Workflow management and libraries

Reading list workflow

I have recently been tasked with completely reworking the way in which reading lists are unloaded on to the new electronic reading list system, Talis Aspire, at MMU. This has been a challenging task, but a rewarding one.

Background

A new electronic reading list system was implemented at the beginning of this year. Its intention was to replace the old system: Talis List, an out-dated and unfriendly system. Along side this, MMU implemented a new reading list strategy. In short, it stated that all units should have a reading list, and that reading list should follow a specific structure. It should recommend three items for purchase, ten items of essential reading, and twenty items of further reading. The strategy, itself, has been a success in some respects, and a failure in others. Nonetheless, the strategy was meant to standardise units across the University, and this it has done.

Challenging

However, many of the old lists in Talis List, were transfered (migrated) over to the new reading list system. However, much of the lists were in a non-standard format, some were broken down by week, subject, or resource type. This meant that Talis Aspire was to be populated with out-dated and incorrectly structured lists. As a result, the lists had to be deleted and replaced with new lists, or edited, bring them inline with the way they should look. The subject librarians, including, myself have been responsible for doing this.

Some problems

The reading lists are pulled from the unit specification system or received from unit leaders on a regular basis, throughout the academic year. The reading lists are then checked and distributed to support staff. One of the major problems is that support staff are not fixed to a particular subject. They float between subject disciplines, and have a mixture of other responsibilities. Therefore, the workload between individuals is different, and it is not always clear who has the time and capability to either create a new reading list or edit an existing one.

Like students, many of the support staff have different ICT skills, some better than others. The more complex lists are needed to be given to those with the ICT skills to do them correctly. This is not always known by the subject librarian.

Subject librarians have other responsibilities. However, because support staff are not always available, subject librarians have been completing the update of their lists themselves - which is hardly ideal.

In the old system, lists would be distributed to support staff, but would disappear, as individuals would leave for the summer. Therefore, lists would go unprocessed and forgotten.

New workflow

A new workflow was necessary, and I was tasked with this creating this. However, I was aware that there is out there some guiding principles to workflow management. I briefly recall the systems thinking week at Library School. I also wanted a system that ‘efficiently’ managed the reading list processes, from start to completion, avoiding many of the problems of the existing system.

I started by discussing how the different subject lists were managed by the different subject librarians. It was apparent there were some similarities and some differences. I then began to breakdown the different processes. I then removed those processes that were unnecessary or overly complicated, breaking it down into its basic elements - always keeping in mind the end result.

It was clear that there need to be an intermediary between the subject librarians and the support staff, someone who could liaise with subject librarians and support staff. It was also clear that a new reading list management system was needed, to keep track of where the reading lists where, what stages they were at, whom held them. I created a new searchable database, using Microsoft Access.

Applying a business strategy

The new workflow is soon to be implemented - starting with a few subject areas, and then expanding it outwards. I am happy with the results, so far. I believe it has been made easier by applying and understanding the principles of workflow management, rather than simply approaching it in an ad hoc kind of way. The reading lists should now flow in the right directions to the right people at the right time. And as a result, the student at the other end should see a completed and standardised reading list, appropriate to their subject.