2009- current.  Massachusetts Library System (MLS) has issued an RFP which they hope will result in a unified, label-less, delivery service to over 500 libraries on nine separate ILSs.  The sorting is expected to rely on a link to each ILS at the sort center.  MLS courier and sorting operations are already efficient but the burden on library staff is increasingly unmanageable. The new system must reduce the staff workload inside the libraries while maintaining  the high quality of courier/sorting service MLS libraries have come to expect .

Several large library systems have implemented such systems, e.g., King County and Seattle Public in Washington, and New York Public, but this would be the first multi-ILS system.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for Library Delivery and Sorting Services for Massachusetts Libraries was issued July 15, 2010 by the Massachusetts Library System and is available at http://wp.me/PXRJJ-3T.

I have been working with the Massachusetts libraries since 2008 when I did a statewide delivery and sorting analysis (with Melissa Stockton of Quipu Group).  I continued to work with them to develop this RFP and will be helping to evaluate the response and contract with vendor(s).

I had the thought recently that libraries are like pantries. Sure, they are full of things we get at Costco (just like everyone else) but once they are in our pantry, they feel different somehow. Once they are in my pantry, they are mine. Even though that can of tuna sitting on my shelf was one of hundreds of identical tuna cans at the grocery store, it feels special to me now that it is on my pantry shelf (I’ve also got a Little Prince vibe going here but I’m going to try to stick to this pantry metaphor if I can).

Library books work the same way. Whether the library gets them from a Baker & Taylor or from a library across town or a library across the state, once that book is on my library’s shelf, it feels different from all the other books just like it. When that book I’ve requested arrives, it is mine. Even though it is just one of hundreds of identical copies of that book, it feels special to me now that it is on my library shelf.

Just like that can of tuna on my pantry shelf, that library book is mine until I consume it.

Somehow making this connection to library as pantry helped explain something to me that I knew intuitively was important, but I couldn’t quite put words to. It comes up around the issues of holds, ILL and physical delivery of library material. Is it really worth all our efforts? We know we can never compete with Amazon in terms of how fast the item can get delivered to the customer. And we cannot offer the breadth of items Amazon can. But, even if we can’t compete in those areas, it is important to keep working on getting the right items on our pantry shelves because it really means something to have them there.

Behind the scenes, we may still be getting our food and books from the big box stores but once we place them in our pantries for our people, they are transformed. Those books become our shared bounty. They are there to delight and nourish us.

We can count on that magic to give us the edge over Amazon. All of our efforts to move library material from place to place is worthwhile because when your person comes in and finds just what they wanted right there on their special library shelf, they feel taken care of. They feel special.

And I guarantee you, no one ever feels that way when they buy a book online.

If you care about physical delivery of library material (and I do), you may want to catch this webinar being produced by NISO.

It’s in the Mail: Improving the Physical Delivery of Library Resources
May 12, 2010
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)

I’m going to open the session with a broad discussion of delivery issues in libraries. So, in my twenty minutes, I’m thinking I’ll talk about the increased demand on libraries to provide access to anything anywhere and to do so quickly. The open source trend is providing new opportunities to respond to this demand with better discovery tools and more sharing of systems. Shared systems make the “find and request” side of resource-sharing a slam dunk but this in turn puts a heavier burden on physical delivery. RFID has a role to play too. As the US gets closer to having a data model standard, there are opportunities to use RFID tags to speed up the movement of material and to track and sort it better.

If you have opinions about something I should address, let me know!

wccls.org

2009-current.   Conducting materials handling and collection management analysis. The project will address space shortage issues, materials handling workload, how to reduce turnaround time and expand services, and ways to improve central delivery and sorting.  The analysis will also include a comparison of RFID versus bar codes solutions and provide suggestions for how to implement AMH solutions into their libraries.

2009-current. Assisting with development of RFI/RFP to implement central, automated sort for all Massachusetts regional systems. This project is a follow-up to the delivery evaluation performed in 2008.

This is a slightly redacted version of a study I did (with Melissa Stockton of Quipu Group) on the library delivery system in Massachusetts. We evaluated delivery, sorting, and in-library practices and everything in between. Fascinating reading!

Statewide Library Delivery Study

Now this group is issuing an RFI to get some new ideas about how to optimize this operation. I provided some ideas in the report (centralized, automated sort for entire state) and they are looking for ideas about how to implement that, or maybe there are even better ideas out there.

Contact me if you have some ideas and want a copy of the RFI. We’re planning to distribute it to materials handling vendors, logistics and transportation companies, and some robotics companies. Other ideas???

I’m one of the contributing authors for a new book titled Moving Materials: Physical Delivery in Libraries available from ALA Editions.
Valerie Horton and Bruce Smith are the editors. It’s $70 (crazy high ALA prices) and is available for preorder now.
Here’s how they describe the book:

Picking, packing, delivering, and returning library materials can be very time consuming and expensive; yet, it is one of the most important and least understood functions within a library. Until now, little time has been spent studying, exploring, or writing about the physical delivery of library materials.
Moving Materials is the guide to contemporary logistics management for libraries. Eleven experts in the field explore every aspect of this multi-million dollar function, so readers will learn
- The impact of pricing on delivery services
- Managing in-house delivery systems
- The value of outsourcing physical delivery to a carrier service
- Details about routing and materials management systems
- New technologies and the impact of library 2.0 on physical delivery
Moving Materials is a practical, useful handbook for library managers who want to save money and offer quality materials to their patrons.

mmrls.org
2008.  Evaluated delivery operations of all six regional systems and made recommendations for optimizing services including integrating delivery operation with library system software, consolidating delivery systems and automating sort. Recommendations related to sorting, labeling, and workflow were also included.

2007-current.  Ongoing engagement with library to support IT team and to assist with facility remodel projects. Contract began with evaluation of interlibrary delivery services.

2007-2008.  Managed Home Delivery Pilot project, a project funded by an LSTA grant to evaluate the cost and benefits of providing home delivery for library materials. Project was cancelled due to integration issues with integrated library system.