Tuesday 23 September 2014

The Marching of Time



The Marching of Time

Where has this year gone? I cannot believe that we are hurtling towards the end of 2014 at what seems like break-neck speed. Those of us in academic libraries are madly preparing for the arrival of this year’s cohort, all eager and excited at the start of a new phase in their lives, and also for those returning either to continue education or complete after long months of toil. And we in Interlibrary loans are gearing up to assist in the welcome process, giving library tours and promoting all that our library has to offer.
 

So we also have to think creatively about our Interlibrary loan service here and what we can offer. We have noticed over the last few years a decline in the numbers of requests and have concluded that, in part, this has to do with making improvements in other library facilities like wider availability of online resources. We have seen that our readers want immediate access to what they want, or possibly want it yesterday in some cases, so we in Interlibrary loans have to promote a service that is specialist but also efficient (if we can).


Thankfully the wider world of ILL is littered with others who think like us, trying to give a great service. The wonder of systems like SED (Secure Electronic Delivery)and article exchange means that articles can go from desktop to desktop, sometimes in only a matter of hours, allowing the reader to seamlessly continue with their research, even if the article they wanted was only available across the ‘pond’ so to speak. (Pardon the split infinitive but I am no purist – I can’ boldly go’ with the best of them!)  


The marching of time and the changing face of libraries and librarianship brings its own challenges for all of us in the world of Inter-lending (Plug for FIL coming up) so this is where The Forum for Inter-lending, an organisation for Inter-lending and document supply personnel, can really be helpful by disseminating up to date information and news on current opinion, discussion and by promoting the world of Inter-lending both nationally and internationally.



So where do we march next? Well there is the up and coming FIL event at the BLDSS at the end of November and of course the annual FIL conference which next year will take place in Manchester, so lots to look forward to and plan for.


Also looking forward to seeing lots of you at these events – you won’t be disappointed!

Thursday 18 September 2014

My summer with a difference


It seems I have even more than ILL in common with many of my FIL committee colleagues judging by the new blogs over the last couple of months. I too am new to blogging, don’t have a Face Book account and have never tweeted. I am now progressing with one of the three anyway and will build up to the others slowly!
My summer has been very different this year. Going back a couple of years I began working with the University Librarian to secure University capital funding for a major refurbishment of the Harold Cohen Library (HCL), one of two libraries that make up the University of Liverpool Library and the library where I am based.  After producing a paper detailing our proposals that passed through numerous committees we finally received the news we have been waiting for and we were awarded £2.6 million. I was appointed Project Manager for the library and this undertaking has been a steep learning curve for me. Never did I envisage when I decided to become a Librarian that I would spend many hours meeting with Architects, Structural Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Quantity Surveyors etc in the course of my work. It has of course been an incredibly exciting experience to have such close involvement and work towards my dream of creating a much improved library experience for our students.
The plans were ambitious and work wasn’t able to start until the academic sessions finished, although we had ‘fun’ during the May exam period when essential asbestos clearance was required at short notice prior to the commencement of the main building work.
There wasn’t really any area of the library that hasn’t been affected as it was also decided to replace all the windows and re-roof the building. To make the work more of a challenge we had to remain open throughout the building work using a side emergency entrance for access and our temporary Help Desk has had to operate from a PC room.
Just to give you a flavour of the extent of the building work this is how the two top levels at the rear of the library looked soon after the demolition commenced
 
and this was taken this week which shows there is still a way to go!
 
 
These two levels used to contain nearly 4 kilometres of print journals and they will become group study zones with vending, bookable small group study rooms, fixed PCs, lots of power and data for laptops etc. The new areas are capable of accommodating more than 220 additional students.
 
We are also remodelling the Ground floor and this will incorporate a new Help Desk and self-service area and Postgraduate Study Room.
The end is now in sight, although delays mean that even this week with Welcome Week fast approaching – yes it really is only next week – we are still frantically working to get our service up and running from the new area. With power and data still being installed and the Help Desk structure only due on site today it really is going to be last minute and just in case I have felt it wise to have a plan B… it’s certainly not been a stress free summer!
I am looking forward to making progress on tasks I have had to put to one side while I was Project Manager on this venture and, of course taking an active role as a FIL committee member.

Lesley Butler

 

Friday 12 September 2014

Cycling

                                           photo:The Tour of Britain leaves Worcester, 10/9/2014

OK, so it’s a tenuous (corny?) link, but someone had to do it!
It’s the beginning of a new Academic Year, when those of us in HEIs take a look at the year ahead and plan how best to support our students through their studies. Armed with all the useful information about marketing gleaned from Interlend 2014, I’m ready to promote the service.

One of the things we want to achieve this year is the roll out of online requesting to everyone.
So far it has only been available to staff, researchers and taught post-graduates.  Whilst, for the majority, this has seen a huge improvement in the service, and a decrease in turnaround times, a small but significant minority have experienced difficulties. If the roll out happens, will we see an increase in these issues? Can we cope if we do? And will the ‘ease’ of requesting increase the number of requests we have to deal with? All of this will affect how and when we promote the service. Clearly, our priority will be Final Year students, who use the service to gather material for their Independent Studies. If it works for them, we’ll happily invite the other students to take up the offer. (Maybe I should add here that we do not restrict any category of user from submitting inter library requests, although we do have annual allocations to manage the budget).


I’d be very interested to know what you have done with online requesting. And any good marketing ideas you’ve had, inspired by Interlend 2014 of course!  Which brings me to…..cake…..


    photo: Cycling cupcakes, cafe, The Hive

Friday 5 September 2014

Consortiums and Cost Savings: LINC-y-Gogledd



For my second blog post ever, I’m introducing you to the North Wales Libraries Partnership (NWLP) Inter-Library Loan (ILL) consortium, LINC y Gogledd (LINC Libraries in Cooperation; funded by Welsh Government). Perhaps not the most riveting topic on the planet, but cost-savings connected to consortiums may keep you reading, especially if the words ‘cost-savings’ are strategically placed a few times in the first couple of paragraphs. 



LINC partners, all thirteen of them, comprise of college, government, university, public, specialist and workplace partners, totalling 80-90 libraries by the time you include every public and campus library (it’s fair to say the devil does not make work for my proverbial!). Partners, all thirteen of them, share their resources free. Why? I guess, more importantly than anything else, the consortium widens access to collections – any user can have the books they want, free of charge, delivered, free of charge, to the library they specify. In addition, LINC allows the public to join college and university libraries and borrow in person (also free) – people just need a signed referral form and they’re good to go! Anyhow, before I divert…The consortium also provides a better service to the customer, allows partners to meet Welsh Government objectives (shared services and sustainability are 2 of the strategic objectives in the Welsh Government Libraries Inspire strategy), and saves partners money (at least £200k since 2010, potentially double).

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/museumsarchiveslibraries/cymal/libraries/librariesinspire/?lang=en 

For any readers whose attention may have been grabbed by consortiums and cost-savings and have opted to read on, if you are now wondering whether it’s worth considering a consortium for your service, the quick answer is, yes, it is, especially if your service borrows considerable numbers of ILL.



If, readers, you are now wondering how and where the cost savings come from, I’ll elaborate presently, I just need to provide some background (I’m not trying to keep you reading/dangling, honestly; it’s just difficult to explain without putting you at least somewhat in the picture – and you may need to persevere here for a tiddly minute)…



LINC began in 2002 with:
  -   Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd public library services (who share a catalogue) and Bangor University Library;, quickly followed by:  
  -   Coleg Menai and Coleg Llandrillo (now Grŵp Llandrillo-Menai).

LINC was doing pretty well, so, in 2007, LINC expanded to:
  -   Denbighshire and Flintshire public libraries (who share a catalogue), with intentions to expand to (it needed a little help from there, which is why I was employed!):
  -   Wrexham public libraries, Glyndŵr University and the former Yale College Wrexham (now part of Coleg Cambria. We have to specify ‘Wrexham’ so we don’t get into trouble with Yale College in the US of A!);
  -   The former Deeside College (now also part of Coleg Cambria);
  -   Any other library/ies within the region – Gladstone’s Library, Wales’ National Writers’ Centre Tŷ Newydd, and Natural Resources Wales (confused yet?!).

Anyway, in LINC’s early days, only 71 items were borrowed via ILL across the then partnership. Five years later, following the 2007 expansion to Denbighshire and Flintshire, there were almost 5,000 recorded items borrowed (there are many thousands more we don’t record, more info if you battle on through the blog post!). Approximately 3,800 of recorded ILL were sourced from BLDSC and sources external to LINC. Approximately 1,000 were borrowed within LINC. At this point, BLDSC was supplying 40% of all ILL across the partnership. Before I get bogged down with (anymore?) unnecessary detail about whether partners provide ILL as a free/subsidised service to the customer or recuperate the full ILL cost, it’s easier to strip it back to basic maths and leave you to fill in the gaps:
  -   3,800 books x CONARLS @ £5.50 minimum = almost £21k minimum, excluding return postage and packaging (easily £1 per item);
  -   3,800 books x BLDSC @ £10 maximum = £38k maximum, excluding p&p.

Basically, ILL was costing the then partners around £21-£38k per annum and the consortium wasn’t saving the partners a tremendous amount. However, by the time LINC became embedded in the newer partners and the all-Wales library catalogue was alive, kicking and embedding nationwide (ILL across Wales went crazy, with significant increases of 300-400% in some instances), the cost savings started kicking in too…

In 2011-12, over 7,300 items were borrowed across the partnership, with more than 4,400 items sourced within LINC. In 2012-13, almost 7,300 items were borrowed, almost 5,000 within LINC. Now do the maths, because this is where the cost-savings come from (got there in the end, albeit perhaps a little long-windedly!):
  -   2011-12:
  • 4,400 x CONARLS @ £5.50 = £24k minimum excluding p&p;
  • 4,400 x BLDSC @ £10.50 = £46k excluding p&p;
  • 4,400 in LINC = NIL!
Copyright 2014 Tagxedo
  -   2012-13:
  • 5,000 x £5.50 = £27k minimum excluding p&p;
  • 5,000 x £10.50 = £52k excluding p&p;
  • 5,000 in LINC =NIL!
These figures would have carried on into 2013-14 if the all-Wales catalogue hadn’t been beset with technical issues (new catalogue imminent) and the universities hadn’t changed their catalogue search defaults (due to confusion with electronic resource access). Despite ILL decreasing slightly, 63% of total ILL were sourced within LINC (saving partners £45k+) and BLDSC supplied:
  -   8% of LINC partner total ILL (bit of a decrease from 40%, sorry BLDSC!)
  -   0.6% of total authority partner loans, amounting to 65 items, which has crashed down.



However, these figures only tell half the story; savings are potentially double. Capturing the number of ILL between public library partners that share catalogues (i.e. ILL between Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd public libraries; and ILL between Denbighshire and Flintshire public libraries) is extremely tedious and time-consuming, so, figuring there are better ways for staff to spend their time and more responsible ways to spend the taxpayer’s money, we don’t do it! Educated guesses from ILL staff put the number of books within the “thousands and thousands” per annum, so, whatever numbers have been thrown around in this post, you can probably conservatively add another 3,000-4,000 items per annum that are not recorded in the current ILL figures.


Pixabay
Further cost-savings come from postage and packaging. Postage cost, there is none. Packaging is reused repeatedly (and I mean repeatedly! It’s not unusual to see envelopes/boxes with label upon label upon label sellotaped on top of each other (actually, scrap piece of paper upon scrap piece of paper upon scrap piece of paper etc.!), which is more environmentally responsible too!   
The next question that may be floating around heads of discerning readers who have made it through this blog post so far, is, if not via postage, how are the thousands of books that float around the north Wales region transported. The answer will follow in a mo, it may first be of interest to you that we do not depend on grants to maintain LINC, it’s self-sustaining; and the added cost for the LINC delivery mechanism was, and remains, minimal. The cost per item delivered was examined in 2011, working out at 0.57p per item, including staff time. So, to address any questions  re delivery...

A delivery network of vans created by tweaking existing delivery routes, connects the libraries across the region. This was my first role for the NWLP. All I had to do was work out how to transport an item from A to B quickly. It involved introducing hubs, interchanges and sites for main hubs/sub-hubs/request stops to ensure onward connections. Working with existing systems kept added costs to a minimum and provided a robust, sustainable delivery mechanism that connected the libraries across the region. Though fuel has increased since 2011, ILL has also increased, which is great as it brings the cost per item delivered down further. Plus, savings outweigh the extra mileage and working within existing systems meant that our carbon footprint barely increased.

Perhaps readers may question how universities/colleges benefit from the partnership. The universities joined LINC to reach students living at a distance from the institutes, students on placements (e.g. nursing/social work), distance and part-time learners, and offer their students a better service by increasing the resources on offer (it also served to engage communities and widen access to their collections, but as that is not so relevant here and it’s hard to find a smooth link, I thought I’d bang it in brackets!). Bangor and Glyndŵr Universities also borrow approximately 1,500 items per annum from each other, as well as sourcing items from LINC public/college/specialist libraries (many stock key academic textbooks). Glyndŵr Uni borrows 93%+ of all ILL through LINC; Bangor University, 58-70% within LINC.


Some FE colleges borrow 100% of their ILL within LINC, and we’re talking a few hundred items. And public library staff have reported noticeable cost decreases, with some borrowing few ILL outside the partnership.


Here, I will re-cap and, perhaps, pre-empt your next possible ponderings/concerns…
  -   Consortiums are sustainable, environmentally responsible, widen access to collections and provide a better service to your customers, no matter what your sector;
  -   Consortiums can help you save the equivalent of every ILL charge plus return postage, minus charges to the customer, e.g. if your service does not charge the customer, you’re saving the full going CONARLS/BLDSC rate (sorry BLDSC!) minus the item delivery cost, which can be as little as 0.57p or even less!; 
  -   LINC is not the only ILL consortium in Wales so there is more than one model should you wish to consider consortiums further. One regional partnership uses a courier, which is also very cost effective; 
  -   84% of 394 test journeys were delivered in same-3 days; 94% within a week. Our customers are very happy, we’ve done surveys!;
  -   Procedures are pragmatic and simple (item is ordered via respective internal procedures, taken off the shelf, labelled and put on the respective delivery van);
  -   Paperwork, minimal;
  -   Financial admin, diddly squat (staff love us for that!);
  -   Partners retain their own policies (e.g. restrictions, loan periods, number of books etc.);
  -   No, you would not suddenly be left with empty shelves and a limited selection for your regular customers, you actually have more to offer them;
  -   No, you would not suddenly be swamped with thousands of requests you don’t have the staff capacity to deal with, it takes three years before ILL increases noticeably and simplified ILL procedures save time anyway!; 
  -   If you want to know more, get in touch!
  
I will end this post from a personal perspective. I’m doing a distance learning MSc with Aberystwyth University and I use LINC myself. I can order the vast majority of textbooks I need in the local library or online, and I don’t have to stray far from my own front door to pick them up (in fact I'm expecting some to arrive today!). Or, I can drive to the nearest college or university to get the textbook I need immediately. It saves me a whole world of pain and I have more time to write assignments, in between lengthy blog posts, although it wouldn’t be a wish wasted if I wished I could write 1,700 words for an assignment as quickly as I can knock them up for a blog. Maybe I have found my calling and a new cyber-social-banter-blogger has been born!

Enjoy the weekend.
Hwyl (goodbye in Welsh) 'til next time,  
Claudia