University Libraries
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Item Effectiveness of Borrowing Ebooks via Interlibrary Loan(2022-06-09) Norton, Brynne; Chen, AshleyHow effective are we at borrowing ebooks via interlibrary loan? This is the driving question when evaluating ebook workflows. The increasing desire to borrow materials electronically is reflected in the increasing numbers of ebook requests made via interlibrary loan (ILL) at UMCP. Ebooks are challenging to borrow due to publisher licensing restrictions as well as software limitations which can lead to low fill rates. In response to the pandemic and an increased necessity for digital over print materials, we established an ebook workflow which included increased decision points and communications with patrons when an ebook could not be borrowed. This new workflow privileged customer service with an offer to request a portion of an item or a number of chapters. This was vital work during the pandemic due to the limitations of physical items. Once the library re-opened we asked ourselves if this workflow was sustainable with the increased staff workload combined with how effectively UMCP can borrow ebooks. Fill rates, displayed via graphs, of ebooks and book chapter requests during FY21 and FY22 were calculated and evaluated quantitatively to determine effectiveness over time according to workflow. Qualitative feedback from a user survey done in April 2022 has results coded and displayed via a chart. These measures combined with an analysis of the workflow, shown via diagrams, demonstrate that borrowing ebooks via ILL is rising in effectiveness. Therefore, returning to the original workflow in managing ebook requests is reasonable and reduces staff workload.Item Remote Control: Managing ILL during the COVID-19 Pandemic(Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Virtual, 2021-08) Norton, Brynne; Woods, LorraineWhat do managers do when their operations, traditionally rooted in access to physical collections, are rapidly shifted to a remote environment? The Head of Resource Sharing and Reserves and the Resource Sharing Coordinator from the University of Maryland will discuss how they transitioned interlibrary loan services and staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Hear about the challenging successes of managing at a distance in addition to tools you can use in your own work including: communication plans, fostering team morale, rethinking long-established workflows, training seasoned and new employees at a distance, all while defining success in a rapidly changing environment.Item Making Change, Increasing Value: Reorganizing Your Access Services Department(2016-08-16) Hackman, Timothy; Greenwell, Paula; Spring, James; Thompson, HilaryIn 2015 the department of Resource Sharing & Access Services at the University of Maryland Libraries undertook a major reorganization with the goals of increasing efficiency, staff engagement, and user satisfaction. Seeking to realign tasks and staff according to function, the year-long project resulted in a new organizational chart and new job descriptions for the majority of the department’s thirty-two staff. This presentation will provide an overview of the theory and methods used to plan the reorganization, and will discuss implementation by focusing on integrations of four once-separate operations: scanning for interlibrary loan and reserves; book retrieval for holds, reserves and interlibrary loan; shipping and receiving for circulation and interlibrary loan; and scheduling for a merged service desk. One year after the reorganization was completed, we will assess the effectiveness of the new model in meeting our goals and share lessons learned for undertaking reorganization at your library.Item Patron-Driven Digitization on a Dime: Collaborative, Affordable Approaches using ILLiad & Aeon(2016-03-16) Thompson, HilaryInspired by the implementation of Aeon in Summer 2014, the Interlibrary Loan Services (ILL) unit at the University of Maryland Libraries sought to more actively contribute to the organization’s goal of expanding digitization. We used the Aeon implementation as an opportunity to build upon, and integrate with, existing workflows across the Libraries’ three divisions, enabling ILL to contribute to digitization efforts in meaningful yet manageable ways. We first partnered with Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) and Digital Conversion & Media Reformatting (DCMR) to digitize university publications and public domain items held in Special Collections through the ILLiad-Aeon photoduplication workflow, then began using ILLiad data to identify public domain items requested from the general collection for outsourced digitization though the Libraries’ Digitization Initiatives Committee proposal process, with both methods resulting in upload to the Internet Archive. For each digitization method this poster will present the workflow; describe the partnerships involved; provide time and cost estimates; and analyze usage of files to determine impact of these efforts.Item Find It Fail: What ILL can tell us about Challenges related to Known Item Discovery(2015-07-30) Thompson, HilaryWhen discovery of known items fail, library users often turn to interlibrary loan for assistance obtaining these materials. At the University of Maryland Libraries, Interlibrary Loan staff members then fill the requests by directing the user to subscription e-resources or items that are freely available on the web. The resulting transactions—approximately 2,500 per year—provide insight into the difficulties encountered by library users in finding and accessing known items online. Data gathered in ILLiad’s Document Delivery module during FY2014 and FY2015 sheds light on which user groups have trouble finding material readily available online and which types of resources most often go undiscovered. Analyzing this data has led the UMD ILL unit to identify several strategies to help users better locate these materials themselves. The poster will cover how we collect this data, specific issues that the data reveals, the actions we are taking in response, and how we hope to measure the success of our efforts to improve known item discovery within the UMD community.Item Find It Fail: What ILL can tell us about Challenges related to Known Item Discovery(2015-06-04) Thompson, HilaryWhen discovery of known items fail, library users often turn to interlibrary loan for assistance obtaining these materials. ILL staff members then “fill” the requests by directing the user to subscription e-resources or items that are freely available on the web. The resulting transactions (approximately 2,500 per year) provide insight into the difficulties encountered by library users in finding and accessing known items online. Using data gathered from ILLiad, I hope to shed light on which user groups have trouble finding material readily available online, which types of resources pose particular difficulty, and generate discussion about how the Libraries can help users learn to locate these materials themselves.