We hope that this book increases the dialogue and information for managers who deal with the physical delivery of library materials on a daily basis. This lack of formal literature on physical delivery has required us to develop several categories of library delivery systems for use in this book.
OrganizaTiOnaL MODELS OF DELiVEry
But many delivery services have expanded to cover entire states and even cross multiple state lines. MINITEX also interfaces with the Wisconsin Delivery Service to share items, primarily OCLC ILL transactions across state lines.
Communication is hampered by the fact that most delivery services are not part of the library's internal communication network. In this book, we go into detail about some of the best ways to stay engaged.
Basically, if the courier manager doesn't tell the story of the courier service, someone else will define it in ways that may not be in the best interest of the service. In this chapter, we focus on how cost and speed of delivery affect the decisions to choose one of the four main delivery methods: USPS, commercial overnight carriers, internal operations, and regional carriers.
Other improvements have been made in the automation of the request process, particularly by consortia. Twelve of the couriers who responded to the survey reported that they support deliveries more than once a day; typically these are public library systems that deliver to their own branches and then deliver to other unaffiliated libraries in the area.
THE iMPaCT OF COSTS anD SPEED in CHOOSing a DELiVEry PrOViDEr
On the other end of the scale, there's a small utility in Orange County, Florida, that has just one customer—the Orange County library system. This company and the library have successfully operated a distribution and home delivery service for over twenty years (see Chapter 11).
It is common for the statewide delivery service to be outsourced to private carriers. One of Wisconsin's regional systems of public libraries provides an internal delivery service to most of the state.
LiBrary DELiVEry aCrOSS STaTE BOrDErS
Whether a dedicated route is practical depends on the volume handled, the configuration of the route and the required frequency of service. Direct control over the service is a major factor in controlling these variables.
THE nuTS anD BOLTS OF an in-HOuSE DELiVEry SErViCE
Buying a new vehicle is a good idea if the vehicle will cover a large number of kilometers per day. However, if a vehicle will be used locally and does not have a high number of miles, less than 25,000 miles per year, a used vehicle can save a large portion of the upfront capital.
STaFFing anD Training
The delivery service should develop a delivery procedure manual to provide a year-round reference for staff. Members of this industry group model library delivery systems the most and often provide library delivery service.
Outsourcing 5
Given the difficulty of switching from one delivery service to another, most libraries would do well to avoid smaller delivery services.
- How would you describe the current state of the carrier industry overall?
- How do you see the carrier industry’s capabilities meeting the specific needs of library delivery?
- With continued fluctuations in fuel prices, how is the carrier industry currently accounting for these costs in its pricing to customers?
- Many libraries have been placed in difficult circumstances when their carriers went out of business. What threats do you see affecting the
- How do we know if the vendor is giving us a fair price to our RFPs? What should we look for?
- Many carriers use subcontracts and independent drivers. What should libraries look for or specify in RFPs and contracts regarding second-party
- In general, librarians do not understand the logistics business? How can we learn more?
- How difficult is it to track packages or bins? What kind of costs would that add to systems that are moving five, ten, even fifteen million books a year?
- What are the accepted industry compensation standards for lost or dam- aged materials?
If shipping containers are not part of either the vendor's contract or the participating libraries' obligation, they must be part of the courier service's budget. Other useful promotional materials include colorful posters depicting the courier service in action and toy vans for the children of customer employees.
CuSTOMEr-VEnDOr rELaTiOnSHiPS
We looked for correlations between the characteristics of the organizations and their satisfaction with the customer-supplier relationship. It was not possible to accurately compare the delivery costs of different organizations due to variables in the size of the service area, the number of miles driven, the volume of items shipped and the frequency of delivery.
VEnDOr aBanDOnMEnT Or DiSaSTEr PLanning
One respondent had a completely different perspective on the customer-vendor relationship in the few weeks that passed between filling out the survey and a follow-up phone call. Third party providers feel that they do not have all the necessary information to develop services in the best way possible.
Contractual 6
Outside the United States, the RFP may be referred to as an RFT (request for tender). In other situations, it may be the responsibility of library or consortium staff to handle the entire process from start to finish.
Such an organization should consider ways to reduce costs per unit while maintaining or increasing on-time delivery. Therefore, the goal of the RFP process may not be to select the cheapest service provider, but to select the best provider for the organization's specific costs or service goals.
Confirming a carrier's financial viability is critical to the success of the organization's transportation programs. The goal of the RFP process is to find the transportation company that best fits an organization's business needs.
THE rFP PrOCESS Timetable
Consideration means that an exchange of valuable things takes place in the performance of the contract. For example, parties may agree to submit to the laws of the state of Ohio if the library organization is headquartered in Ohio.
LaBELing
For greater speed, it is best that all ownership markings on the item are located on the front outer cover and conform to the coding system used by the delivery service. Alpha codes unrelated to receiving site names increase sorting problems and slow down sorting.
SOrTing
In the first category, robotic crane or trolley systems are designed to transport bins at the central sorting site. The most important part of the process of researching an AMH system is talking to people from library systems that use the AMH system you are researching.
MaTEriaL HanDLing COnTainErS anD EquiPMEnT
Canvas bags are durable, relatively inexpensive and can be stored without taking up much space. Containers can be placed on these hand trucks to move in and out of delivery locations.
HOLD/rESErVE quEuE LiST CLuSTEring
The result is that more reserves placed in the system are delivered to libraries along delivery routes on the same day they are received. Although this means that not as many items will be delivered en route on the same day, stock in transit going to other libraries within a group can still be placed in destination boxes or bags, reducing handling costs and work in a centralized sorting location.
In whatever way collaborative collection development can be expressed and managed, the key element is resource sharing. Articles on resource sharing and collection development can be circulated among these groups to promote mutual understanding and appreciation.
THE iMPaCT OF ELECTrOniC DELiVEry
Many of the new mobile phones can display e-books and screen technology is getting better and better. Managing relationships between participants is a complex task and this section covers several aspects of the process.
COMMuniCaTiOn
The administrator decided to use only the electronic discussion list to discuss the threat to the continued existence of the courier service. The courier manager can gain a strong sense of the key issues affecting the delivery service with an interactive blog.
A well-run, active user committee is one of the keys to a successful courier service. It is also possible and probably better to use a service agreement between the library and the courier instead of a contract.
Training
The wording is designed to protect the courier service by stating that participants follow published policies and procedures and ship only acceptable items. This courier service accepts limited liability for lost or damaged material and does not reimburse for missed stops.
Library Courier request for Service Form
Next, another type of training explains the essence of interacting with a particular courier service. The point of this type of training is to explain how library staff should work with established courier service policies and procedures.
PuBLiC rELaTiOnS anD MarkETing
In many ways, managing a courier service is similar to any task performed by a typical library manager. A courier service must conform to standard business practices, such as having a mission and objectives, management systems, registration, evaluations and planning.
MiSSiOnS, gOaLS, anD PLanning
The Colorado Library Courier provides delivery service to participating libraries of all types across the state. These mission statements are to the point and tell the reader why the courier service exists.
POLiCiES anD PrOCEDurES
Enforcing the policies fairly and in good faith is part of the Courier Manager's job. Damage policies typically determine when and how the courier service takes responsibility for an accident.
COuriEr ManagEMEnT SySTEMS
A courier management system should provide the operator with all the reports required by member libraries, governing bodies and courier service partners. The administrator should be able to quickly select an individual or group listed in the courier service management system for email distribution.
ManagEMEnT OF STaTiSTiCS
Evaluation is an ongoing activity and many aspects of the delivery service require assessment. Why can't the delivery service run a specialist van for home delivery - again, billing customers on the basis of recovery costs with administrative costs.
HOME DELiVEry: THE FuLFiLLMEnT MODEL
They don't complain about having to come to the library (possibly at a certain cost and possibly with great inconvenience) to pick up their requested materials - because it's free, and that's crucial. If direct delivery services were available, they would be more inclined to use the library as a source for articles, books and other research materials.
Most libraries use UPS or FedEx for sending and receiving ILL materials between library systems and a courier service for deliveries within a library system. For this reason, it can offer better prices for the service than UPS and FedEx.
THE FuTurE OF DirECT DELiVEry
Citizens of Orange County report that the home delivery service is one of the most valued services the library offers. The library offers the service for free, arguing that the cost of the service is comparable (in fact cheaper) than operating another library.
OTHEr HOME DELiVEry MODELS
Assuming the discovery piece has already been taken care of, the next task is to expand local and regional library courier services. The northern Midwest and most of the East Coast have large concentrations of library messenger services.
COnCLuSiOn
The emphasis of the workshop is that electronic transmission (which has the advantage of speed) is a supplement to, not a substitute for, physical delivery (which was then cheaper and less labor-intensive than electronic methods). At the Colorado State Library, she served as interim manager of the Colorado Library Courier and served on the State Courier Committee.
