Reports

The Delivery Assessment Task Force met nine times following the task force training session in January. The committee also communicated by telephone and e-mail. We presented our mission and outlined our first steps at the BLC Celebration on January 30.

1. Develop methodology to test effectiveness of the BLC's delivery service of sending by UPS and returning by state - wide courier
   
2. Analyze turn around time for sending and receiving materials
   
3. Determine if the process of sending materials by UPS and returning by cross state courier is working successfully
   
4. Make recommendations about future delivery

The Task Force developed a methodology with two components to test the effectiveness of the present BLC delivery service. The first component measured the UPS and Courier turn around time between libraries. The second component measured the accompanying satisfaction with these same services. The results of the turn around study indicated that the average turn around for the materials delivered by the courier was 2.4 days with a range of 1 to 7.5 days. The average turn around for the materials delivered by UPS was 1.75 days with a range of 1 to 4 days. The complete results of this study were submitted to the BLC in the status report of April 29. The Task Force agreed that the effectiveness and ultimately the success of any delivery service would also be impacted by the satisfaction that staff had with the delivery process and its associated workflow procedures. A satisfaction questionnaire was distributed, followed by telephone interviews. Libraries were asked to rank 5 delivery system features identified in the 2001 BLC Delivery Survey: accuracy, turn around time, convenience, cost and tracking. Accuracy and turn around time ranked the highest of the five both in 2001 and in 2002. The survey suggested a general level of satisfaction with the present model. The results of this survey are detailed in the status report of June 14. The task force feels this information provides important baseline information for future delivery assessment.

The BLC Delivery Task Force has determined that the process of sending materials by UPS and returning by Cross State Courier is successful. The turn around study during February 2002 indicated that UPS was in compliance with the contract and provided 24 hour, trackable, point to point delivery and the Cross State Courier service was able to return materials within an acceptable time frame of 2-7 days. The one caveat to the Task Force's statement of success is the unanticipated problem of UPS delivering to a loading dock, mailroom or central distribution center rather than directly to the ILL/Circulation office. The majority of the institutions do not enjoy office delivery as expected. This creates a potential delay in the actual availability of received materials depending on intra campus delivery services. All institutions involved seem to have compromised on this issue and are functioning successfully with the exception of Northeastern Snell Library. The Satisfaction Survey conducted in May 2002 indicated satisfaction was high for the model in general, but concern was registered for the clerical complications of two delivery systems and the less than satisfactory UPS Customer Service.

• Develop a web-based labeling system for the Courier similar to UPS to ensure accurate annotation and correct delivery. The address menu would have all the information presently on the regional routing slips and would eliminate the clerical omissions and errors indicated as problematic in the satisfaction survey
  
• Establish and circulate procedural guidelines for delivery between member libraries. Post to BLC website under User Guide
  
• Propose enlistment of professional consultant for development of any future survey instruments
  
• Schedule future studies to avoid spring breaks and vacations for maximum reliability

The members of the BLC and their patrons expect a dependable, rapid delivery system for Interlibrary Loan and the Virtual Catalog. This feature is essential to the value of the Consortium membership. The Task Force has concluded that the present model of delivery is successful, however the future of resource sharing within the BLC, as membership increases, will require a more streamlined method of delivery. Therefore, the Task Force suggests the Board consider UPS as the exclusive carrier for Consortium exchange.

The Delivery Assessment Task Force met twice since the March 29, 2002 status report, once in person at Wellesley College on April 10 and once by conference call on May 22. The Task Force members began implementation of the second phase of information gathering to determine if the process of sending materials by UPS and returning by cross state courier is successful. Committee members constructed a Satisfaction Survey for both UPS and Courier delivery services. This questionnaire, together with the compiled results from the February Turnaround Study was circulated to 24 BLC libraries. These materials were followed by telephone interviews to designated contacts at each library. The committee felt that sending the materials ahead of time would enhance discussion and contribute to useful information gathering. All responses received were tabulated and summarized by the Delivery Task Force members. The purpose of this exercise was to learn how individual libraries perceive the present model as it influences the overall satisfaction quotient, which is an important factor in establishing the success of the service. The committee plans another data gathering instrument for later in the summer, in preparation for the final report and recommendation to the Board on September 9, 2002. The next meeting is scheduled for June 20, 2002 at Wellesley College.

All but one library use UPS 5 days per week and most use the courier service 5 days per week. Three libraries reported that they use the courier less often and an additional three libraries report that during the summer the courier service drops to between 1-3 days per week.

The range of pickup and delivery times each day varies. It appears that the most common times for both UPS and Courier is late morning to mid- afternoon. The majority of libraries are satisfied with the current schedule for delivery and pickup, however, not all libraries have pick-up and delivery to and from their departments but rather the mailrooms. This can cause both delays and frustration for some libraries that have to wait until their mailroom delivers the packages.

Satisfaction is high with regard to the points of pick up and delivery for both UPS and Courier delivery services even though 7 libraries do not have service directly to their office. Internal campus transportation delays range from 1 hour to 3 days among these locations. This is a separate issue impacting User Satisfaction which should be investigated later.

This analysis is based on twenty-four responses. However, as this section actually contains eleven questions, it must be said that some libraries responded more fully than others. Averages are calculated by adding numbers and dividing by the number of responses to that question.

• The average number of full time staff in the BLC libraries is 2.5, with a range of between one and seven.
• The average number of part time staff in the BLC libraries is 1.5, with a range of between zero and three.
• The average number of student hours worked per week is 37.5, with a range of between zero and one-hundred and twenty.

• In general it was reported that ILL staff work with the Interlibrary Loan processing, whereas Circulation staff work with Virtual Catalog processing.
• Three libraries download requests twice a day. Two libraries indicated that they download requests once a day.
• Two libraries stated that loan requests are downloaded, paged, processed and shipped that day.
• One library stated that loan requests are downloaded, paged, processed in one day but shipped the next day.
• Another library indicated only that the work is not "streamlined."

• Three libraries indicated NO
• Nineteen libraries indicated YES
• Two did not respond

By and large this model is working; of the 24 libraries reporting, only one department indicated that this isn't working, although two indicated that the model is confusing and requires additional staff time in training. One library indicated that the shipping via the courier is faster than by UPS.

• Eleven libraries responded YES
• Ten responded NO
• Three did no respond

By and large the work associated with Virtual Catalog processing is done by Circulation staff. Of those libraries currently participating in the Virtual Catalog, in only one is the work associated with the Virtual Catalog done by ILL staff.

• Five libraries responded YES
• Six responded NO
• Eight did not respond and/or are not participating in Virtual Catalog at present.

There was a range of responses to this question. Of those libraries which employ mailroom staff for packaging of shipment, each reported a one day potential delay from time of update to actual shipment. Two libraries reported that even though they use ILL staff to package materials, between 2 and 4 hours may elapse from time of update to actual shipment. However, sixteen libraries did not respond to this question. One library indicated "none" (i.e. no appreciable time elapses between time of update to shipment).

• Eight libraries report packaging books individually
• Eleven libraries report packaging books together
• Three libraries report both and two libraries did not respond to this question

• Nine libraries report using labels
• Eight libraries report using pockets
• Three libraries report both, one library reported that they use neither and two libraries did not respond to this question

Less than half of respondents indicated having had wrong deliveries from UPS. Most of those reported were due to incorrect addresses. Some of this was because of inconsistencies in the UPS address book early in the program. Subsequently, UPS supplied uniform address books for all and this has greatly alleviated the problem. Other addressing mistakes seem to be clerical errors. The Address book is very specific about delivery preferences for each institution and office assistants must be careful to make the correct selection. The rest of the delivery errors were due to UPS driver miscommunication or human error. Damage and separation of multi-volume sets is not a problem with UPS

1. MIT LENDING gets MIT BORROWING items.
2. ILL and Virtual Cat/CIRC materials occasionally get misaddressed for institutions when the UPS address book lists them separately.
3. BU ILL gets BU CIRC items

1. Northeastern is not receiving deliveries at the ILL office and they are very unhappy about it. They are still in conversation with UPS via the BLC office.
2. BC O'Neill and BC Law items are sometimes delivered to the wrong loading dock.
3. Wellesley College is not receiving office delivery, but has worked out a mutually satisfactory delivery location with UPS.

More than half of Courier wrong deliveries were due to incorrect labeling of routing slips or routing to incorrect region. These are clerical mistakes taking place within the ILL offices. Damage and separation of multi- sets is infrequent..

1.Labeling for multi-site institutions is often incomplete or just wrong, i.e. Tufts instead of Tufts Tisch, Ginn, Health Science; Umass O'Leary and Umass Lydon
2. Labeling for Wellesley College and Wellesley Free is a major problem. Routing slips frequently read just Wellesley. Wellesley College also receives items clearly marked Wellesley Public or Wellesley Free and vice versa.

1. Sorting of materials and the associated delays are problems for some institutions.
2. Unexplained delays of entire tubs of materials.

1. Uniform Address Book took far too long to remedy. Initial promise to fix was early in the Fall 2001 and it was accomplished late in February 2002
   
   
2. Reference field is too limited. This field is necessary for tracking and is presently inadequate for the packaging of multiple items. Request for increased alpha/numeric space was acknowledged in the Fall with no change thus far
   
   
3. Delivery pickup date on the label. Request acknowledged in the Fall with no change thus far
   
   
4. Certain supplies, i.e. thermal printing tape and 2nd day bubble bags are not available through online ordering. One library had a very difficult time getting correct information from UPS about ordering procedures

Courier. Communication with regional representatives was generally positive although not as frequent as UPS. Only half of the 20 libraries participating in the Regional Courier System report any direct communication however, most regional offices post important announcements via email for general information purposes. There were no specific negative communication complaints with any regional office of the Courier system.

1. 1. BLC has exhaustively worked on Northeastern's delivery location problems to no avail
   
   
2. 2. One library had problems with online supply ordering and asked BLC to intervene with minimal results. Library had to advocate for themselves with a hostile UPS rep and finally resolved issue of certain supplies being unavailable online

More than half the libraries surveyed use the tracking feature (UPS) finding it helpful. One library found using tracking too difficult to use. Those using the feature use ILL numbers in the tracking field. Most libraries do not print receipts. All order supplies online and almost all find that they receive materials promptly. Three libraries report that have been unable to order the standard bubble bags online and need to order through the consortium office or by phoning UPS. One library reported that an UPS representative when contacted by phone was rude and gave incorrect information.

Libraries who participated in the "Turnaround Survey" were for the most part not surprised and were pleased by the turnaround time results. One surprised library noted the range of days for turnaround time (1-4). The other surprised library thought that UPS would be faster than survey showed. One displeased library felt that the "Survey" was poorly done if it was intended to show a cross section of the entire year of transactions. Because this library was on Spring break, the supervisor felt that their numbers were inaccurate and skewed. Another library did not know what to make of the survey results as the survey was done during Spring break. Note: Several libraries were on Spring break during at least part of the time when the survey was conducted.
The other displeased library does not understand why there is faster delivery to them rather than from them.

The Delivery Assessment Task Force has met five times, with the first meeting taking place at the task force training session on January 9, 2002. A presentation outlining our charge and first steps was made at the BLC Celebration on January 30.

We decided to begin our work by analyzing the turn around time for delivery between libraries. To accomplish this task we asked staff at all BLC libraries to participate in a data collection survey for the weeks of February 19 and February 25. The staff were instructed to place a flag in any item traveling to another BLC library. Three pieces of information were to be included on the flags: a) how the item was shipped (UPS or courier); b) their library's name (i.e. from where that item was sent); and finally, c) the date when the item left the library. On the receiving end, we asked libraries to indicate the date the item was received as well as their library's name (i.e. the destination library). One important note: we stressed that the date to be indicated at the point of shipment was the date that the item was to leave the library, i.e. it may have required staff to post date items. In this way we hoped to capture actual travel time. We include a copy of the flag used below.

One-thousand and forty-six (1046) flags were collected and the results were tabulated according to the following variables: how items were shipped; where they were sent from; and what library received them. We calculated an average delivery time based on the total number of days in transit for all items to each library divided by the number of deliveries to that library. The preliminary results are displayed in the accompanying chart; however, in short, the average turn around for the materials delivered by the courier was 2.4 days with a range of from 1 to 7.5 days. The average turn around for the materials delivered by UPS was 1.75 days with a range of from 1 to 4 days.

Note that with respect to our BLC colleagues the results are subject to the vagaries of staff time, staff involvement, semester breaks, low ILL/Virtual Catalog traffic etc. What this means is that for those libraries which were very diligent in their use of the flags, the numbers are precise, whereas for those libraries that either had few deliveries during that period and/or were somewhat less diligent in using the flags, the numbers are less precise. Nevertheless we did receive data from all libraries, although not all libraries reported having used both methods during the study period. Finally, note that three institutions do not use a courier at all: Brown University, MIT and Boston University.

Further work with this data and subsequent data collection should provide a clearer view of the dynamic under study.

The committee is beginning to work on a satisfaction survey to be given to selected members of the BLC libraries' staff. We intend to call a staff member at each library with a series of questions. The purpose of this survey will be to learn how individual libraries perceive the present model (of using both UPS and a courier) and to gauge the overall satisfaction.