by Agnes Lee
Quick Summary
Agnes Lee shares some of the changes she has observed over her years working in Resource Sharing.
When I think back to the days when I was a Minitex student working at the Health Sciences Library many, many years ago, staff often retrieved 40-50 books per shift and copied over 150 periodical articles. The work we do at a campus library has changed a lot due to technology and innovation. For instance, today, the majority of copy requests are handled at our Andersen office and filled using electronic resources rather than being copied from the physical items at campus libraries.
Wilson Library has always been the busiest campus location. In fiscal year 2015, Wilson Minitex staff handled 49,449 requests. This semester, staff process about 100 requests during each of the 3 shifts. Book requests account for 80% of the volume. The remaining articles are scanned via MEDD directly to the patron, or are transmitted via Article Exchange to the requesting library.
Because they have lost some of the retrieval and scanning duties, campus library staff have picked up other duties. In an earlier posting on innovation in resource sharing, we mentioned Mira, which is a Windows desktop application developed by Minitex IT staff. Instead of coming to the Minitex office in Andersen library to pick-up requests, Minitex staff at the various campus libraries are printing and retrieving in the same building where they will be processing the requests. Staff are also updating the interlibrary loan systems online for the majority of the items filled at the campus libraries. That means that when they arrive in the Andersen office, they are ready to be distributed for delivery, eliminating any delays.
As we look ahead to more changes, it is so important to have flexible, experienced staff who can adapt quickly to new ideas and the changes in workflow which our technology makes possible!
