Reviewing Processes in Collection Management

Reviewing Processes in Collection ManagementSandra BracegirdleHead of Collection ManagementUniversity of ManchesterStart off with a few pictures to liven up the post lunch slump1What this talk cant do:2Not the silver bullet

3Nor the Holy Grail.

4Not even a magic wand:

5What this talk can do:Focus on three examples of what has worked for one academic library in the area of Collection Management:Acquiring material Cataloguing costsShelf-ready

Not got all the answers6Collection Management at ManchesterAcquisitionCataloguingProcessing and TransportationStock and LogisticsConservation and BinderyDocument Supply

Impetus for changeMerger of Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST 2004Co-location of processes - 2007Restructure of Library 2008/09New staffStaff in different postsClearer structuresNew Library strategyFinancial Pressures - ongoing

Some background8Barriers to changeLow turnover of staff, although conversely this means we have experienced and dedicated teamsLong established ways of doing thingsPrint dominating processes Dewey schemes and individual shelfmarksTransportation

Will be familiar to many. Confession time on Dewey9The beginning of the process acquiring materialPurchasingBudgetsFinancial controlASPI

A work in progress10The beginning of the process acquiring materialPurchasing BudgetsFinancial controlASPIReflecting the switch from print to electronic in our workflows Replicating printLMSERMThe beginning of the process acquiring materialPurchasing BudgetsFinancial controlASPIReflecting the switch from print to electronic in our workflows Replicating printLMSERMStill not right so whats next?More workLEANBudget analysisValue for moneyChanging mindsetsContinuous review

Acquiring by donation the bane of a librarians life

One area which has been a success14Donations The out of date textbooks

Donations The out of date textbooksThe weird and wonderful gifts

Donations The out of date textbooksThe weird and wonderful giftsThe amazing collection which turns out to be glass lantern slides, newspaper cuttings, Zoroastrian books in Pahlavi script

Donations The out of date textbooksThe weird and wonderful giftsThe amazing collection which turns out to be glass lantern slides, newspaper cuttings, Zoroastrian books in Pahlavi scriptBooks stored in a damp basement / garage / shed

Donations the impactAssessment

Donations the impactAssessmentJumping the cataloguing queue

Donations the impactAssessmentJumping the cataloguing queueCleaning and conservation work

Donations the impactAssessmentJumping the cataloguing queueCleaning and conservation workStorage

Donations the impactAssessmentJumping the cataloguing queueCleaning and conservation workStorageMore stock is no longer a sign of status

Getting the message across that free to give isnt free to acquire

Using lifecycle costsUsing the principles established by Helen Shenton of the British Library on lifecycle costs

Shenton, H. Life cycle collection management. Liber quarterly, 13 (2003) p.254-272

Using lifecycle costsLifecycle costs at Manchester:23.02 per book based on a 10 year provision.

Using lifecycle costsLifecycle costs at Manchester:23.02 per book based on a 10 year provision.Cost breakdown:Selection/Assessment: 3.20Acquisition processing: 2.57Cataloguing: 7.29Collection care: 1.57 (or 6.89 if repair required)Storage: 7.90 (based on 10 years)Average transport costs: 0.49

Using lifecycle costsThe question is therefore reframed as Is this collection of 500 books worth 11,535 to the Library?Using lifecycle costsGives library staff the language to say no

Using lifecycle costsGives library staff the language to say noMakes asking for cataloguing funding and conservation costs more transparent

Using lifecycle costsGives library staff the language to say noMakes asking for cataloguing funding and conservation costs more transparentControllable workflows and ability to prioritise the important, rather than the recently arrived

Using lifecycle costsGives library staff the language to say noMakes asking for cataloguing funding and conservation costs more transparentControllable workflows and ability to prioritise the important, rather than the recently arrivedDrop in the number and increase in the quality of donations received

Using lifecycle costsGives library staff the language to say noMakes asking for cataloguing funding and conservation costs more transparentControllable workflows and ability to prioritise the important, rather than the recently arrivedDrop in the number and increase in the quality of donations receivedDonations have fallen by 60% in 3 years

Example 2: Cataloguing costsMoving from perfection to efficiency without losing quality

Cataloguing costsSince 2006 cataloguing staffing costs have reduced by a thirdMoving work down the grades Doing more with less staff as record quality improvesOver 90% of our records for standard material are derived from other sources Talisbase, RLUK database, OCLCEarly Retirement/Voluntary Severance schemeNot replacing posts or replacing at a lower grade

Changes in directionGood enough is good enough

Changes in directionGood enough is good enoughMoved staff to work on the rare and uniquecataloguing of special collections has doubled over the last 3 years Changes in directionGood enough is good enoughMoved staff to work on the rare and uniquecataloguing of special collections has doubled over the last 3 years Graded uncatalogued collections Clarity on what we have the capacity to catalogue

Changes in directionGood enough is good enoughMoved staff to work on the rare and uniquecataloguing of special collections has doubled over the last 3 years Graded uncatalogued collections Clarity on what we have the capacity to catalogueRLUK shared cataloguing report due to report shortly

Issues still facingClassification and shelf-listingPoor quality of metadata for electronic material, particularly e-booksUncatalogued collections

Example 3: Shelf-readyShelf-ready pilotPilot project carried out for Business and Management stock going to the Business Library

Shelf-ready pilotTested three assumptions:Faster supply time order to receiptFree up staff for other workMay not deliver sufficient benefits to be worthwhile (we were sceptical)

Shelf-ready pilotTested three assumptions:Faster supply time order to receipt Free up staff for other work May not deliver sufficient benefits to be worthwhile (we were sceptical)

Shelf-ready pilotTested three assumptions:Faster supply time order to receipt Free up staff for other work May not deliver sufficient benefits to be worthwhile (we were sceptical)

Shelf-ready pilotTested three assumptions:Faster supply time order to receipt Free up staff for other work May not deliver sufficient benefits to be worthwhile (we were sceptical)

Setting up shelf-readyWe hugely underestimated the complications of setting up the shelf-ready pilot

Setting up shelf-readyWe hugely underestimated the complications of setting up the shelf-ready pilotData flows - Liaising between our book supplier (Dawsons), the LMS (Talis), and our own IT support team

Setting up shelf-readyWe hugely underestimated the complications of setting up the shelf-ready pilotData flows - Liaising between our book supplier (Dawsons), the LMS (Talis), and our own IT support teamNew workflows

Setting up shelf-readyWe hugely underestimated the complications of setting up the shelf-ready pilotData flows - Liaising between our book supplier (Dawsons), the LMS (Talis), and our own IT support teamNew workflowsStaff training

Setting up shelf-readyWe hugely underestimated the complications of setting up the shelf-ready pilotData flows - Liaising between our book supplier (Dawsons), the LMS (Talis), and our own IT support teamNew workflowsStaff trainingDelivery services

Setting up shelf-ready

Costs Additional charges from Talis for services relating to shelf-readyProcessing costs from suppliersDawson charge 15p (compared with our in-house costs of 19.5p per item)We supplied labels, 3M security strips and bookplatesImpact on bookfunds

Theses costs 541. Faster supply time order to receiptOrder to availability was faster by an average of 13.56 days

1. Faster supply time order to receiptOrder to availability was faster by an average of 13.56 days

Average times reduced from 32.66 days to 19.1 days

1. Faster supply time order to receiptVariables:Standard English-language textbooks

1. Faster supply time order to receiptVariables:Standard English-language textbooks Relatively small quantity of material in pilot (545 items)

1. Faster supply time order to receiptVariables:Standard English-language textbooks Relatively small quantity of material in pilot (545 items)Actual days rather than working days

1. Faster supply time order to receiptVariables:Standard English-language textbooks Relatively small quantity of material in pilot (545 items)Actual days rather than working daysWorkflow changes meant that time for some processes was now prior to the order being placed

2. Free up staff time for other workThe Purchasing Team saved time unpacking boxes and receipting items. However this work moved to staff in the Business Library

This would be a problem for the Main Library due to the scale612. Free up staff time for other workThe Purchasing Team saved time unpacking boxes and receipting items. However this work moved to staff in the Business Library Metadata Teams saved time on classification as the Dewey 22 number was normally already in the Marc record2. Free up staff time for other workThe Purchasing Team saved time unpacking boxes and receipting items. However this work moved to staff in the Business Library Metadata Teams saved time on classification as the Dewey 22 number was normally already in the Marc recordProcessing Team had the most significant saving of time and were able to add more variety to their work by taking on other tasks2. Free up staff time for other workThe Purchasing Team saved time unpacking boxes and receipting items. However this work moved to staff in the Business Library Metadata Teams saved time on classification as the Dewey 22 number was normally already in the Marc recordProcessing Team had the most significant saving of time and were able to add more variety to their work by taking on other tasksTransportation team had some savingsBut still need to deliver to Business School643. May not deliver sufficient benefitsWe were wrong!3. May not deliver sufficient benefitsWe were wrong!Customers received a much improved service3. May not deliver sufficient benefitsWe were wrong!Customers received a much improved serviceStaff viewsCollection Management staff felt that they were delivering a better serviceBusiness Library staff felt they could cope with a scaled up version and were keen to continueOnly one negative comment which came from outside the Departments involvedWhat next?Expand shelf-ready to all Business Library materialExpand to other subject areas using Dewey 22Investigate University of Central Lancashires automated receipting via the book sorter

For the Main Library68ConclusionKeep an open mindConstant reassessing and reviewing does make a differenceStaff engagement and buy-in is importantSmall changes can have a big impactLearn from others