User Services Leader Weekly Report
Date: 17 Dec 2008
Name: Elin Waagen – Workgroups: Circulation, Stacks, Reserves
Stats:
24/7 stats:
Total gate count – coming and going: 4,812
Total head count – 5,134
Figures reflect general activity level – gate activity and headcounts may reflect same individuals
Hiring Activity
Main: Hired 5 new students for WT and SP 09 semesters. They have taken 16 shifts for J term. There are still 10 empty slots for J term.
Armstrong: 20 slots to fill
Circ Goals: (Progress noted below)
Goal: Develop reliable and accurate measurements at circulation service points to document activity and quality of services.
Goal: Develop regular schedule and content for student training; increase staff supervision skills; increase ability of student workers to work independently utilizing good judgment; formalize and improve consistency of documentation, supervision and training by Circ supervisors; consistent expectations and knowledge base of student workers and supervisors across all branches.
Goal: Increase opportunity for collaboration and communication with Public Safety
Goal: Create effective schedule of Circ meetings and paths of communication within workgroup
Goal: Reduce error rate at check-in/check-out and re-shelving.
Goal: Develop Media Materials Workflow.
Goal: Develop workflow policies/processes and standards for removing personal data from loaner equipment.
Goal: Design and develop borrower services and staff efficiencies in concert with other LIS work areas to support the college strategic directions
Goal: Increase use of self-check machine at Main for routine check-out of books
Goal: Develop a proposal for staffing plan; LIS services, circulation workflows for Davison Library during BLSE and BLWC Summer 08
Goal: Complete major collections shift on upper level at Main
Goal: Collaborate of space improvements at all locations
Goal: Expand loaner equipment services at all branch libraries
Music – lock installed on the equipment cabinet at Music in preparation for laptops
Goal: Develop workflow policies/processes and standards for removing personal data from loaner equipment
Goal: Design and develop borrower services and staff efficiencies in concert with other LIS work areas to support the college strategic directions:
Goal: Create effective schedule of Circ meetings and paths of communication within work group:
Goal: Collaborate of space improvements at all locations
Progress on Goals:
Goal: Develop regular schedule and content for student training; increase staff supervision skills; increase ability of student workers to work independently utilizing good judgment; formalize and improve consistency of documentation, supervision and training by Circ supervisors; consistent expectations and knowledge base of student workers and supervisors across all branches.
• Main – using consistent training checklist; all 5 new hires will have completed a 11/2 hr orientation; and will have completed 2 shifts with more seasoned students before their scheduled shifts begin
Goal: Increase opportunity for collaboration and communication with Public Safety
• Troubleshooting locks/doors with PS this week resulted in positive outcome;
Goal: Develop workflow policies/processes and standards for removing personal data from loaner equipment.
• “Delete Files Before Return” labels now affixed to most FS Dells and FW drives; one step in reducing amount of private information left on Library equipment
Goal: Design and develop borrower services and staff efficiencies in concert with other LIS work areas to support the college strategic directions
• Gathered user stats; Info Desk schedule planning
• Lock installed on the equipment cabinet at Music in preparation for laptops available at Music for borrowing
• Print management meeting
Highlights:
• 24/7 exam hours at Main – a successful conclusion; very smooth; student employees did a fabulous job covering the night shift
• Successful end or term and exam periods at all branches
• Flexing staff schedules to fill gaps at all circ desks
• End of term peak activity: Circ mailbox; overdue questions, borrowers off campus with overdue materials; requests for extended loans; billing questions; claims returned materials; recalled/overdue materials left in libraries – not returned to circ desk; damaged/lost NExpress; overdue ILL’s; notice issues;
• Equipment: Coordinating deletion of approx 70 “being repaired” and “lost and paid” equipment items in Mill (will result in much tidier records for our borrowers to view in MIDCAT); evaluating replacement needs; juggling Winter Term faculty laptop reservations
• Reserves: Discuss/evaluate ERes and the use of electronic subscriptions: Subscriptions expiration dates: This semester we experienced a couple instances resulting in no longer having access to some electronic journals due to subscription expiration (ex. issues for the most recent 10 years). We have no control over this. Faculty should be able to provide back up copies, if needed
• Reserves: Downloading PDF vs.. providing stable link: Although most licenses permit one semester use of PDFs, we will continue to provide stable links to articles instead
• Reserves: Review reserves policies and procedures to insure reliable reserves back-up support at Main Library; mini refresher course on Eres processing at Main (in anticipation of reserve coverage gaps during planned vacations)
• Armstrong: Armstrong busy, busy with exam studying, papers, etc. during last week of exams; most equipment working; lots of book returns; no overdue reserve problems
• Student Schedules – Winter and Spring schedules updated on Outlook; many gaps to fill; staff able to cover exam schedule gaps at Arm
• Music: Collected reserve stats and cleared reserve shelves
• Stacks: Peak re-shelving activity at all locations; mountains of returns
Challenges
• Student schedule confusion – some missed shifts due to exams, illness, stress, lack of sleep…
• Armstrong – Covering extended exam hours, and student sub requests
• Main – to successfully fill the remaining open shifts for Winter and Spring semesters and provide complete training before actual shifts occur
• Printing issues on Sunday, affecting all four printers at Main — issues not reported to Circ, borrowers sent to Sunderland to print instead (Sunderland out of paper)
• Unable to meet long-term data storage needs/requests for students working on projects lasting longer than one or two weeks