Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow

1. Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow Ohio Library Council Chapter Conferences Spring 2013

2. Robin Nesbitt Director of Collection Management Columbus Metro Library 614.479.3066 rnesbitt@columbuslibrary.org Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

3. Jean Gaffney Manager of Acquisition and Collection Development Dayton Metro Library 937.496.8520 jgaffney@daytonmetrolibrary.org Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

4. Connie Strait Technical Services Supervisor Greene County Public Library Direct: 936.352.4007 ext 6301 cstrait@gcpl.lib.oh.us Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

5. Marilyn Zielinski Technical Services Manager Toledo-Lucas County Public Library 419.259.5262 Marilyn.zielinski@toledolibrary.org Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

6. Have you done a workflow analysis? • YES • Used Staffing for Results by Diane Mayo • Visited other libraries • Used outside consultants Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

7. What changes did you make based on the analysis? • Limit the number of times staff touch materials • Centralized selection • Track, and post, the number of days for materials to get through Tech Services • Re-designed the space for more efficient flow Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

8. How do you communicate with TS and “regular” staff? • Standards are set by the type of work and tied to annual evaluations • Written documentation including manuals/handbooks, wikis, and calendars • Email is sent to all staff when there are changes or reminders that they need to know • Public service staff are encouraged to contact TS supervisors with questions about classification numbers, stickers, or locations Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

9. How much cross-training is done? Are there any limitations? • Union considerations – lower grade levels cannot do work of higher grade levels Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

10. Is selection centralized? • New materials are selected centrally in all libraries • Dayton and Toledo – agencies still select periodicals • Greene County – Branches submit replacement titles Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

11. Is selection part of TS or a separate department? • Columbus and Toledo – selection is part of Tech Services • Dayton – located in TS; three managers in TS report to the Director • Greene County – selection is a separate department that reports to the Assistant Director Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

12. Do selectors use vendor carts or print journals for selection? • Vendor sites • Publisher websites • Blogs • Print journals • Suggestions from staff and customers Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

13. How do other staff and customers make suggestions for purchase? • Forms on website and staff Intranet • Email Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

14. How many vendors do you use? • Two or three primary vendors – Baker & Taylor and Ingram for print plus Midwest Tape for media • Amazon as a secondary vendor • Local purchases • Specialty vendors, especially for local history and genealogy materials Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

15. How do you place orders? • Dayton and Greene County use EDIFACT ordering • Columbus currently places FTP orders overnight to major vendors and orders via websites for others • Toledo orders from vendor websites - ILS bib and order records are entered into the catalog via 9xx uploads Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

16. Are boxes opened the day they arrive? • Yes. The exceptions are for time of arrival and partial shipments Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

17. How do materials move through TS? • Columbus uses a production line that is composed of rollers. Turn around time is 3 – 4 days. • Dayton, Greene County and Toledo all put materials on book trucks. Materials are generally handled in order of receipt but rush/haste items go to the head of the line. Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

18. Do you use copy catalogers or MLS catalogers? • Columbus has five staff members – 2 with an MLS, 2 with bachelor degree, and 1 para-professional • Dayton has six staff members – 2 MLS, 2 grade 2, and 2 grade 1 • Greene County has four staff members – 3 MLS and 1 copy cataloger • Toledo has a Catalog Supervisor (MLS) and 4 ½ copy catalogers Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

19. Where do you get catalog records? • Columbus and Dayton use OCLC • Greene County and Toledo use SkyRiver • All do original cataloging as needed • Toledo also creates some generic records for paperbacks such as Harlequin Romances and add many titles to these generic records Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

20. Do you accept brief records from vendors? • Columbus does not currently accept brief vendor records • Greene County accepts brief records and does not require full records • Dayton and Toledo accept brief records and replace them (overlay) with full records Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

21. What changes do you make in records? • Classification numbers • Price • Subjects • Location • Pagination • Local customization • Authority records as needed Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

22. What physical processing do you get from vendors? • All libraries have vendors add mylar jackets • Media has a variety of vendor processing which can include barcode, library ID, genre labels, item count labels, hub label, and security case Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

23. Did you evaluate stickers? • All libraries evaluated stickers • All libraries standardized and reduced the number of stickers Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences

24. What 1 piece of advice would you give to others? • Columbus – Always ask the question “why do we…”? If you can’t answer “to make it easy for customers to get access”, then analyze • Dayton – Good workflow pays off in excellent customer service. Patrons find materials in a timely manner and the library provides “just in time collection” • Greene County – Talk frequently to all staff and buy pizza • Toledo – Plan, prioritize, involve staff and do changes that are low-hanging fruit so staff can see changes Best Practices in Technical Services Workflow 2013 OLC Chapter Conferences