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Stanford University Libraries Redesign Report
Process Change 8
Serials Processing
Process Change 8 Check-in
all serials on-line in the service
units.
Assumptions
- A central serials control database will
eliminate the need for duplicate (i.e., both
central and local) serials mail-handling,
check-in, and records maintenance
processes.
Activity / Transactions Eliminated
- Mail handling and check-in
-
Eliminate duplicate mail-handling and
check-in process
Mail handling: 235,000 transactions
Check-in: 235,000 transactions
- Records maintenance
-
Eliminate manual maintenance of serials
records
Records maintenance 5,200 transactions
Check-in of serial issues is accomplished
on-line in the existing local system. Serial
issues are mailed directly to the service unit or
to the central Mailroom for immediate routing to
the service unit indicated on the mailing label.
At that location, staff input standard data for
issue received in the on-line record.
The Team observed that currently all serials
are received, checked in and maintained twice,
with the exception of 8,000 annuals headed
directly to Green Stacks. Serials first are
checked in via a central card file in order to
have a single record of holdings for reference,
for claiming, and for payment. Serials are
checked in again at the service units to provide
ready access to the service unit's holdings and
to monitor receipt for submitting claims to
central receiving.
Implementing an on-line file which all
interested units could access to support their
information needs eliminates duplicate staff
effort and the need for duplicate record-keeping.
Decentralizing serial processing eliminates
physical hand-offs and puts serials check-in
under the immediate control of the service
unit.
A practical consideration in the current
environment deserves note here, since this remedy
is not as simple as it may be obvious. The Team
revisited the serial check-in alternatives
supported by the current local system and agreed
with an earlier Task Force which concluded that
the serial check-in module (LSER) is too unwieldy
to be worth the effort for us.
The alternative in the current environment, to
use the Order/Pay/Receipt record, is not ideal
but has been proven to be workable in other
research libraries; the Team believes it is well
worth the effort to use this means to build the
needed central on-line file. Delaying this
process change until a new, improved library
management system is in place delays the
organizational redesign and the cost savings; the
Team advocates moving forward now.
Note that this process change requires little
programming investment.
- Define standards for data entry
- Mount a retrospective conversion project to
convert summary holdings information from the
central and local serials files to standard
on-line holdings data (MHLD) in the on-line
system
- Notify vendors of change in "ship to"
addresses
- Support Keyword indexing in library
management system to facilitate finding titles
for check-in
- Identify and resolve space and equipment
needs in the service units
- Determine what other aspects of serials
management are best managed in the service
units rather than centrally (e.g., first
claims, subsequent claims, payment,
ordering)
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Last modified:
August 8, 2005 |
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