
Each page of the survey has a top navigation bar with four tabs: Dashboard, Reports, Help,
and Logout.
3.1

Dashboard

The dashboard is the home screen for the survey. Click the Start/Continue link for each
section in the Action column to go to that part of the survey. The dashboard also displays
the status of each part of the survey.

Figure 2. The top portion of the dashboard or home screen for the survey

3.2

Go To Button

The Go To button appears at the bottom of each survey section. Select a section in the
drop-down menu and then click the Go To button to jump to that part of the survey.
Clicking the Go To button also will save the survey data entered on the current page.

2

Figure 3. The Go To button at the bottom of a survey section

3.3

Save & Next and Save & Previous Buttons

The Save & Next and Save & Previous buttons appear at the bottom of each survey
section except for Section A, which does not have a preceding section. Use these buttons
to save the data on the current page and to move the next page or return to the previous
page.

Figure 4.The Save & Previous and Save & Next buttons for a survey section
3

3.4

Status Indicator for Each Section

The SLAA survey has 13 sections, A-M. The status of each section of the survey is
recorded in the Part Status column on the Dashboard. There are four possible statuses:
•

Not Started: The user has not entered data for that part.

•

Errors Exist: The user has entered data, but errors exist.

•

Incomplete: The user has entered data and no errors exist, but the section is not
complete.

•

Clean: Data have been entered and no questionable data exist.

The status of each part is continually updated, so you will be able to identify which parts
need additional information.

Figure 5. Survey Sections with the status for each part of the survey

4 Printing
Use your browser’s Print button or the Print option under the File menu to print the
survey data directly from the data entry screens.
A blank version of the survey data entry form may be viewed and printed using the
Survey Form (Blank) option found on the Reports menu. You also can view and print
forms that include any current-year data that has been entered via the Survey Form
(Current Year Data) found on the Reports menu.

4

Figure 6. The Reports screen

Similarly, you can view and print forms that include prior-year data via the Survey Form
(Prior Year Data) option.
After clicking any these options, a File Download dialogue box will open, and you will
be able to open or save the PDF. Once opened, the document can be printed.
Use your browser’s Back button to return to the previously viewed screen.

5 Data Entry
Users should complete the survey sequentially from Part A to Part M. Edits in the later
parts may be affected by entries at the beginning of the survey.
Please note the following instructions:
1. Identification verification. Part A. (SLAA Identification) Identification may
be prefilled with data provided by your agency. If so, please verify this
information and correct or update anything that has changed.
2. Saving/viewing data. You must save your data before exiting each part of the
survey.
•

The Verify & Save button will save the data and stay on the current screen.

•

The Save & Next button will save the data and move to the next screen.

•

The Save & Previous button will save the data and move to the previous
screen.

It is recommended that you save frequently to verify that data cells do not have
missing or questionable data. If data are missing or questionable, a warning icon
will appear. Click the icon to review the edit message and take the recommended
5

action. (The icons are further explained in Section 6 Edit Review and
Resolution.)
3. Navigating the survey. Use the Tab and Shift+Tab keys to move back and
forth between the data entry boxes. The Delete and Backspace keys are active
inside each data entry box.

NOTE: Your session will expire after 15 minutes of inactivity. Any data that have not
been saved will be lost. Please be sure to save your responses frequently.

6 Edit Review and Resolution
Edit messages are generated for individual survey pages as data are saved (e.g., after
clicking the Verify & Save button).
Each edit message is identified by a unique icon:
•

Fatal Error (denoted with a red icon ). Either data are missing and must be
provided, or the data entered must be corrected. Fatal errors must be resolved
before you can submit the survey.

•

Confirm or Explain (denoted with a yellow icon ). Indicates that the data are
questionable. You should review the data for accuracy and enter correct data, if
appropriate. If the questionable data are correct, you can resolve the edit message
by entering an explanation in the Justification field in the Edit Report and
clicking Save Justification. Providing a clear, concise explanation may
eliminate the need for future follow-ups about the data. Please note that text
entered in the Justification field will not be saved unless you click on one of the
Save Justification buttons located at the top and bottom of the Edit Report.

•

Edit Reason (Accepted) (denoted with a gray icon
questionable data has been provided.

). An explanation for

The edit icons are linked to messages. Click an icon to go to the Edit Report that notes
the edit message and the action required to resolve the message. You also may access the
Edit Report option by clicking the button at the bottom of each page. Each edit
message contains:
•

Edit Code: The edit message number

•

Line Number: The survey item

•

Section: Survey section and page

•

Message
6

•

Value: The current-year or prior-year data that are related to the edit

•

Justification: A text box to enter explanations, if applicable

•

Accepted: The edit message resolution status — Yes or No

Links in the Section column may be used to go back to survey sections.

Figure 7. Section links on the Edit Report screen

Enter the justification into the corresponding textbox and click the Save Justification
button to save the entered text. The entered text is not saved until you click on the Save
Justification button.

7

Figure 8. The Save Justification button

When all edit messages are resolved, “Yes” will appear for each section in the Accepted
column of the Dashboard and the Submit Data button will be enabled.

NOTE: All edit messages must be resolved by revising or confirming the data to lock
and submit the survey. Changes to data may generate new edit messages that you will
need to resolve.

7 Data Submission
When you complete the survey and all edit messages have been resolved, the Edit
Report will display Yes in the Accepted column. To submit the data, click the Submit
Data button on the Dashboard screen.
After clicking Submit Data, you will be asked to provide an estimate of the number of
hours it took to complete the survey.
After clicking the Submit Data button, you will have two options:
•

Continue with Locking. By clicking this button, you will finish the process of
locking the data, and the system will send an e-mail to the State Librarian
confirming that the data have been submitted and are ready for certification.

•

Return to Dashboard. This button will navigate back to the survey without
submitting the data.

After your survey is locked, you will still be able to view and print your data; however,
you will not be able to make any changes to the data unless a request is submitted to the

8

SLAA Help Desk. This action should not be a substitute for entering the correct data
initially.
If you discover a data error after locking your survey, contact the SLAA Help Desk at
SLAA@rti.org or 1-866-509-7472. The Help Desk will assist in correcting any errors and
resubmitting the data. The survey administrators will notify the State Librarian that
previously locked data have been “unlocked” and certification will be required after the
data are resubmitted.

8 State Librarian Certification
After the key holder locks the survey data, an e-mail message will be sent to the State
Librarian describing the certification process. The e-mail will include a web link for the
certification, as well as a user ID and password for authorization. The key holder will be
notified by e-mail once the State Librarian certifies the data.

9 Post-Edit Survey Follow-up
After data submission, RTI analysts will review the data. After the review, a document
containing any follow-up questions will be posted on the survey website. You will
receive e-mail notification that this document is available for review. After you log in to
the survey, the Dashboard will have a Files Available for Download section at the
bottom with a link to the follow-up edit report. Click the link and save or open the file.
After providing explanations for each question, you will save the file and then upload it
to the website.
To upload the document, follow these steps:
1. Click the link under the File Uploads section of the dashboard.
2. Click the Browse button to find the file that needs to be uploaded.
3. After selecting the file, click Open and then Upload File.
When providing explanations in the follow-up edit report, write responses in the column
highlighted in yellow and labeled Response.
Changes to any other cells in the spreadsheet will not be reviewed. If there are problems
providing an explanation in the table, please contact the RTI survey administrators.

10 Changes from the Prior Survey
10.1 Help Section
Contact information has been changed in the Help Section for the SLAA FY
2020 Survey. Contact the SLAA Help Desk at SLAA@rti.org or call
1-866-509-7472.

11 Logout

You may leave a session at any time using the Logout button found on the banner of
each survey page.

9