GETTING IT RIGHT
reshaping and redesigning
acquisitions and ill workflow in an
academic library
What is the problem?
• Too many request interfaces, out-of-context
Where does the user go?
ILL Request
Purchase Request
Electronic Reserves
Request
Course Reserves
Request
What is the problem?
•
•
•
•
Too many request interfaces, out-of-context
Speculative selection is a lot of manual work
Most collections may never be used
Just-In-Case model is not sustainable
Interlibrary
Borrowing
(+265%)
Interlibrary
Lending
(+126%)
Serials
Purchased
(+42%)
Monograph
s
Purchased
(-7%)
What is the problem?
•
•
•
•
Too many request interfaces, out-of-context
Speculative selection is a lot of manual work
Most collection never used
Just-In-Case model is not sustainable
• Resistance to effectively reduce duplication across
networks
SUNY Union Catalog – Rough Uniqueness Estimates…
Cost of Duplication
As of 12/18/08 over $722 Million
Interlibrary Loan
Service Matures
How much duplication is
critical?
Can we afford Just in Case?
Formats of Unique Titles
*
in an ARL Collection
70%
60%
Percent
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
s
m
at
M
ix
ed
m
at
er
ia
l
er
ia
l
s
s
al
or
di
ng
re
c
un
d
So
Vi
su
ic
M
us
s
M
ap
pu
om
C
g
in
in
u
s
te
r
ou
re
s
ok
Bo
C
on
t
file
e
lik
ok
s
Bo
rc
es
0%
Format
*Data reported represent WorldCat holdings of a private ARL institution.
What is the problem?
•
•
•
•
Too many request interfaces, out-of-context
Speculative selection is a lot of manual work
Most collection never used
Just-In-Case model is not sustainable
• Resistance to effectively reduce duplication across
systems
• Shrinking budgets, rising material costs and
increasing needs
SUNY Geneseo IDS Data
IDS Usage by User Status, 2006-2008
386 , 1%
1,608 , 4%
4,919 , 12%
Undergrads
Faculty
Grad Students
Staff
32,682 , 83%
SUNY Geneseo IDS Data
Loans: Requests & Individual Titles
16,000
14,514
13,574
14,000
12,665
12,649
12,097
11,958
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
2006
2007
Loan Requests Filled
Individual Titles Requested
2008
SUNY Geneseo IDS Data
Loan Requests & Titles with Fees
700
582
600
549
500
462
427
449
414
400
300
200
100
2006
2007
Loan Requests w/ Fees
2008
Loan Titles w/ Fees
SUNY Geneseo IDS Data
Avg. Fees Paid to Nonreciprocal Lenders
$20.00
$18.00
$7,283.25 total
$7,204.28 total
$8,506.76 total
$17.59
$17.06
$16.05
$15.59
$16.00
$15.50
$14.62
$14.00
$12.00
$10.00
$8.00
$6.00
$4.00
$2.00
$2006
2007
Fees per Loan
Fees per Title
2008
SUNY Geneseo IDS Data
• Case study at Geneseo…
– 110 loan requests on April 6, 2008
– 87 could be purchased new or used from Amazon (avg. price: $25.57)
• Over 1/3 cost less than $10 used
• Over 1/5 cost less than $10 new
• Almost half cost less than ARL unit cost for borrowing ($17.50)
• So: our $22,994 could have purchased almost 900 books for
our collection
– 64% of the 1,412 unique titles we paid to borrow
– 33% of the 2,172 titles requested 2 or more times
Collection Development & Acquisitions
at SUNY Geneseo
• Outdated and dusty policies and procedures
• Limited librarian liaison program
• Selection mostly faculty-driven with no
streamlined process
• Periodic cancellation of journals & decreases in
monographic allocation
• Materials budget never matches inflation
• Turnover in department & staffing issues
• Changes in Technical Services
Acquisitions
•
•
•
•
Numerous workflows and procedures
Too many interfaces to request materials
Lost knowledge of vendors' discounts & policies
Systems don’t “talk” to each other
Bottom Line: Each library is unique and shared
best practices are lacking
Why does collection development &
acquisitions processes need redesign?
Workflow problems
Changes in staffing and function
Poorly used collections
Lack of librarian time to do selection
User participation (Web 2.0 anyone?)
Workflow design &
usability issues
Workflow design
Request received
(email, printout,
publisher’s catalog).
Check email, print
email, place in
appropriate folder.
Check budget and
verify in ALEPH.
Verify bibliographic
information in OCLC
Connexion.
Check library and
cooperative libraries’
holdings.
Copy ISBN and check
price of item with
multiple vendors.
Choose vendor
depending on criteria.
Place order with
vendor.
Download record from
OCLC, attach holdings,
export record and
save to local file.
Enter order record in
ALEPH and note
system number on
printout.
Local procurement
forms are processed.
Encumber budget(s).
Technical Services changing
Number of Total Volumes Cataloged
3500
3299
2895
3000
2467
Total Volumes
2500
2113
2000
1445
1500
1000
500
0
2004-2005
* through April of 2009
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009*
Art
Biology
75% 8 uses84%
Chemistry
English
Music
Sociology
60%
80%
045%
uses
88%
Librarian (Milne Collection Building)
68%
Who selected which book for the
collection?
Data-driven collection
development
What is it?
GIST is the Getting It System Toolkit
A system for merging Acquisitions and ILL request workflow using one
interface, allowing for user-initiated requests, coordinated collection
development, acquisitions and interlibrary loan
WHAT IS GIST?
GIST Workflow @ Geneseo
1. User submits
request via ILLiad
web form
2. ILLiad routes
request to
Acquisitions or ILL
3a. Acquisitions
staff purchase if
criteria met, or
else routed to ILL
3b. ILL borrow
unless new/
rare/non-circ &
essential to user
4. Item received,
cataloged, &
placed on holdshelf or in stacks
5. User notified via
ILLiad, picks up
book
Step 1. User submits request via ILLiad request form
Step 1. User submits request via ILLiad request form
Step 1. User submits request via ILLiad request form
•
•
•
Would you recommend Milne Library
purchase this item?
– No response [default]
– Purchase
– Do Not Purchase
– Not Sure
How essential is this to your research?
– No response [default]
– Essential
– Unessential
– Not sure
Why are you requesting this item?
– No response [default]
– Research
– Leisure
– Recommended reading
– Place on Course Reserve
– Essential to discipline
– Other (specify in notes)
Step 1. User submits request via ILLiad request form
Feedback Response, 3/31/09-5/5/09 (n = 5,439)
33 , 0%
88 , 2%
606 , 11%
Loan Requests w/o
Feedback
"Essential"
"Unessential"
"Not Sure"
4,722 , 87%
Step 1. User submits request via ILLiad request form
Status of "Essential" Loans (n = 606)
31 , 6%
3 , 1%
25 , 4%
"Essential" Loans Borrowed
30 , 5%
"Essential" Loans in
Stacks/Storage
"Essential" Loans Unable to
Obtain
"Essential" Requests Still in
Process
"Essential" Loans Purchased
478 , 84%
Step 2. Request is routed by ILLiad
Step 3. Acquisitions staff process ILLiad request
Step 3. Acquisitions staff process ILLiad request
Custom holdings groups
Email routing
Step 4. Acquisitions staff receive and catalog the request, place on hold-shelf
for user
What can be customized?
• Web form
–
–
–
–
Layout & choice to integrate/separate ILL & acquisitions requests
Feedback questions
WorldCat API: library groups you wish to use
Status-specific web pages (Faculty only? Different options for different user
types?)
– Additional widgets?
• Workflow
–
–
–
–
–
Routing rules (you choose criteria)
CCD custom holdings groups
Email templates
Vendors
In ILLiad version 8, custom field names in the client view
GIST is just a tool
You choose and adapt the tool around what works for your
setting.
Library A
Library B
Library C
Library D
GIST used to
enhance ILL
Purchase on
Demand only.
GIST used to
enhance ILL
POD.
GIST used to
enhance ILL
POD.
GIST used to
enhance ILL POD.
GIST also used
only by Librarians
to help their
selection.
GIST also used
by Faculty, with
Librarian Review.
GIST also used by
all users, with some
Librarian review for
certain status.
Collection building
profiles, cooperative
data, and gift
management
features used.
Issues involved with designing and
implementing GIST
Workflow design
Collection Development/Acquisitions specific
ILL specific
Reconciling different philosophies
PROBLEMS/CONCERNS/QUESTIONS?
Tim Bowersox, Information Delivery Services Librarian
bowersox@geneseo.edu
Kate Pitcher, Collection Development Librarian
pitcher@geneseo.edu
CONTACT US