Collection Management Workflows: The Cart versus the Horse

Graham Stone – Information Resources Manager, University of Huddersfield, UK

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

#JiscHIKE

HIKE ProjectHuddersfield, Intota, Knowledge Base+ Evaluation

• Jisc funded project to evaluate Intota and Knowledge Base+ (2012-2013)– To investigate and evaluate the possibility of integrating data

flows between KB+ and local knowledge bases at Huddersfield and the knowledgebase behind Intota

– To evaluate the suitability and potential of Intota as a replacement to the traditional LMS in the UK market and make recommendations for further enhancements to Proquest

Project Bloghttps://library3.hud.ac.uk/blogs/hike/

Legacy systemsCriticisms of the traditional LMS

• Inability to deal with the changing formats of resources, digital resources have superseded print collections often leading to complaints by staff that the system is not up to the job

• Confusion created by the different interfaces encountered by users as they search for information. Users familiar with the ease of searching the internet desire the same ease when searching the library for information

Yongming, Wang and Dawes, Trevor A., The next generation Integrated Library System: a promise fulfilled, Information Technology and Libraries, September 2012, 76-84.

WorkflowsStarting backwards

• Our systems are still based on print

• Before we can understand what we need to have in a new system, we need to understand what we do now– Limitations of existing systems– Pressure points

WorkflowsAnalysis

• We undertook an analysis of the workflows in the Acquisitions and the Journals teams at Huddersfield– Create a ‘wish list’ that highlighted a number of features of the

workflows, which it was felt should be addressed by ProQuest– Find efficiencies/streamlining for new workflows

• What we can do know• A ‘ideal workflow’

WorkflowsE-resources

• Mapped e-resource workflows as part of the ‘Shared ERM requirements project’…

WorkflowsE-resources

TERMS: Techniques for Electronic Resource Managementhttps://library3.hud.ac.uk/blogs/terms/

WorkflowsAcquisitions

WorkflowsVertical analysis showing complexity

Based on Mumford, Enid, Designing Human Systems for New Technology: The ETHICS Method, Manchester, Manchester Business School, 1983.

1. Operating activities

2. Problem prevention/solution

3. Co-ordination activities

4. Development activities

5. Control activities

WorkflowsLooking for efficiencies for acquisitions

• A new system would have to:– Streamline the ordering processes– Reduce the number of systems used and creating efficiencies

while ordering– Create efficiencies in the initial ordering process– Reduce delays in order to shelf time– Provide instant access to e-books– Provide improved reporting features on the acquisitions module

The final report…or starting point!

• Provided a list of recommendations and implications for:– KB+– ProQuest– Jisc– Wider community– University of Huddersfield

Moving forwardDe-duplication in the workflow

• Interoperability with systems and suppliers through a series of APIs and good old fashioned communication!– Book/Journal suppliers and vendors– Finance systems– Student records– Reading list software– Library Analytics– Professional bodies– National libraries

Thank youhttp://library.hud.ac.uk/blogs/projects/hike/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

#JiscHIKEhttp://eprints.hud.ac.uk/19459

• HIKE report: http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/17976/

• Graham Stone: g.stone@hud.ac.uk