Interlibrary Loan Continues Efficiency-Enhancing Initiatives

Heather Campbell, Librarian Senior, Interlibrary Loan, and her staff have accomplished many efficiency-enhancing initiatives--and more are on ILL's agenda. Ms. Campbell reports:

While ILL staff members continually look for ways to improve processes and the unit’s workflow, they have also spent the last two years working on projects promoting greater efficiency. Among the strategies we’ve used are:

Reconfiguring the label print templates from the software-supplied templates so that only needed labels are printed.

Using ergonomics to make the workplace safer, healthier, and more efficient. Workstations and shared workspaces have been rearranged to promote wellness and better workflow.

Eliminating unneeded printouts and using the back of outdated flyers, printouts, and fax confirmations for in-house printing.

Including more information on book labels and customer notification slips to help customers understand item loan terms and to provide more customer contact information for staff.

Recycling one-side-printed state courier routing slips as scrap paper for Main Library departments.

Identifying free-lenders of books and copies in Lending and adding them to our free-lenders list in Borrowing. This increased our ability to be able to supply materials without cost to our customers.

Ending the resource-consuming Books By Mail service. This allowed a smaller staff to concentrate more on Interlibrary Loan services.

Exercising stricter oversight in the handling of overdue materials. This provided borrowers with greater incentive for quicker resolution of problems involving ‘not returned’, lost, or damaged materials in both Lending and Borrowing.

Continuing in-unit cross training in processes which gave staff greater confidence when filling in for absent staff members and provided better customer service.

Compiling unit procedures and forms in an ILL Wiki readily retrievable by ILL team members.

Volunteering to be a beta-testing site for the newest version of our Interlibrary Loan management software- ILLiad 8.0. The efficiencies we’ve found so far in this new version include:
· A combined search box. With one click, staff can search for information in both (Lending and Borrowing) processes. This allows us to answer customers’ questions in less time.
· We no longer have to open multiple copies of ILLiad or need to close down or switch out of a single process (Lending or Borrowing) to do work in another. The new tab feature holds our work until we can return to it.
· Print requests automatically go to the proper printer without staff having to designate a printer. This cuts down wasted labels or paper from print-jobs going to the wrong printer and promotes a smoother workflow.
· Routing rules are used to enforce JPL policy. For example, ILLiad ‘looks for’ textbook publishers and puts textbook requests into a cancellation queue. This saves postage, supplies, and costs for items lost in delivery.
· Staff members can arrange ILLiad screens according to their own preferences and work needs. Data in columns can be rearranged for easier viewing. Processes can be color coded for easier identification.
· Customer information became more accessible within ILLiad by using the new tabs feature. Merging new ILLiad accounts with old is easier. This was especially helpful as customers switched to new library cards necessitating re-registering for new ILLiad accounts and merging customer histories into the new accounts.

A trial use of ILLiad WebCirc at Main planned for this year will provide more opportunities to demonstrate efficiency as it will allow customers to receive instant credit for returned ILL materials.