Re: patrons placed REQUESTS - increased workload

["Janet Fine" <janetrfine@xxxxxxxxxx>]

1.10.03

Dear Sue,

We have allowed patrons to reserve items online for about 8 years or so and our patrons love it. We are a mid sized suburban library serving a population of about 40,000 and we process about 70,000 reserves a year.  We allow patrons to request any item, even if the item is on the shelf or billed.  Several times a day, staff reviews the requests and places holds on those items "alive" and in circulation.  Requests for other items, such as those billed, claimsret or lost and paid, are printed and either interloaned, replaced or if unavailable, cancelled. 

We have not increased our staff to handle the reserves,  but I  have reassigned  staff to make phone calls and shelf search.  These tasks have been absorbed into the normal work flow of the day.  We have a fair share of patrons who request items from home or inhouse, and show up once a week or so just to pick up their reserves.  These are our very heavy borrowers and are  pretty easy to please--they know what they want and all we have to do is get it for them--like I said, they love it.  Once your staff is comfortable with the procedures, you might want to have instructions at your opacs and the checkout stations to help  patrons requst items.  Hope this helps.

Janet Fine

Great Neck Library, 159 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck, NY 11023

>From: "Sue Ricedorf"

>Reply-To: innopac@xxxxxxxxxx

>To:

>CC: "Computer Services Dept."

>Subject: patrons placed REQUESTS - increased workload

>Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 11:21:34 -0500

>

> Greetings:

> The Chester County Library System plans to turn on patron placed REQUESTS for the first time on 2/1/03.

> To date, staff are still placing holds for the public. We plan to do a "soft" start, and not publicize the new feature until we have worked out any "kinks"

> in the first few weeks.

>

> One of our concerns is trying to plan for the anticipated increase in volume of work for staff (shelf-checking for the increase in volume of paging slip items, etc.) in the

> seventeen libraries in the county which vary greatly in size. We also realize we will need a larger area for keeping the hold materials to be picked up by patrons.

>

> We would appreciate any information you have on the increased workload you experienced after you first turned on patron placed REQUESTS.

> (What was the percentage of increase in holds placed? How did it impact workload of staff? Did you need to hire more staff?)

>

> Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

> Sue Ricedorf

> Computer Services Department

> Chester County Library

> PH: 610-280-2661

> email: sricedorf@xxxxxxxxxx

>

>

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