LEO roars in: successful implementation of library electronic request system
| Date | 01 March 2000 |
| Pages | 10-17 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040757 |
| Published date | 01 March 2000 |
| Author | Martin MacKinnon |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
LEO roars
in:
successful
implementation
of
library electronic
request system
by Martin MacKinnon, Computing
Advisor; Clare
Allan,
Sciences
Information Officer; David Gardiner,
Management Faculty
Librarian;
Trudie
Silici,
Acquisitions Assistant and Colin
Sinclair, Head of Acquisitions and
Technical Services, all of University of
Stirling
The
Library Electronic Ordering
(LEO)
service,
created
by
Stirling University
Library,
makes
it
possible
to
submit orders
for
library materials
via
the
University's
intranet.
Orders
can be
for
any
type
of
material
and are
received
by
the
library
as
e-mails
then processed
for
ordering.
The
paper
describes
the web
form
creation,
including
the
technical details
of
the
form
construction
and
method
of processing.
Library Electronic Ordering
(LEO)
Stirling University Library has created the Library
Electronic Ordering (LEO) system
to
allow orders
to
be
submitted
for
library materials
via
the Uni-
versity's intranet. This service
is an
enhancement
to the previous system where order cards were
issued
to
departments, filled
in by
academics,
and
returned using the University's internal mail
system.
Setting
up the
project
The LEO service
is
the result of a project lasting
6
months. The Library
is
continually looking
for
ways both
to
improve workflow
and to
support
academics. From the outset of the project
it
was
clear that this type
of
service could assist
in
achieving both objectives.
Because
it
was soon apparent that this could well
be
a
long term project with considerable impacts,
it
was important
to
take
an
overview initially,
and
select achievable objectives.
The
first step was
to
analyse
the
existing card system, then
to
construct
a cost/benefit analysis of what the project could
achieve.
Team membership
The project team was deliberately constituted
of
a
group
of
library staff with
a
mix
of
skills,
grades
and experience.
In a
large library
a
number
of
people
are
involved
in
different stages of the order
and acquisition process, therefore
it
was essential
that the relevant people were brought together
so
that
a
detailed understanding could be built. This
resulted
in a
thorough analysis of the current
workflow,
and
also helped
in
the process of
estab-
lishing wide "ownership"
of
the
project.
It would
be
easy to assume that
all
that
is
required
for this type of project
is
someone with expertise
in writing web pages
and
forms. However this
is
not the case:
a
good understanding of the whole
order process within the institution proved equally
valuable.
Feasibility
In establishing
an
overview of the workings of the
new system
it
became clear that there were certain
aspects that were essential
and
others desirable.
The project was broken down into phases,
to
avoid
it becoming overwhelming, with the first phase
to
include only basic
and
achievable targets.
Phase
I
• Streamlining workflow (as demonstrated
in
figures
1
and
2)
• Introduction
of
standard web request forms
on
the
intranet
• Set up of system
for
dealing with orders
via
email
Phase
Ib
Investigate methods of automatically linking web
forms
to
academic staff information
-
academics
10—VINE
120
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