An updated handbook on classifying and fixing dirty data

CHICAGO — Dirty data is a problem with enormous costs for libraries and other knowledge organizations, both monetarily and in terms of wasted staff labor. Published by Facet Publishing and available through the ALA Store, the new second edition of “Between the Spreadsheets: Classifying and Fixing Dirty Data” draws on classification expert Susan Walsh's years of hands-on experience in data to present a foolproof method for working with your data more efficiently, understanding the impact of your work, and discerning how it affects your organization as a whole. Covering everything from the very basics of data classification to normalization and taxonomies, the book walks readers through the author's proven COAT framework, which helps ensure an organization's data is Consistent, Organized, Accurate, and Trustworthy. Sharing a series of data horror stories that illustrate what can go wrong in managing data and how these problems can be fixed, this handbook also offers new advice on using GenAI as a tool and discusses why it is so important to have clean data beforehand.

Walsh is Founder and Managing Director of The Classification Guru, a specialist data classification, taxonomy customization, and data cleansing consultancy. With over 13 years of experience in data, Susan is a world-renowned thought leader, data expert, and speaker. She was winner of the 2022 & 2023 DataIQ Data Champion of the Year, a finalist for The Great British Businesswoman Awards, and Practitioner of the Year at the Big Data Awards. Susan has classified and cleaned data across numerous sectors, countries, and languages for over 100 clients worldwide. She created and recently launched a self-service supplier normalization tool, Samification.

Facet Publishing, the commercial publishing and bookselling arm of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, is the leading publisher of books for library and information professionals worldwide. ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library and information professionals worldwide. ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman publishes resources used by library and information professionals, scholars, students, and educators to improve programs and services, build on best practices, enhance pedagogy, share research, develop leadership, and promote advocacy. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a variety of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman at editionsmarketing@ala.org.