University of Colorado
Libraries
Reconsidering
The Collections/TS Workflow
October 16, 2006
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Our Focus
• Workflow Analysis & Redesign
• Integration of ILS and Vendor Systems
• Training and Animated Tutorials
• Product Analysis & Development for the
Academic Library Market
• Facilitation & Strategic Planning
• Professional Seminars & Workshops
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Our Experience
Libraries
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University of Michigan
Arizona State University
MIT Libraries
University of Utah
University of Minnesota
Middlebury College
Colby College
Oberlin College
University of Texas/Dallas
Appalachian State University
Cushing/Whitney Medical Library,
Yale University
University of Miami
UAB, LHL of the Health Sciences
Denison University
Kenyon College
University of Connecticut
Smithsonian Institution
Vendors
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Blackwell’s
Casalini Libri
CAVAL Collaborative Solutions
Common Ground Publishing
Eastern Book
Ebook Library
Follett Library Resources
HARRASSOWITZ
Innovative Interfaces
Integrated Book Technology
OCLC
RR Bowker
Sage Reference
University of California Press
Xrefer
YBP Library Services
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Why Workflow Redesign?
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Changes in Libraries
Prognostications
Collection Development
Acquisitions/Serials
Cataloging/Discovery
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From the LITA Blog
• 2002 was the year of the blog
• 2003 was the year of the RSS feed
• 2004 was the year of the Wiki
• 2005 was the year of the podcast
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TS Big Heads (January 2006)
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ERM Implementations
Future of Cataloging/Metadata
Casalini Enhanced Cataloging Trial
Link Resolver Implementations
eBook pilot projects
Digitization
Workflow/Process Reviews
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• “Hidden” Collections
• Asian Languages
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Top Tech Trends 2005-6
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Web 2.0/Library 2.0
Storage: Physical and Digital
Blogs, Libraries and Citizen Journalists
E-Books
OPACs, FRBR, and Interface Design
Google Print, Scholar, and Metasearching
User Tagging, Automated Tagging
Digital Rights Management
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Keys to the Future?
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Quality learning spaces
Creating metadata
Virtual reference
Information literacy
Choosing resources & managing licenses
Collecting & digitizing archival materials
Managing a digital repository
Source: Jerry D. Campbell, “Changing a Cultural Icon: The Academic Library as
a Virtual Destination” Educause Review, (January/February 2006) 17-30.
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TAIGA Forum 2006
Provocative Statement #5
“A large number of libraries will no longer have
local OPACs. Instead, we will have entered a
new age of data consolidation (either shared
catalogs or catalogs that are integrated into
discovery tools), both of our catalogs and our
collections.”
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TAIGA Forum 2006
Provocative Statement #11
“Simple aggregation of resources will not be
enough. They have to be specialized for
constituency use and projected into user
environments (my.yahoo, e-portfolio, CMS, RSS
aggregator, podcast). Workflow replaces
database and website as the primary locus of
attention. The library’s role is to project
specialized services into research and learning
workflows.”
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User Expectations
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Changing User Expectations
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NetGen Students
Conditioned by: Amazon, Google, NetFlix
Undergraduates: course-centered research
Strong preference for electronic
Strong preference for full-text, multimedia
Interactivity
Abhorrence of documentation
39% of college students use the library less
since they began using the Internet
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Changing Users
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Peer-to-Peer file sharing, communication
Gaming trial & error approach
Zero tolerance for delay
Group learning; collaboration
CPA
• University of Rochester “work practices”
study
– Dorms, frats, gyms, student union, dining halls,
buses, computer center, library
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Collection Developments
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RCL: Resources for College Libraries (Fall)
WCA: WorldCat Collection Analysis (2005)
OCLC: 26 million items held by 10+ libraries
Coordinated selection of eBooks/pBooks
Increases in A-V, media collecting
“Hidden” Special Collections and Archives
Blogs and other kinetic content
Digital Libraries/Institutional Repositories
Print Journal Cancellations
UC: 93% redundancy in Gov Docs
An “expansive” view of collections
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Janus Conference/CCDO
• RECON: Coordinate conversion of the scholarly
record nationally & internationally
• PROCON: Accelerate the transition to digital
publishing—push publishers to act now
• CORE: Collective definition by research libraries;
collect same core; different advanced materials
• Work collectively in negotiations with publishers
• Archiving: divide responsibility for low-use print;
take back responsibility from publishers for digital
• Create and support alternative channels of
scholarly communication
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Acquisitions/Serials
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More subscriptions, fewer purchases
More cancellations of print serials
ILS Web Services capabilities
Role of the subscription agent
OCLC record number available in some vendor records
Extended consortial history at point of selection/order
Batch checking of orders against holdings
Ability to order eBooks from approval vendor systems
Enhanced cataloging records from Casalini Libri
New title alerts for faculty
Interfaces with University accounting
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Recent Developments
• ILS Web Services capabilities
• OCLC record number available in some vendor
records
• Batch checking of orders against holdings
• Enabling vendor systems as OpenURL Sources
• New title alerts for faculty
• Extended consortial history at point of
selection/order
• Group comparison/monitoring tools
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Cataloging/Access Landscape
• RDA (Resource Description & Access); FRBR
• OPAC: Discover or locate?
• Reduced emphasis on controlled vocabulary (UC
System, Harvard)
• Increased need for non-MARC metadata (MODS, Dublin
Core, VRA Core, EADS, DOI)
• “Satellite” systems for e-resource access (ERMs, A-Z
lists, link resolvers, proxy servers)
• Expansion of outsourced cataloging to Western
European vendors, A-V vendors
• Re-envisioning user search (NCSU, Queens Library)
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Cataloging/Access Landscape
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RLG/OCLC merger
LC Series Authority controversy
Cost of Authority Control
MERLIN/MOBIUS as gateway
WorldCat as gateway
Google Book Search as gateway
Google Scholar as gateway
Federated search as gateway
Enhanced OPAC display; New Items lists
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UC Bib Services Task Force
“The current Library catalog is poorly designed for
the tasks of finding, discovering, and selecting
the growing set of resources available in our
libraries. It is best at locating and obtaining a
known item. […] We offer a fragmented set of
systems to search for published information […],
each with very different tools for identifying and
obtaining materials. For users, these distinctions
are arbitrary.”
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Competitive Advantages
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The Library “brand” (quality assurance)
Breadth & Depth of Print Collections
Special Collections
Metadata and Information Structure
Relationships with Academic Departments
Controlled vocabularies & classification
Locally-produced Original Digital Content
Archiving
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UC-Boulder-FY 2006
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Electronic Resources: 54% of materials budget
$600,000 in print serials cancellations
FY 2006: 36,000 monographs
Key vacancies and recruiting
Blackwell’s; EBSCO(?)
Millennium; III ERM; PeopleSoft
Serials Solutions; WebBridge
Statewide Purchase Plan
CARL; GWLA; CDP; CLiC
Music; East Asia; Business; Engineering, etc
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Library Workflows
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Organizational Structures
• Most libraries not currently organized to fill these roles
• Workflows built on print models
• New competencies needed
• Access management
• Copyright/digital rights
• XML and scripting expertise
• E-Resource Librarian model not scalable
• Need for expertise to reside in systems and processes,
not just people
• New priorities
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The Library Workflow
• Resource Identification
• Selection
• Ordering and Order Tracking
• Receiving and Payment
• Providing Access
– Cataloging
– Record Maintenance
– Physical Prep
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E-Resources Workflow
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Resource Identification
Trials / Decision Tracking
Selection
License Evaluation / Negotiation
Ordering and Order Maintenance
Payment / Pre-payment
Activation / Registration
Cataloging
Holdings Maintenance
Resource Discovery
Access Management
Usage Tracking
Renewals / Cancellations
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Resource Identification
• Searching
• Faculty/Patron Requests
• Approval Plan Profiling
• Notification Services
• Gifts
• Retrospective Lists
• Publisher Announcements
• Critical and Literary Reviews
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Selection
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Approval Book Accept/Reject
Gift Selection/De-selection
Cancellation/Renewal of Journals
Trials of E-Resources/Decision tracking
Use of Vendor Web Databases for electronic
form selection
• Fund Code Assignment
• Format Preference
• Activity visible in ILS or vendor database or
local tracking system
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Ordering
• Duplication Control
• Fund Management
• Order Record Visible in ILS
• Subscription Renewals
• Electronic orders
• Claiming, Substitutions & Cancellations
• License negotiation and signing
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Receiving and Payment
• Verify receipt (match materials to
invoice) and correct errors
• Serials check-in
• Update library system
• Discharge funds
• Approve invoices
• Make payment (university accounting)
• Sort and route materials
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Providing Access
• MARC records
– Produced by library
– Produced by vendor
– Produced by OCLC
• Record Maintenance
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Create Item Records
Set and Display Holdings
Link added copies
Link added volumes
• Shelf Prep
– Binding
– Call Numbers and
Spine Labels
– Theft Detection
– Ownership Stamps
• Electronic Access
– License management
– Link maintenance
– A-Z Lists
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Serving the Patron
• Timeliness AND Accuracy
• Patron services rely on
collections and technical
services working as a whole.
• Workflow changes should
directly benefit the patron.
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What Are Patrons Telling Us?
• More of them want remote access to resources
• There is more and more demand for electronic
resources
• They want simple, effective keyword searching across
heterogeneous resources
• They want links from citations to full-text
• They want 24-hour turnaround on ILL transactions
• “Don’t make me think!”
• How does this all relate to the work of Collections and
Technical Services?
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What is the T/S Workflow Telling Us?
• Let the workflow speak
• Perform a workflow audit
• Establish a “big picture” with
– Flowcharts
– Key Measures
– Specific Costs
• What’s getting done? At what cost?
• What’s not getting done? At what cost?
• Print vs. electronic emphasis?
• Which tasks are most highly valued by
library staff?
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Our Methodology
• Understand the current context
• Overall information environment
• Local
• Identify best “possible” practices
• Demonstrate the benefits
• Plan and implement changes
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R2 Methodology
• Understand the current context
• Identify best “possible” practices
and priorities
• Demonstrate the benefits
• Adjust and implement changes
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R2 Workflow Principles
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Know your costs
Incorporate “systems thinking”
Take full advantage of existing resources
Simplify and standardize requirements
Create a mainstream
Automate the mainstream
Outsource when effective
Establish quantifiable goals
Measure performance
Control quality via sampling
Make strategic choices
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Incorporate Systems Thinking
• ensure a broadly shared “big picture”
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eliminate departmental barriers
teach people to ask “why”
teach people to know “why”
focus on interdependencies
• provide common/shared systems and tools
– eliminate individual solutions
– view for all
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Create a Mainstream
• critical mass of similar activity
• it must be easily understood and recognizable
• always seek to expand the mainstream
– standardize
– consolidate
– eliminate outdated exceptions
• define legitimate exceptions for manual
intervention
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Design a Linear Process
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maximize value added at each stage
complete each stage as early as possible
complete each stage before beginning the next
establish specific requirements for each stage
eliminate hubs - disallow the “expert” mentality
fully document the process
train and cross-train (ensure skill redundancy)
calculate capacity and track throughput
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Automate the Mainstream
• “batch” the work
• understand and fully utilize all features of ILS
• take advantage of vendor services and systems
• use standard data transfer protocols
• reserve human resources for exception
processing, problem solving, and special projects
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Trust the Process
• eliminate paper, use the system
• don’t assign blame, emphasize problem solving
• avoid manual transcription, broaden system access
• never adopt a permanent procedure to review or to
recheck ALL --- use sampling techniques to ensure
accuracy
• accept 98% accuracy: “good enough” vs. perfect
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Establish Quantifiable Goals
• inter-departmental (e.g. dock to shelf)
• echo the library’s mission
• emphasize service to patron
• speed to shelf; accuracy
• be specific (use numbers)
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Measure Performance
• collect Weekly Key Measures
• make them public
• track progress
• predict your workflow
• focus on production
• reward good results
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Make Strategic Choices
• anticipate the future
– short term
– long term
• set priorities
• enable the organization
• stop doing things (so that you can)
• start doing new things
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R2 Methodology
• Understand the current practice
• Identify best “possible” practices
• Demonstrate the benefits
• Adjust and implement changes
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Combined Benefits of Exported Order Records,
PromptCat Records and Expanded Approval Plans
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
current
50,000
proposed
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
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Understand your current practice
• collect documents
• interview staff
• ask questions
• gather your ideas
• understand local systems and tools
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Contact us
603-746-5991
rick@r2consulting.org
ruth@r2consulting.org
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www.ebookmap.net
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