Strategic Technology Planning Report

For

The Library Network

March 23, 2007

Prepared by:

Joseph Ford and Associates, Inc.

711 Capitol Way South Suite 207

Olympia, WA 98501

Update: February 2014 by Anne Neville, TLN

(360) 352-4434

Strategic Technology Planning Report

Prepared for The Library Network By Joseph Ford and Associates, Inc.

Table of Contents

About the Technology Planning Project...... 1 Planning Principles...... 2 Strategic Technology Planning Topics ...... 3 Expansion of Membership ...... 4

Consultant’s Recommendations ...... 5 Planning and Scheduling Expanded Membership ...... 6

System and Technical Support...... 7

Consultant’s Recommendations ...... 8 Estimated Costs of Expanded Support Services...... 11 Planning and Scheduling Expanded Support Services...... 11

Federated Searching...... 12

Consultant’s Recommendations ...... 12 Estimated Costs for Federated Searching Features...... 13 Planning and Scheduling Federated Searching ...... 14

Self-Service/ Self-Check/ RFID...... 15

Consultant’s Recommendations ...... 16 Radio Frequency Identification—RFID ...... 17 Consultant Recommendations Regarding RFID...... 18 Estimated Costs of Self-service/ Self-check/ RFID...... 19 Planning and Scheduling Self-Service/ Self Check...... 20 Planning RFID and AMH...... 21

Delivery of Cooperative Materials/ Automated Materials Handling ...... 22 Recommendations Regarding Delivery of Materials/ Automated Materials Handling...... 23 Financial Impacts of Delivery of Materials/ Automated Materials Handling ...... 25 Planning AMH and RFID...... 27

E-Commerce...... 28

Consultant’s Recommendations ...... 28 Estimated Costs of E-Commerce Services...... 29 Planning and Scheduling E-Commerce Services...... 30

Digital Content ...... 31

Consultant’s Recommendations ...... 31 Estimated Costs of Digital Content ...... 32 Planning and Scheduling for Digital Content...... 33

Considerations that impact the entire framework of the 2007 report:

  • Time frame
  • New to Unicorn in 2004, but with a very early BETA client for the first 1-2 years
  • Focus groups held in 2006
  • TLN’s Technology Services Manager had been on staff for under a year when report was written
  • Prior to this hiring, TLN had just gone through a succession of Technology Department heads

Strategic Technology Planning Report

Prepared for The Library Network By Joseph Ford and Associates, Inc.

About the Technology Planning Project

The Library Network (TLN) and the Suburban Library Cooperative (SLC) are engaged in strategic technology planning, for each consortium individually and also in regard to opportunities for enhanced cooperation between the two consortia. TLN and SLC engaged the consulting firm of Joseph Ford and Associates (JF&A) to conduct the strategic technology planning study.

Information gathering for strategic technology planning has included these activities:

•On-site visits in TLN libraries, focus groups with staff of TLN libraries, meetings with TLN leadership groups and TLN technology staff.

•Staff and patron surveys, administered online with access from member library websites. The staff survey was available to any paid staff of any TLN library, from circulation desk to processing to library directors. The survey was anonymous; however, respondents were asked to identify their job type (Question #1). The consultants believe that some TLN staff members also responded to the survey.

•Information from suppliers (e.g., SirsiDynix) and potential suppliers (e.g., Michigan Library Consortium).

•Prioritization of potential planning topics, as provided by TLN leadership representatives.

•Discussions and feedback regarding the Recommended Strategic Technology Directions” provided to TLN by the consulting firm on November 30, 2006.

•On-site meetings with TLN library, staff, and Board representatives on March 6, 7, and 8, to discuss the draft Strategic Technology Planning Report that was delivered February 5, 2007.

Planning Principles

In several places in this document, the author refers to Planning Principles, or recommended overarching strategies that the consultant believes will benefit the patrons and staff that rely on TLN systems and services. These Principles are as follows:

1Make technical and services support for member libraries the first principle for TLN.

2Implement upgraded support and communications features as an early priority, including adding additional technical support personnel and a Technology Services Manager.

3Develop a Strategic Planning Committee composed of a representative body of member libraries and TLN staff, and delegate to them the work of investigating and making recommendations regarding any new technology products and features.

4Require a high level of uniformity among member libraries and staff in developing screen designs, OPAC features, circulation policies, subscriptions, and any service or policy that might affect multiple libraries or multiple users.

5Develop a schedule of development and implementation activities, share it with members and staff, and then stick to the schedule.

6Emphasize use of the Unicorn software and its full set of features to support reduced staff effort and improved patron services. Engage SirsiDynix personnel to conduct training and assist in configuring the Unicorn software to permit the full range of support for staff and patron services.

7Educate member library staff and TLN staff regarding service opportunities with self-check, RFID, Automated Materials Handling, e-commerce, and other emerging technologies, and promote the use of these technologies through workshops, vendor demonstrations, and TLN support of uniform procurement and temporary subsidies of these technologies.

Strategic Technology Planning Topics

In early November, the TLN Executive Committee provided a priority sequence for potential planning topics. As the project has developed, that priority sequence changed. The following is the priority sequence as presented to the consultants during the on-site review of the Draft Strategic Technology Planning Report, March 6–8, 2007.

1. System and Technical Support

2. Federated Searching

3. Self-service/Self-check/RFID

4. Delivery of Cooperative Materials

5. E-Commerce

6. Digital Content

7. Automated Materials Handling

A final technology planning topic was articulated as part of the definition of the consulting/ planning project:

8. Strategic technology partnerships with Suburban Library Cooperative

In discussing some of the planning topics in this document, partnerships with SLC are referenced. In addition, the separate project document TLN-SLC Strategic Technology Partnerships develops possibilities for TLN to partner with SLC in developing or otherwise obtaining improvements to the SirsiDynix ILS used by both cooperatives.

A final topic, originally of interest to TLN, has now been dropped from active consideration at this time:

9. Expansion of membership

With the hiring of James Pletz, TLN’s current director, in 2009, expansion of membership in the Shared Automation System is back under active consideration.

Expansion of Membership

Clearly the staff and patrons of TLN member libraries want access to a wider variety of materials. The consultant is assuming that expanded access to materials would be one outcome of expanded TLN membership.1

As the planning project got underway, the leadership of TLN believed that expansion of membership would be an important topic for analysis and recommendations, and the consultant has treated it so. The importance of this topic to the TLN Executive Committee is obvious by its originally having been ranked as the number one strategic technology planning issue. Presumably new members are assumed to be joining TLN with the intent to participate in the Shared Automation System.

To respond to the interest in expanded membership, the consultants examined the opportunities and reviewed the challenges of expanded membership. These are the primary areas of concern related to expanded TLN membership:

•That new members add value for existing members. These value-added features need to be defined in advance of any expansion effort, with demonstrable and measurable value criteria also defined.

•

Both focus groups and surveys indicate a widespread belief that TLN is not taking adequate care of its existing members and existing business lines. The consultant believes that these measures must improve prior to offering membership to additional entities.

Because of the concerns expressed elsewhere in this report about service and support, based on member libraries’ staff comments in the survey responses and—even more emphatically—in the focus groups, the recommendations regarding expansion of membership have these caveats applied:

•Any expansion of membership should be undertaken with the expectation that a benefit will occur to existing TLN members.

•Any expansion of membership should not place a financial or services burden on existing TLN members.

•New members taken on in an expansion of membership should be contributors to TLN’s program activities, particularly the Shared Automation System and interlibrary lending and materials access.

•New members should be required to commit themselves to TLN’s operations policies prior to receiving any membership benefits.

1 This planning project also focuses on two additional methods for increasing access to materials: greater interaction with the Suburban Library Cooperative and expanded use of the MeLCat system.

One additional specific issue emerged during review of the planning materials, related to school libraries as new TLN members, and the consultant feels an obligation to address that issue.

These are the points to be addressed regarding adding school libraries as TLN members, based on the consultant’s experience in other consortial settings:

Most schools will not operate a library during the summer months while schools are not in session. This fact leads to several operational complications that, while possibly supportable, add complexity and require staff time not associated with current member libraries’ participation in the SAS. It would require a mechanism for service requests to be “turned off” during the summer months, or some other means will need to be employed to direct patrons and staff not to send loan requests to school libraries.

The closed libraries’ catalogs should be “masked” from library patrons during periods when the schools are not open and the materials not available for interloan—to do otherwise would create significant confusion for patrons and an information nightmare for library staff required to explain to patrons why they can see materials but can’t get access to them. All of this unique handling will add support costs to schools’ participation, costs not generated with the current full-time participating libraries.

•Many school libraries do not have degreed librarians, but rather classroom instructors, in charge of the library, and TLN may need to provide extra training in library methods should it take on school libraries as members.

•School libraries are often reluctant to lend their collections, which are frequently specific to school curricula, as the materials need to be available to support classroom instruction.

•Obversely, when teachers learn they can borrow materials to support classroom instruction, they are often eager users of automated requests, and will often borrow multiple copies of a title.

•Survey responses received from TLN member library staff rated school libraries as the least attractive future membership type of the four potential new membership groups.

Consultant’s Recommendations

With the above issues now set forth, the consultant makes these recommendations in regard to membership expansion:

1. Prior to any new member admission, deal effectively with the System and Technical Support issue. Do not expand membership until current members are receiving adequate support.

2. Establish a membership expansion committee and develop new member guidelines for joining TLN. If, at the time of membership expansion, TLN requires guarantees of loans, holds, and related patron privileges, ensure that those commitments are documented and agreed to prior to providing services.

3. Discuss in detail the impacts of new membership on existing technical resources such as Unicorn servers, web servers, network routers, and related equipment. Identify and seek costs for any expansion of equipment, user licenses, or service levels.

4. Identify potential membership expansion candidates and interview each of them to ascertain their interest in participation and their readiness to meet membership commitments.

5. Develop a schedule of implementation for each new member and bring members into the SAS at a rate that can be sustained without reducing the service levels available to existing members.

6. In expanding membership, focus first on types of expansion given highest priority in the staff survey responses. Local colleges and public libraries both garnered a positive response from two-thirds of staff who responded to the survey. Special libraries were rated positively by 40 percent of survey respondents. Fewer than one-quarter of respondents rated school libraries positively for TLN membership. The consultant believes these ratings represent staff perceptions of the types of materials patrons want access to.

Planning and Scheduling Expanded Membership

No specific timetable or schedule is offered for membership expansion, but as noted in the recommendations for this section, membership expansion should take place after support resources are in place within TLN to provide existing members adequate services and to provide new members required services that do not degrade the services provided to existing members.

Financial Implications of Expanded Membership

This Plan does not include any costs for expanded membership.

System and Technical Support

The focus groups provided a significant amount of comment communicating that the TLN technical support functions are not working well, or even adequately in some cases.

The responses to the open-ended questions in the staff survey are revealing. Here are some thematic or oft-repeated responses, which also reflect focus group comments, regarding system and technical support.

•Need more staff.

•Need more hours of coverage.

•Need better communications with member libraries, including some electronic or automated methods for reporting problems.

•Need more or better communications with vendors to help resolve problems.

•Need better staff communications skills.

•Need better staff communications tools.

•Libraries need better training in use of the products provided to TLN libraries.

  • Helpdesk software put into service November 2007
  • More technical staff has steadily been added

TLN technology support is currently organized in a “silo” or “stovepipe” configuration, with separate staff for networks, SAS, interlibrary loan, cataloging, and delivery. Each “silo” reports up in the TLN organization to the Executive Director or Deputy Director.

These responses are so common and so often repeated that they must be taken as serious issues requiring some resolution. The consultant’s recommendations are based on the TLN member library comments, in part because those comments are borne out by the consultants’ observations in focus groups and individual conversations.

Additional issues that emerged related to the TLN technology environment and technology support for the TLN libraries:

There is a wide variety in the level of technology support requested of and provided to the member libraries by TLN technology support staff. Some of this variation is inevitable in an organization with member libraries of all sizes. Some libraries get general PC support and other generalized technology support while other libraries (usually, but not always, larger libraries) obtain these services via their own library staff. TLN and Shared Automation System (SAS) fees do not currently acknowledge this distinction.

  • Have taken this into account with the current STS fee structure

One result of the “stovepipe” organization is that member libraries are unsure whom to call when they need technical support. If they didn’t guess correctly, response to their support requirement can potentially be slowed down. Another result is member libraries and their staffs “shopping” for help among TLN support staff, which can—again—take more time to get to a solution, and it may at times feel to TLN staff that they are being pressured to work outside their designated assignment area.

  • The helpdesk software has virtually resolved this issue

Another result of the “stovepipe” organization is that human resources are not being used as efficiently as they could be. Many support functions are staffed only “one deep” with little or no back-up knowledge available.

Consultant’s Recommendations

There are two facets to improved technology support for TLN libraries. There is much the TLN tech organization can do to improve its services; there are also roles and responsibilities for the TLN libraries in realizing improved services.

Recommendations for TLN Operations:

1More staff to handle routine service functions and to handle member library trouble calls. In particular, Comprise SAM support should be as available as SirsiDynix support on an hours-per-week basis.

2Stronger overall management of TLN’s technology programs and services. TLN needs a Technology Manager to plan for, oversee, and be responsible for integration of all technology functions: networks, workstations, vendor-provided products (such as the ILS and Comprise SAM), handling member trouble calls, and effective customer communications regarding both routine operations and troubleshooting.

  • The current Technology Services Manager had just started at TLN in 2006. Since that time she has provided a much stronger leadership of this department

The consultant recommends that the new position of Technology Services manager will report to the Executive Director (or Deputy Director—that is, the Chief Operating Officer) and have responsibility for the Shared Automated System support and operation, network services and operation, Comprise support and operation, cataloging, interlibrary loan, and delivery services. The incumbent will be responsible for technology personnel, equipment, and services operations within TLN, and will handle scheduling of personnel and services for the maximum benefit to members.

  • Adding another layer of management was viewed by the Shared System Executive Committee as being too costly and unnecessary

In addition, a Technology Services Manager is needed to oversee acquiring, implementing, training for, and operating the upgraded support products and services recommended in this report, as well as the new services features associated with implementing new system linking features with SLC.