To: Executive
Committee
From: Nancy Nathanson
Date: May 16, 2006
Update: Summit
Borrowing turnaround time
In April 2005, as part of a discussion about
Summit Borrowing participation and courier Dropsite status, "Several Council members suggested a study
of Summit
Borrowing performance in the near future." This memo is to provide an update on our
activities to measure and better understand some of the factors affecting
turnaround time. The major components
are Just-in-Time (JIT) processing, and courier transit time. JIT is a concept that helps to achieve the
fastest possible (or practical) turnaround time for getting requested materials
to patrons.
Just-in-Time: Library processing
1. Summit Borrowing Day
Presentation, handout, and
short discussion of "JIT" at Summit Borrowing Day, 2005
2. Library
closures
Alliance
staff report and discussion paper: Library closures and Summit Borrowing
(presented at SBC meeting) July 2005
3. Start-of-year
reminder
Alliance
staff memo to members Aug. 17, preparing for start of academic year
4. Schedules
on Website
Alliance
staff solicited review and updates for Processing Schedule posted
on Web.
5. Survey
Alliance
staff conducted a survey of
members on JIT processing, Dropsites, and branch libraries, Nov.-Dec. 2005.
6. Processing
schedules: Ongoing review and working with members
JIT
as a concept was well-received, but we have heard of only a few individual
members taking action to shorten processing time (COCC, GFU, and Clark). Individual members contacted about processing
schedules often express an inability to make changes to reduce time lags,
citing local staffing and shuttle schedules.
This is a factor with some potential for decreasing turnaround time, especially
where materials are processed at different locations, and moved between
libraries.
7. Timely
return of materials
Alliance
staff provided a memo to Summit Borrowing Committee Steering Team (SBC-ST) on July
25, 2005, and in April 2006 suggesting
factors that might influence timely return such as fines, courtesy notices,
personal or class use of material, courier time, bag shortages, branch library
processing, and INN-Reach reports. At their meeting on April 27, SBC-ST reviewed
the memo. They indicated an interest in
forwarding a comment to the Executive Committee that they haven't heard that
this is a problem, and there is no evidence to indicate it is a widespread or
continuing problem. Alliance staff will watch for changes in the
situation, and have provided a "best practices" web page illustrating
Courtesy Notices
(not all members use them).
8. Checked
out items
Current policy allows an item to be requested
if it is due in no more than 14 days.
The paging slip "sits" at the Owning Site until the item is returned,
but the request appears to be languishing at the Owning Site.
Courier service and transit time
1.
Dropsite status for Summit Borrowing members
Alliance staff prepared a report
and discussion paper, September 2005.
The Summit Borrowing Committee (SBC) Steering Team discussed the topic
and prepared a report and recommendations
for the SBC in Feb. 2006. The SBC
discussed it and voted, and in March sent to Council (Executive Committee) a recommendation
requiring all members to have at least one dropsite. The Council is voting on
the recommendation this month. adopted
recommended policy.
2. Shipping
errors
Some
packages are labeled and packaged for an incorrect Dropsite. The receiving site notices the error,
re-labels and sends the material to the appropriate Dropsite. The package was "in transit" for
much longer than the average time, but not because of slow courier service.
3. Sorting
errors
With
an occasional exception, all packages picked up at Dropsites are delivered to the
vendor's sorting facility and then shipped out to the destination. Mistakes do happen at the sorting
facility. Some are just human
error. Some sorting problems could be
avoided if library staff would use the latest version of the authorized shipping
labels, including the correct sort code.
4. Delivery
errors
Drivers
sometimes leave packages at the wrong Dropsite.
I doubt these instances are always reported to us. Since July 2005, there have been 25 reports
of "wrong dropsite" recorded in the Problem Log. (context: about 13,000 deliveries since July
1, over 210 delivery days, average 63 Dropsites)
5. Transit
time survey
Alliance staff conducted a study
of transit time in April 2006.
Overall average transit time is good: 1.7 days, with 57% of packages
delivered the next day, and another 26% delivered in two days. No unusual
problems were identified. The Dropsites
farthest from the two major metropolitan areas on Interstate 5, at the edges of
the service area, have the longest average times. A bad report for the single outlier, Walla
Walla College, is the result of the change in status the previous week, with
errors made by both library staff (addressing and packaging errors) materials
and vendor (sorting and delivery errors).
See full report for more information.
Improving turnaround time: Recommendations
|
What
|
Who
|
Primary
objective
|
|
1. Tighten local
processing schedules
|
Library directors with Summit Borrowing and
other staff (Alliance
staff will provide a checklist to review)
|
Reduce time to fill a request
|
|
2. Review use of Courtesy
Notices
|
SBC and Council
|
Reduce instances of materials kept beyond due
date
|
|
3. Review use of Overdue Fines
|
SBC and Council
|
Reduce instances of materials intentionally
kept beyond due date
|
|
4. Review paging slips
and bookbands/labels, consider different method for identifying Dropsites
|
Alliance staff with SBC
|
Reduce transit time by decreasing errors in
labeling and packaging
|
