ISSUE 33 | AUTUMN 2014
Make your customer experience even better Be inspired by our success stories Engaging every generation – from babies to grannies Find out how GLL are transforming London’s libraries
Keeping customers coming back
Share Birmingham City University’s insights into customer journey mapping
Freedom
Soprano helps three library services deliver an even more professional service
Helping you provide a stand out customer experience that brings every generation back, again and again
WELCOME TO PANLIBUS
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The autumn issue 2014
The Reading Agency
A warm welcome to the autumn 2014 issue. I’m delighted to be taking over as the new editor of Panlibus.
10-11 Greenwich Leisure Limited
4-5 The Reading Agency Sue Wilkinson MBE, The Reading Agency’s new CEO, introduces their latest exciting initiatives. 6-7 Case study: Bringing knowledge to librarians’ fingertips with Soprano How Soprano is bringing newfound freedom to three different library services. 8 Capita and MarketLine? Introducing a single information source for companies, industries and countries. 10-11 Better Libraries: The focus on customer engagement How does Greenwich Leisure Limited give individual customers what they need across 23 very different public libraries? 12-13 eBook rental PDA: Extending just-in-time services at the University of Hull What can we learn from the University of Hull’s success story? 14-15 Customer journey mapping: Birmingham City University Judith Andrews, Director of Library and Learning Resources, explains how their extensive customer journey mapping is helping them give the customer what they want.
16 What has RDA done for us? Capita’s Libraries Business Analyst looks at the issues around implementing the new cataloguing rules. 19-20 Charting new territory for information literacy How two librarians from Limerick are transforming information literacy in the Western Balkans. 23 What’s in a name? eBook acquisitions and metadata management Capita reimagines the process to make e-material even more attractive to library users. 25 Events, webinars and partner news 26 Nielsen LibScan data We explore the trends in summer fiction reading.
In this, my first issue, I hope the features will provide you with ideas and best practice to inspire, and this autumn’s edition certainly isn’t lacking. Inside you’ll see there’s a firm focus on helping you to provide the kind of stand-out customer experience that will keep your customers of every generation coming back, again and again. You’ll find some great inspirational success stories in this issue. Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) share their ‘Better Service’ approach. It must be working – last year, GLL-run Woolwich Library became London’s most visited library! Or learn how Birmingham City University’s Library and Learning Resources earned Compliance Plus status for its ‘exceptional’ customer journey mapping. One organisation that really knows how to engage its audience, young, old and everything in between, is The Reading Agency. There’s also inspiration from the University of Hull, and the remarkable story of two librarians from Ireland who are changing the face of information literacy in the Western Balkans. Find out how Soprano is helping libraries across the UK offer an ever more professional service to customers. Don’t miss the feature on implementing the new cataloguing rules and take a look at how Capita’s made life easier with our Resource Management module. Or why not sample online resource MarketLine with an exclusive 3-day free trial? I’m really looking forward to working together to bring you news, views and inspiration. If there’s anything you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.
Victoria Wilson Editor, Panlibus Magazine panlibus-editor@capita.co.uk
Panlibus Magazine is a Capita production
ISSN 1749-1002 Knights Court Solihull Parkway Birmingham Business Park B37 7YB United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)121 717 3500 Website: www.capita.co.uk/libraries
The views expressed in this magazine are those of the contributors for which Capita accepts no responsibility. Readers should take appropriate advice before acting on any issue raised. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohibited. ©Capita. All rights reserved. Capita and the Capita logo are trademarks of Capita or its licensors in the United Kingdom and/or other countries. Other companies and products mentioned may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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The Reading Agency
The Reading Agency Sue Wilkinson MBE, Chief Executive, The Reading Agency
I joined The Reading Agency in January of this year, taking over from Founder and Director, Miranda McKearney. The Reading Agency is a national charity whose mission is to give everyone an equal chance in life by helping people become confident and enthusiastic readers because everything changes when we read. We are one of the UK’s leading innovation and development agencies specialising in spreading reading through our strong partnership with public libraries. One of my first tasks on joining The Reading Agency was to prepare our funding bid to Arts Council England. Arts Council England funding accounts for 17% of our annual budget which means we have to do a lot of fundraising to continue to deliver our programmes. It is, however, essential to our continued existence so we were both delighted and relieved to hear that Arts Council England are maintaining their investment in our programmes and that we will continue to be one of their national portfolio holders. Our aim is to change lives through shared national reading programmes mostly delivered through public libraries. We want to inspire more people to read and to read more; to encourage them to share their love of reading with others via reading groups and volunteering, in person and online; and to celebrate the difference reading for pleasure and for knowledge can make to all our lives. Our programmes run across the whole of the UK and reach over 1 million people every year. They are developed and delivered through powerful strategic partnerships with The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), The Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians (ASCEL) and local library authorities, and with broadcasters, publishers, authors, workplaces, schools, prisons, health partners and youth services.
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The Reading Agency has a wonderful track record of delivering high quality, innovative programmes. Evaluation evidence clearly shows the difference they make to people’s lives. Our ‘reading challenges’ target both school age children and adults who struggle with reading. The Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest reading for pleasure programme; it reached over 800,000 children in 2013. Research by The Institute of Education shows that:
“reading for pleasure is more important for children’s cognitive development than their parent’s level of education”. We also know that involvement in the Challenge can help to prevent children’s reading levels from “dipping” over the school holidays. Our Six Book Challenge is aimed at adults who struggle with reading. It reached 35,000 people in 2013, giving many new readers their first experience of finishing a book! We support 4,000 reading groups in a number of different ways. Our Chatterbooks programme engaged over 10,000 children in 2013 via 610 reading groups in libraries and 120 reading groups in schools. Our Reading Activists programme, which aims to get young people developing their skills by volunteering in libraries, worked with over 5,000 young people last year. As if this wasn’t enough, we took over the running of World Book Night in 2014. 10,000 volunteers gave away 250,000 books supplied by our publisher partners to people who don’t regularly read for pleasure. 5,300 individual and institutional givers responded to our evaluation survey. 93% said that they felt that they were able to give books to people who don’t regularly read for pleasure. World Book Night was celebrated with events in libraries all over the UK; the London event was at the Southbank Centre - 3 months into the job I found myself sharing the stage with Stephen Fry, Caitlin Moran and Russell Brand. All of them are wonderful advocates for reading. I carry around with me a piece Caitlin Moran
Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
wrote in 2011 about what libraries mean to her and the role they play in society: “cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination” is what she called them. What I hope all this shows is that I have been given an amazing legacy to build on. My task as the new CEO is to work with Trustees, staff and all our partners to think about how we take this work forward. What I have been doing in all these conversations is asking, to paraphrase author Jim Collins, what we need to do to take The Reading Agency from “good” to “great”. What is very clear from all my conversations are the opportunities which exist to extend the reach of our programmes; demand far exceeds our current capacity to deliver. In addition, meetings with other cultural and educational institutions have shown the potential for new partnerships which could extend the reach of our existing programmes and begin the process of helping us to develop new ones. All of our programmes are developed around reading as a cultural and creative act in itself but what is very clear is that reading also plays an important role in supporting, embedding and enhancing the broader cultural offer and in building engagement with, and extending the reach of, other art forms. What we want to do is to work with other cultural providers to begin to see how we can build reading into all cultural experiences. Furthermore, reading is changing; audiences are increasingly looking for enhanced and integrated digital offers as well as the paper-based and in-person experiences we provide. I want to look at what this means for all our programmes; how we can use social media and new technology to reach new audiences and to develop new approaches to engaging them with reading. Critically, we also want to extend and develop the work we have started on reading for knowledge and information. “Reading Well: Books on Prescription” is one of our newest initiatives. It was developed with leading mental health organisations and the Society of Chief Librarians, and it was launched in 2013 by Norman Lamb, Minister for Care and Support. The Reading Well scheme,
The Reading Agency
delivered in partnership with the Society of Chief Librarians, helps people manage their well-being through accredited self-help reading available in public libraries. It is based upon existing best practice, drawing on the Welsh model and local Books On Prescription activity; and crucially it has the endorsement of health partners at national level to support local partnership development. The goal is to help people understand and manage common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, through an expertendorsed, evidence-based reading list of 30 titles delivering cognitive behavioural therapy for mild to moderate mental health problems. These book collections are available in almost all English library authorities both on prescription and open access. There has been a 113% increase in loans of the professionally endorsed core book list reaching over 300,000 people since the launch. We are now working on a similar list for people with dementia to be launched in January 2015. The response to the work we have been doing in this area has been
extraordinary and there is international interest as well. I am very keen to develop this and am prioritising fundraising for it so that we are able to respond to the many organisations coming forward to ask for lists in other areas. Finally a key area of interest for me is how we measure the impact of all the work that we do and how we use the information which comes from this to drive forward improvement and innovation. To date, much of the work we, like many other charities, have done in this area has tended to focus on particular programmes with an emphasis on quantitative research (based on scale and reach) and case studies. We are very grateful to the Peter Sowerby Foundation for providing the initial support which will help us develop an evaluation framework that we can use to assess the impact of our work overall and to understand more about the difference our programmes make to people’s reading skills and enjoyment of reading.
It is an ambitious set of goals; because we want to do all of this whilst at the same time continuing to work with our library partners to deliver all our other wonderful programmes. I hope that I will be writing another article for you in a year’s time telling you just how successful we have been.
FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.readingagency.org.uk Email: sarah.moulding@readingagency.org.uk
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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Case study:
Bringing knowledge to librarians’ fingertips with Soprano
“Soprano means we can provide a much better, more professional service to our customers” Allison Thomas-Smith, Home-Visit Librarian, Lambeth Council
Today’s libraries are embracing the latest tablet and cloud technology to put information at librarians’ fingertips. Cloud-based web applications, such as Capita’s Soprano, mean that the sight of library staff stuck behind a desk using a PC to answer queries from borrowers is set to become a thing of the past. Soprano gives librarians the freedom to access their library management system (LMS) from anywhere inside or outside the library, via any type of tablet device, enabling services to be delivered when and where they’re needed. Here, three different libraries explain how Soprano is helping them improve their customers’ experiences. Focus on: Aberdeenshire Council The library service at Aberdeenshire Council is extensive, receiving around a million visits a year to its 35 libraries and four mobile libraries across a huge geographical area. They evaluated the benefits that Soprano could bring them and chose to use it on their mobile library vans before using it in new ‘pop-up’ libraries. Gavin Leggat, Systems Support Officer, explains why they began using Soprano just under a year ago: “I sat in on the webinars, and was really excited about what it would let us do. We were using an older mobile product, but Soprano meant our LMS would be updated in real time. “We really liked the idea of roaming between shelving checking borrower status or being out and about in the mobile library vans, and still being able to access our database immediately on an iPad.” Using Soprano has been a strategic move at Aberdeenshire to counteract the ever-present risk of static or falling library usage.
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Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
“It’s really important to us that we can take our library services to people rather than the other way around; it means we are proactively addressing the drop in borrowers many libraries are facing. “With Soprano’s capabilities, we’ve been able to plan innovative initiatives such as a pop-up library at the Visit Scotland centre in Braemar, which gives us brand new premises without expensive rental rates to consider.” Soprano’s ease of use means minimal training is required. Gavin continues: “We’ll be giving staff from Visit Scotland permissions to issue and discharge books, and I don’t anticipate any problems with them using it as it’s very intuitive. “As well as issuing books and making reservations, one of the things we really like is the way Soprano records borrowers’ interests and their previous transactions. We get many requests for recommendations and now librarians can instantly see what might appeal.
Benefits of Soprano: • Supports the delivery of library services anywhere, both in and outside the traditional library
Case study
“Having this knowledge helps us provide a better and quicker service, which should further entice readers to use their library.” Going forward, Gavin has more pioneering ideas up his sleeve. “For example, we’d like to use Soprano at our library service at Peterhead Prison where accessing the network can be fraught with difficulties. With a web-based product like this, it’s not inconceivable that in the future prisoners will be able to carry out limited functionality for other prisoners as part of their work programme. “We’re looking forward to going to places we’ve never been before.”
Focus on: University of South Wales The University of South Wales is deeply committed to providing an excellent student experience and this extends to its library service. Learning Resource Assistant, Hazel Seymour, is in no doubt that Soprano has helped improve the quality and speed of its provision. She comments: “A web-based system works particularly well for us as our library is split into two parts, with the library desk downstairs and the books upstairs. Previously, this meant that when staff were helping students upstairs, they had no access to our LMS. We were constantly running up and down to retrieve the information we needed.
• Enables library staff to deliver a higher quality, more responsive service • Improves efficiency as staff have live access to the LMS when offsite. An offline mode is provided for when there is no internet connection
“We started using Soprano over a year ago and have found the freedom with a roving system is invaluable, particularly at the beginning of term when we get endless queries. There are still some questions that need to be answered at our PCs, but overall our service is much slicker and faster. “We have a number of library staff that contribute to our roving ‘Here to Help’ service on a rota basis. We’ve always been highly visible with blue badges, but now we can help on the spot with things like reservations, fines and locating books. Students are always really impressed; they like the fact we’re using cutting-edge technology and iPads to answer their questions, and they appreciate the immediacy of our answers.”
Focus on: Lambeth Council Allison Thomas-Smith and Sarah Kennedy have both worked as home-visit librarians at Lambeth Council for almost 25 years each. As soon as they heard about Soprano, they knew it would offer a myriad of benefits to their customers and staff. Allison explains: “Everything about Soprano sounded like it would be conducive to the way we work. We have three vans visiting elderly people, residential homes and community centres all over Lambeth, and each van makes up to 40 visits a week.
• Easy to use and intuitive interface means minimal training is required • Allows libraries to counteract static or falling borrower numbers by becoming more innovative and cutting-edge • Circulation and stock management functionality are catered for on the mobile device • Can be used on a tablet or a PC, depending on which suits the member of staff.
Soprano means we can provide a much better, more professional service to our customers. We sign in once, like email, and have virtually instant access to borrowers’ records. We can issue and discharge books very quickly, and reservations are flagged up on the spot. We can also see the type of books people have read before, and pack our vans accordingly. “When we’re at someone’s house, we can easily see how many books they have previously borrowed. If they are returning seven, but it should be eight, we can immediately prompt them. Borrowers often say, “Oh yes, I’d forgotten about that. It’s upstairs, I’ll go and get it.” Sarah adds: “There’s no doubt that it makes us more efficient. Everything used to take twice as long – we would write everything down with a pen and paper while we were on location, then come back to the office and wait for a PC to be free to type it all up. Now we can do everything while we’re out, so we come back and just shelve the books. Managing stock has become much easier.” Both agree that minimal training is needed to use Soprano. Allison says: “Even the staunchest technophobe has found it easy to use.”
Find out more To discover more about Soprano, please contact your Capita account manager or visit: www.capita-software.co.uk/soprano email: libraries@capita.co.uk call: 0870 400 5000 www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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MarketLine Advantage
We are pleased to announce the partnership between Capita and MarketLine, an Informa business. MarketLine, an Informa company, is one of the largest online business intelligence providers with over 10 years’ experience in providing company, industry and country analysis.
MarketLine Advantage is our premier online resource that offers students and faculty staff a unique combination of high quality data on 34,000+ public and private companies, including 2,700 SWOT profiles, and 4,200+ established and growing industry reports with Porters Five Forces analysis. We also cover 110+ country profiles with PEST and PESTLE analysis, 250+ company-focused case studies, 60,000+ financial deals, and unlimited news articles.
MarketLine is the resource for you because we offer: Extensive coverage: Teachers and students get access to over 33,000 company profiles, over 3,400 industry profiles and business data on 215 countries. You also get access to our Country Statistics and Market Data Analytics database alongside 100+ company-focused case studies that look at what leading players are doing well or not so well. One resource for all. Great value for your budget: An affordable, multi-user, unlimited, cross-curricular access resource for your institution. Bespoke training and navigational aids: Regular training sessions for users, including one-to-one sessions. We also provide bespoke training aids like user guides, video tutorials and PDF materials. Graphical data: Teachers and students can extract data to use for presentations, coursework and teaching materials. Time saving tools: All data is available in consistent multiple formats allowing students to create their reports and analysis. You are only ever a few clicks away from the data that you are looking for. With keyword search functionality, it’s as simple to use as
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conducting a general search on the web, and you can access it on and off campus. Much of our information is presented in graphical format so you can integrate our data into your projects and presentations with ease. MarketLine was developed for the corporate world, but due to demand from academics and small start-up businesses we have an academic pledge in place for the public libraries and academic worlds.
Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
A single information source for companies, industries and countries: that’s MarketLine. As a Capita client, we are offering you an exclusive 3-day trial. Simply visit www.marketline.com/overview/advantage
FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.marketline.com Email: reachus@marketline.com
Greenwich Leisure Limited
Better Libraries: The focus on customer engagement in libraries operated by GLL Diana Edmonds, MBE, Head of Libraries, Greenwich Leisure Limited Having secured contracts to operate public library services in two London Boroughs in the last two years, Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) is demonstrating that it is serious about diversification into library management. GLL now operates a total of 23 public libraries in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Wandsworth, including prison libraries in those Boroughs, and will soon be operating the prison library in Parc High Security prison in North Wales, all managed under our ‘Better’ brand. As a charitable social enterprise running for over 20 years, we are extremely aware of how critical good customer engagement is to the successful running of a public service such as libraries. Providing our customers with an experience that meets their individual needs is key to our success to date, and will continue to be with the new technology we have planned to further improve our services. Customer engagement moves from the general to the individual, and technology is increasingly enabling us to target individual customers, offering books, facilities and services that match their individual interests. When entering a library, we believe the customer’s first engagement is visual: does the appearance of the library attract them? Does it welcome them in? Does it make them want to explore further? Customers will be comparing the library not just with other libraries, but to bookshops, cinemas and other cultural spaces. As such, we work hard on our library interiors, using colour to present a cohesive and coordinated look. We have invested significantly in the redesign and redecoration of a number of libraries, which have benefited from a new layout, new furniture and new signage. We try to fit the furniture to the needs of the customer, considering if they wish to study in a quiet environment, prefer to work in groups, or if they need plugs and wireless access for their laptops.
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In a really busy location, such as the Woolwich Library, the needs of one group may conflict with another: students may find that the noisy activities of children disturb their concentration, and so we position study tables in a quieter zone. This has created a visually interesting environment that is comfortable to spend time in. We are currently developing the Library Foyer - ‘a place to rest, refresh and recharge’; if customers are studying in the library all day, they may want to eat - and so we are providing a dedicated area with vending machines and relaxed seating - as well as space to use mobile phones and sockets to recharge, along with a selection of bestsellers and easy reading nearby.
Books are at the heart of a library service and a good selection is constantly required. Building a book collection requires constant engagement with our customers, where we analyse the type of stock that is borrowed heavily, identify what is unpopular, and understand the needs of local demographics.
Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
We are currently implementing Capita’s library management system, and will soon be able to target individual customers, emailing or texting to alert them that new books of interest are available. The use of a library app will enable us to target the customer more individually, identifying specific books that interest them based on past borrowed items. Ensuring that library information is easily available is also important, so GLL provides integrated communications on paper, online and through social media to ensure that customers are kept informed. GLL fully understands the importance of providing comprehensive IT services for all customers, so offers ‘People’s Network’: facilities with internet access together with wi-fi facilities in all GLL libraries. It is important that customers know that they can rely on us to offer these basic services. We are currently rolling out more personalised printing services, which customers can access from terminals, from their own laptops used within the library’s wi-fi, as well as from home; the prints are generated from the customer inserting their own code. Our libraries will become localised print shops, providing specific services for specific needs.
Greenwich Leisure Limited
The provision of free events and activities for children and adults is at the forefront of GLL’s agenda. One of the most popular events is ‘Baby Rhyme Time’ where parents can bring their under-5s to sing and dance to nursery rhymes. This is hugely valued by parents, as it provides a free social and cultural hub for them to enjoy. Similar activities are provided for children of all age groups, and we ensure that these happen regularly and are wellpublicised. There are also specialist children’s activities provided at low cost by selected libraries as a cheaper alternative to private classes, such as ‘Let’s Dance for Pre-School’ that offer mother and toddler ballet. We provide a wide range of adult activities too, including craft clubs and conversation groups in different languages, such as our Kurukani Nepalese group and our Japanese mothers group. Events such as ‘Knit and Natter’ and regular coffee mornings provide a meeting place for older people and a chance
for them to socialise. We also understand the value of libraries as a source of learning, and provide free IT training with ‘Learn My Way’, which teaches basic IT skills to customers of all ages. Careers advice, help with stopping smoking and conversational English classes are also offered for free at a variety of GLL libraries, all attended by a wide variety of the community. GLL libraries offer traditional reading groups for both adults and children at the majority of our branches and scheduled at various times. We have had several highly successful collaborations with national charity The Reading Agency, where local reading groups have won bids for popular novels and national initiatives. Many GLL libraries also offer creative writing groups, which have proven very popular. The appointment of a new PR and marketing officer dedicated to the libraries division has
also provided new scope for broader and more diverse customer engagement initiatives. For example, we are currently running a promotion in collaboration with Picturehouse Cinemas, tying Stories on Screen (a children’s summer promotion) into our Summer Reading Challenge initiative, where families receive reduced price entry into special screenings on production of their library cards. Having a dedicated member of staff building relationships with partner organisations and working on customer-orientated initiatives demonstrates our awareness of the many potential avenues open to libraries - and our commitment to exploring them. The level of customer engagement provided by a library service hinges on its staff, a fact that GLL is very aware of. Staff can make or break any experience, and in a public service such as a library, professionalism, dedication and enthusiasm are essential in ensuring that it is a place our customers want to spend time in. GLL’s branding as ‘Better’ is indicative of the company’s attitude to customer service. The concept of providing ‘Better Service’ extends equally to libraries as it does to its other GLL arms, including sports, health and physical activity. As a not-for-profit charitable social enterprise, our ethos is to encourage community engagement through all of these services. Our success at this has been demonstrated by turning Woolwich Library into the most visited library in London last year.
FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.better.org.uk/libraries
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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eBook rental PDA
eBook rental PDA: Extending just-in-time services at the University of Hull Maggie Sarjantson, Academic Liaison Librarian, University of Hull The University of Hull libraries use purchasemodel patron-driven acquisition (PDA) to enhance ebook collections, to respond to the ‘student voice’, and to improve National Student Survey (NSS) scores. Costs and usage data demonstrate that PDA offers a good return-on-investment. Consequently, we wanted to explore the role PDA might play in building online collections and providing resources at the point of need. One of our aims is to meet unexpressed student needs. Services such as ‘suggest a purchase’ and inter-library loans provide access to material not held in our libraries, but there can be time-lags. These services also require students to know, and state, their needs and to have planned for their acquisition in advance. We want to support research and dissertations, and to reduce the barriers to those seeking information. eBook rental PDA allows us to provide resources at the point of demand which might not normally be purchased. In late 2013, we started working with Askews and Holts to develop a rental PDA package, and the system went live in February 2014. Askews offers an excellent platform, good ebook availability, unique titles, and both rental and purchase models. While a rentalonly model is available, we chose to adopt a system in which the third rental request of a title triggers its purchase. As Askews’ first higher education PDA customer, we were in a unique position. We worked in partnership to develop their services and create a customised experience
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for our students and the library. Our key requirements were: • simple, stream-lined administration with minimal library and supplier intervention • data about what departments use the titles and why, for planning purposes • real-time reporting on usage, spend and cost-benefit analysis • a single usage report to identify both PDA and firm ebook orders, for comparison • customisable messages to guide students, and to demonstrate that their views matter • no minimum spend • excellent, fast-response customer service Profiling was done simply via the Askews’ website using Library of Congress classifications for the subject selections. We loaded 6,493 ebooks for our chosen subjects into the catalogue. To understand the role rental PDA might play in our service provision, it was crucial to know who was using the titles and why. However, it is also essential that continuing data collection is unobtrusive and doesn’t discourage users from progressing to the ebook. It must also observe data protection principles. We worked with Askews to create simple drop-down menus where users can select their field of study and reason for using the ebook. Determining the explanatory text displayed to students upon accessing the ebooks was a little more complex. We want them to know that the rental (or purchase) is being made as a result of their “request”, but not to think that they will be charged. Askews set up our original messages, but testing indicated that greater clarity was needed. At that time Askews was developing an administration portal for library staff use, and it was agreed it would be beneficial to all parties if we could use the
Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
portal to make such changes directly without Askews’ intervention. This level of flexibility and independence is central to ensuring our users have accurate and timely information, due to our capability to make any necessary changes in real-time. Askews’ customer service has been exceptional and responsive throughout. They’ve attended meetings at the university for planning and monitoring the PDA, and this face-to-face contact has been instrumental in building the partnership. In our discussions about the technical, workflow and service aspects of the rental PDA, they’ve been keen to develop their overall offer and create bespoke solutions where necessary. Askews enhancement and extension of financial and usage reporting eg to include a comparative PDA rental/film order ebook usage report, has made it quicker and easier for us to analyse activity and spending. WAYFless links were also implemented to improve access for users. The eBook rental PDA is very successful, delivering a good return on investment for University of Hull libraries and an enhanced service to students. There are significant differences in price and usage between these purchases and conventional firm orders: on average a PDA rental ebook costs 40% less, while its average usage is 48% higher. We’ve received no complaints or queries about the drop-down menus or on-screen messages. Considered alongside the high usage and a steady weekly spend, this seems to indicate that we have found the right balance between easy access and data collection. A key aim was to extend support for research and dissertations: 55% of accesses were for that purpose; 27% because the title looked interesting or useful. Consequently, we are running additional PDAs with Askews.
eBook rental PDA
Askews and Holts Library Services Alan Benton, Project Manager, and Jaqui Holborn, Customer Care Director. The Askews and Holts PDA service for VLeBooks was in development when we were approached and asked to work with University of Hull libraries on their PDA project. Following an initial meeting with the project team at the university, we agreed an implementation schedule. The development was delivered in three phases: Phase 1 – Providing the university with access to the PDA triggers and profiling screens, to allow work to begin on selecting titles. This included de-duplication of titles against existing ebook holdings and providing MARC records. Phase 2 – Creating customisable student messages. Phase 3 – Creating a series of reports to enable the university to monitor progress of the PDA, to extract data on usage, and the comparative costs of rentals versus full purchase. The subsequent reports provide real-time data and can be exported into spreadsheets.
Working closely with the university enhancing our PDA service has served to ensure that our offering is both library and student friendly. It has also resulted in a service that places full control of the PDA profiling into the hands of our customer. We are thankful to the University of Hull libraries for their time, constructive feedback and flexibility in working with us on this project, and we are looking forward to further developing our PDA service during the next project.
At each stage, we had the opportunity to meet with the university’s project team, which was invaluable in ensuring that we fully understood their requirements. It was apparent from feedback that previous PDA exercises had their own strengths and weaknesses, and the team was very clear in suggesting solutions, for example, providing clear messages to the students and identifying a simple way to identify the MARC records that would need removing from the catalogue at the end of the project. Several other suggestions were provided by University of Hull libraries and also incorporated into the service. It was essential that we provided a PDA service that specifically met the needs of University of Hull libraries, but also one that could be flexed to suit other university requirements. To this end, we developed a number of user-specific features that puts control of the PDA set-up into the hands of the university. One of the unique features of the service is the option to run multiple PDA projects concurrently, each with their own budget management and profiling.
FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.askewsandholts.com Email: vlebooks@askewsandholts.com
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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Birmingham City University
Customer journey mapping: Birmingham City University Judith Andrews Director of Library and Learning Resources, Birmingham City University Library and Learning Resources (L&LR) at Birmingham City University was awarded the Customer Service Excellence standard in December 2013 and our customer journey mapping (CJM) methodology was awarded Compliance Plus status. The assessment report stated: “Customer journey mapping is exceptional and is probably the most extensive witnessed by the assessor. You have evolved business processes into CJM and totally embraced the concept and in so doing improved many customer journeys.”
Background Library and Learning Resources at Birmingham City University has worked with Capita (and Talis) over many years. This relationship includes the ongoing use of the LMS and other Capita products. In addition L&LR has worked closely with Capita colleagues on projects designed to gain maximum benefit from the LMS functionality. One such project in 2009 was aimed at a full review of Lending Services activities. The starting point for this project was the delivery, by Talis, of training in the use of their business process review methodology. Since the initial training was delivered, the methodology has been applied across a range of services ensuring the development of significant local expertise and the delivery of many significant service improvements. In 2010, L&LR made the commitment to work towards the achievement of the Customer Service Excellence standard. A key element in this standard is the mapping of customer journeys to identify any problems that customers encounter when interacting with a service provider. After some consideration it was decided that, as the service operates
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across multiple campuses, a methodology was required to ensure a consistent approach to the journey mapping. As staff were familiar with business-process mapping, it was agreed that the feasibility of amending the methodology to include a ‘customer’ element would be investigated. A service that had been process mapped was used and a customer element was added to the ‘before’ and ‘after’ flow charts. The enhanced flowcharts illustrated clearly the original complex customer journey and the simpler journey provided by the improved service. This trial proved that the amended methodology would provide an appropriate way of mapping journeys. An additional step added to the methodology was the development of “ideal” journey maps that outlined ways of improving the original journey. These maps identified different timescales for change, ie things that could be addressed immediately or longer term aspirations that might need system developments or financial investment.
Developments over time
Customer journey mapping training was developed and delivered to staff across the service beginning with members of Library Management Group and other senior colleagues. A series of journey maps were created by library staff covering a range of services in both staffed and unstaffed opening hours. As our libraries are staffed by security officers at weekends and during 24x7 opening periods, it was recognised that a customer’s experience of a specific service could differ considerably at these times. The mapping highlighted the fact that the library environment and processes were not as straight forward for students as had been thought. The issues highlighted included inadequate signage, over use of library jargon and access to services. In unstaffed hours, the main additional issue identified was a frustration that problems could not be resolved. Once completed, maps were reviewed and ideal maps created. Action lists were drawn up and work was undertaken to implement the improvements.
• C ustomer involvement has provided a new way of looking at our services and has highlighted the differences of perception between us, as service providers, and our customers. The increased understanding of potential barriers has meant that we approach the development of services from a different perspective, ie from what ‘works best’ for the customer rather than being influenced by organisational considerations. In addition, while a mapping exercise may be focused on a specific service, we often gain valuable feedback on other services as our customers are not constrained by the same organisational view that we sometimes adopt. Evaluating a service from the student perspective often leads us to reduce complexity and, in making those changes, both students and staff benefit. Mapping with students is now embedded in our practice, with either a student employee or permanent member staff acting as facilitator.
Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
Since the initial implementation of the journey mapping methodology, our approach has continued to develop: • W hilst service improvements were achieved when staff mapped services, we recognised that these were not authentic customer experiences. Regrettably, none of us were young enough to replicate a first year student’s experience of the service nor could we remove the inevitable leaps of logic that we took because of our in-depth library knowledge. Therefore, we decided that we would carry out a pilot to assess whether it was possible to use the journey mapping methodology with students. The pilot project involved a small group of students and was managed by a student. This project and a second project carried out the following year convinced us of the importance of involving our customers in the mapping process.
• T he customer journey mapping methodology has been driven by a member of Library Management Group, Eleanor Eade, which ensures buy in across the service. She has led work to ensure the ongoing enhancement of the methodology, which has become much more sophisticated. We have moved from flowcharts to a swim lane model that allows us to record interactions between customers, staff and library systems in one diagram. In addition, an “emotions” swim lane has been introduced so that we have a clear understanding of the emotional impact of the difficulties customers encounter with our services. A positive emotional response is an affirmation that customer expectations have been met. A negative response provides a clear prompt for the need for further investigation and action. • W hen the CJM methodology was developed initially we used a broad brush approach applying it across wide areas of the service. This meant that large numbers of staff became familiar with the mapping process and it allowed improvements to be achieved across a number of areas. As the use of the methodology has become embedded, its
use has become a fundamental part of all development projects, for example, in the planning for a recent merger of two libraries and, currently, in a review of enquiry services. • E ffective training has been a key element in the implementation of the methodology. The training tools have become more sophisticated as the methodology has developed and we have recognised that we need to develop expert “mappers” rather than expecting all staff to be able to create the maps. This is a more cost effective approach and removes potential delays in the work as less experienced staff can struggle with the development of complex maps. • T he outcomes of mapping exercises have led to different levels of change. Some improvements have been small scale, for example, improved signage. The recommendations from other exercises have contributed to more fundamental change. An example of this was the use of student feedback to inform the development of a new inter-library loan system. This implementation was also another successful project where
we worked closely with Capita colleagues on the design and implementation of the solution. The project also included the validation of the draft ILL form with students enabling us to make further amendments before the final implementation. Bringing feedback from customers into the development of the product with Capita allowed us to deliver a service that was ‘right first time’ and is a model we will replicate in the future. While the use of journey mapping can be staff intensive, we see the methodology as an important element in a broader toolkit of methods to gain customer engagement and feedback. We have also found that customer journey mapping is a valuable change management tool which provides a different, more positive approach to the review of an issue/service. The journey maps and the “ideal journeys” provide the evidence and the direction for change.
FIND OUT MORE Email: judith.andrews@bcu.ac.uk Call: 0121 331 6448
Mary Seacole Library, Birmingham City University
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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What has RDA done for us?
What has RDA done for us? Implementing the new cataloguing rules, and beyond Terry Willan, Libraries Business Analyst, Capita
It’s been more than a year since the implementation of the new cataloguing rules, Resource Description and Access (RDA), by the major record creating agencies. Most libraries are importing RDA records for most of their new resources, although fewer have adopted RDA for their own original cataloguing. This indicates a dilemma: potential benefits versus the costs of change. With minimal economic flexibility, libraries naturally follow the path of least resistance. RDA offers libraries an alluring prospect of increased relevance and integration in the online world through the potential of linked data, but its only chance is by evolution not revolution. Yet, if your system still works with a mixture of cataloguing codes and the benefit of creating RDA records is small, you’ll defer it. Capita implemented the essentials for RDA in our systems in early 2013, in time for fullscale RDA record production by suppliers. The first step for a MARC-based library system is to ensure any data validation rules are up to date, allowing use of the MARC elements introduced for RDA when you create and edit records. It’s
also useful to be able to set up a parallel set of record creation templates, enabling migration rather than a hard switchover to RDA.
data. Since this is core data it is important that the catalogue is able to handle it as soon as you start loading RDA-catalogued records.
One advantage of RDA is its focus on relationships in the data. Relator terms such as ‘illustrator’ are now added to headings for creators and contributors. These are potentially valuable for more precise retrieval and identification of resources, but it is important to ensure the system doesn’t create unwanted distinctions in authority control and faceting in the catalogue. RDA is published online as the ‘RDA Toolkit’. It allows MARC cataloguing systems to integrate with it. The idea is to provide a link from the active MARC field, which opens the RDA Toolkit at the relevant rule. Your library system needs to allow you to register your RDA subscriber credentials so that it can sign you in automatically.
After dealing with these implementation issues there is little impact from RDA on data management, exchange and resource discovery, and therefore little benefit. But it’s an essential first step towards significant benefits.
Another improvement in RDA is the increase in controlled data elements for more consistent and meaningful data, so there are more lists of values, many relating to variable MARC fields. Systems often provide drop down menus for lists of values in the MARC control fields, but some systems may need development to enable them in variable fields to save time and avoid keying errors.
The Capita resource discovery service, Prism, is driven by a data model implemented using Resource Description Framework (RDF), the technology of linked data, which is seen as the way to realise the potential of RDA. The RDA data elements and vocabularies are available in RDF to support further development. The MARC format is widely recognised as a hindrance. We’re starting to explore ideas for non-MARC cataloguing based on detailed data models such as RDA. A Library of Congress initiative, Bibframe, is exploring the development of non-MARC linked data for bibliographic data exchange.
MARC field 264 is new for RDA, providing better structure for publication and associated
Retrospective conversion may be a useful next step. At the network level, authority record changes from the Library of Congress enable libraries with authority control to update bibliographic records automatically. Beyond that it gets more difficult, but a prime candidate would be to assign relator terms retrospectively, since their value depends on data consistency. At Capita, we’re exploring ways to mine or obtain relator information for pre-RDA records.
This article is based on a presentation given at the CILIP Exec Briefing on RDA, 12th June 2014. All presentations are available at http://www.cilip.org.uk/cilip/events/cilip-rdaresource-description-and-access-executivebriefing-2014
FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.rda-jsc.org/rda.html www.capita-libraries.co.uk/prism/ Email: terry.willan@capita.co.uk
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Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
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Thinking Libraries S O L U T I O N S
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Limerick Institute of Technology
Charting new territory for information literacy: Irish librarians receive major European Projects Award Jerald Cavanagh BSc Econ; MSc; MA Institute Librarian Tempus Project Leader Limerick Institute of Technology
Padraig Kirby BA (Hons); HdipLIS; MSc (LIS) Senior Library Assistant Tempus Project Coordinator Limerick Institute of Technology
Recognition Jerald Cavanagh and Padraig Kirby of Limerick Institute of Technology Library Service, Limerick, Ireland, have been recognised by the European Projects Association for Distinguished Effort in the Development of the European Union through European Projects and for efforts in building a better society. They have been recognised for the European Union TEMPUS project 517117 Developing Information Literacy for Lifelong Learning and Knowledge Economy in Western Balkan countries. This is a €1.2m Tempus project which includes EU partners from Greece, Romania and the UK and partners in the Western Balkans. The project is implementing transformative information literacy initiatives across universities, libraries and communities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99. The European Projects Awards Nomination Campaign aims to highlight the work done by individuals who have had a positive impact on the field of European Projects Development. Jerald Cavanagh and Padraig Kirby will receive their award in the company of other award recipients including a members of the European Parliament, university directors, directors of European Research Centres, secretary generals, general directors and European Association presidents.
A vital skill for lifelong learning Information literacy (IL) is the ability to efficiently locate, accurately evaluate, effectively use and clearly communicate information in various formats. In this Information Age, the rise of digital and social media tools has brought with it some amazing innovations and immense challenges. The challenge to achieve IL in this information rich society is vital for lifelong learning and allows us to capitalise on the diverse and often overwhelming range of information choices that we have been confronted with by the power of the internet. This great power has forced all of us to develop strategies for confronting issues concerning accessibility, reliability, authenticity and validity as well as information overload. IL is a vital transferable skill for lifelong learning in both formal and informal learning environments throughout people’s lifetimes. Information literacy facilitates active citizenship of individuals. Information literacy prepares people for lifelong learning because it enables them to find the information they need for any task or decision at hand.
An institutional, national and international journey For many years now, the journeys the information literacy practitioners have made have taken them from small beginnings from basic IL delivered many years ago in a one-toone basis at library issue desks in their own institution, to being thrust into the heart of the Western Balkan region. Today they work with Western Balkan universities where they design and deliver entire curricula for information literacy in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99, and Montenegro. Jerald Cavanagh, Director of Library Services at Limerick Institute of Technology and Project Leader of the Tempus project, says:
“In the beginning, we tried to create small ripples of change in our own institution through championing information literacy to individuals at issue desks. Inspired by this we went on to introduce IL policies and training to integrate IL across our entire institution. Between 2008-2011 we were selected to lead a unique and groundbreaking Irish Governmentfunded information literacy project – Library Network Support Services (LNSS) where we developed innovative information literacy and library staff development initiatives across four higher education institutions in Ireland.” Tempus is the European Union’s programme that supports the modernisation of higher education in the Partner Countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region, mainly through university cooperation projects. Padraig Kirby, Senior Library Assistant and Project Coordinator of the Tempus project, says: “In 2011, following an open competition we were selected by the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in Brussels to lead a European Union Tempus Project on Information Literacy in the Western Balkans. This is a €1.2m Tempus project with EU partners from Greece, Romania and the UK, and Western Balkan partners Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99”.
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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Limerick Institute of Technology
Jerald Cavanagh explains the significance of the project both for the Western Balkans and for Ireland:
“Through this project Western Balkan people in effect learn how to learn, how to find information and how to use information, to better their careers and their lives, it is a great honour for us to lead this project as we are the first Irish higher education institution chosen to lead a Tempus project in the history of the Tempus programme, which has been running since 1990. This project also represents the first time that an information literacy project has been funded under Tempus”. Project objectives The specific objectives are: development of IL programmes for lifelong learning and their use in curricula as appropriate; development of innovative online IL modules for lifelong learning; harmonisation of the IL programmes with those currently active in Western Balkan countries; strengthening the capacities of higher education institutions for the strategic planning and implementation of IL programs to instil transferable skills for a competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy; develop of IL policy, guidelines, goals and mission in Western Balkan universities and in communities; to disseminating information about the approaches to IL development and ensuring their sustainability.
Western Balkan education systems Integrating information literacy into curricula in even the most highly developed countries can be challenging, but these challenges are compounded in regions like the Western Balkans, where the nations have experienced great turmoil and were being ravaged by brutal, successive conflicts little over a decade ago. National higher education policy development in the Western Balkans is influenced by two major European Union initiatives in higher education: the Bologna Process and also the Lisbon Strategy, both related to the project of establishing a Europe of Knowledge. The Tempus programme has been an important catalyst for change in the region and has achieved good progress in helping to develop curricula according to the Bologna principles. Tempus has contributed
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greatly to the internationalisation of Western Balkan universities. A common theme that defines strategies in every country in the region relates to their efforts, individually and collectively, to reorient and realign their economic and political systems with the rest of Europe.
Challenges for project management There are challenges however, such as the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their somewhat unwieldy and fragmented education system, as evidenced by the existence of 13 different Ministries of Education in that country. Padraig Kirby says: “Of course all projects have obstacles thrown in their way from time to time and this project is no different, such as a lack of awareness of IL in Western Balkan institutions, differences in harmonising financial project management systems, as well as the highly decentralised structure of some Western Balkan institutions. This is due to the fact that every faculty is an individual legal entity, hence IL implementation at the university level is more challenging.” Such a large project with many partners across various countries requires a robust and effective project management structure as explained by Jerald Cavanagh: “We have mechanisms for addressing such obstacles and problems that have worked for us. At the beginning of the project, a robust management structure was put in place comprising of a project management committee (PMC) and five working groups, whose roles were to ensure project deliverables were met, and that the project achieved its objectives. The PMC is the main decision making body of the Consortium. It was comprised of senior representatives from each EU and Western Balkan partner in the project, and it controlled all administrative and methodological aspects of the project. The PMC intervened for problem solving.”
languages from the Western Balkans of an IL syllabus and curricula for Western Balkan countries and its integration into university structures in each partner in the project. The project has also published important harmonised didactic materials aimed at librarians and academic staff such as a Methodology for Teaching Information Literacy and various guidelines aimed at information literacy teachers and practitioners. A suite of online information literacy modules fully customised and translated to suit the needs of Western Balkan universities in the project is also being implemented across the Western Balkans, thereby facilitating important 24/7 access and is a vital teaching aid for information literacy practitioners. A significant achievement of the project has been the Western Balkan Information Literacy Conference held in Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been inspired by the Tempus project and now attracts representatives not just from the Western Balkans and neighbouring countries but delegates from all over the world. Jerald Cavanagh outlines the importance of the conference for the development of IL: “In a region where prior to this Tempus project the term “information literacy” was almost unknown, we consider this is an important indicator of the success of the project. This international conference will continue annually after the project has long finished acting as an important forum and champion for IL in the Western Balkan region. The conference will help facilitate a major aim of the project, sustainability of project results, through a Western Balkan Network for Information Literacy (WBIL).” It is clear that much has been done in the Western Balkans to integrate information literacy and it is being integrated into the curriculum with IL skills developed incrementally. Such achievements, together with the clear enthusiasm and passion of IL enthusiasts in the Western Balkans and the positive influence of European Union funding programmes, should accelerate strategic engagement with IL in the region making, information literacy a high priority for librarians, educators and learners in the Western Balkans into the future.
FIND OUT MORE
Achievements There have been some impressive achievements in the project to date, such as the publication and translation in five
Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
Visit: www.ringidea.org www.liat.ie Email: Jerald.Cavanagh@lit.ie Padraig.Kirby@lit.ie
Where will you take your library service?
With Soprano anywhere is possible Soprano is Capita’s web-based library management solution built to enable library staff to perform a range of tasks, inside and outside the library walls. Read how three of our customers have benefitted from using Soprano on pages 6 and 7.
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0870 400 5000 www.capita-software.co.uk/soprano libraries@capita.co.uk
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What’s in a name?
What’s in a name? eBook acquisitions and metadata management Karen Reece, Head of Libraries, Capita
Patron-driven acquisition (PDA) is morphing, possibly because of the confusion with the dinky little device of the 90s of the same initials (personal digital assistants – remember them? They were going to revolutionise our lives before tablet devices were even thought of). We have seen the same process referred to as user-driven acquisition (which has another difficult acronym), demand-driven acquisition (DDA) as well as other even vaguer acronyms. Whatever it’s called, the process is now a well established alternative way of library collection development: the library makes digital content (usually ebooks) available and doesn’t actually pay for the item until the users of the library request it. This is usually when a trigger point is reached, for example when a certain number of downloads of that item or when a certain number of pages are accessed. The PDA concept was launched around 10 years ago as a response in academic libraries to the ever increasing journal price rises, and has become part of collection development process for an ever increasing number of academic institutions. Whatever your views
on the ‘just in time’ versus the ‘just in case’ stocking of libraries, PDA is expanding and the indications are that with the rise of e-book usage in the public library sector, PDA is starting to cross over into that market as well. For library management system (LMS) suppliers, this has presented the need for a slight alteration in the workflow of the presentation of the library’s assets. The ‘traditional’ way of getting records into the LMS has always been to create the bibliographic record in the main database first then display it in the catalogue. This was a problem as e-book suppliers were providing thousands of records that needed to be imported into the database, displayed in the catalogue and then quickly removed as the agreed budget limit had been reached. While it can be done, it often involved the back office staff running a series of scripts and, if large amounts of data needed to be removed, this could take some time and risked incurring an overspend. To make this process as seamless as possible, at Capita we have sought to re-imagine the process for the metadata import and, most importantly, the subsequent export. We have worked with a number of e-book suppliers and have just released our Resource Management module (thus avoiding any awkward acronyms). The fundamental change
in this solution is that the data doesn’t need to be fed into the bibliographic database first. With Resource Management, it can be loaded directly into the Resource Discovery System. Only once the item is purchased and then belongs to the library is it added to the bibliographic database. The other advantage of this approach is that the records can be removed, all with a single click of a button. With this new approach, you can temporarily remove datasets from being discoverable in the Resource Discovery System: simply by clicking ‘Suspend’ the button changes to ‘Resume’, allowing you to restore discoverability with another click. Once you are satisfied that the plan is no longer required, the ‘Delete’ button removes the collection and all its records. Simple, straightforward and quick. As with all of our software, we tested this with a number of customers and it soon became apparent that this functionality isn’t limited to PDA-type material, but could be used in order to display any MARC data into the Resource Discovery System. This could include e-book content from both academic sources and those used by the public libraries, such as OverDrive, as well as other freely available content like the Project Gutenberg e-books1 or article-level detail from freely available sources, such as Nature Publishing Group2 who have made this data available for use in a non-commercial context. These are all indexed and displayed in the Resource Discovery System, thus enhancing the collections that the library offers to users. So, no matter whatever acronym you use, the display and management of e-content through the LMS has been redesigned. It’s now simple to manage and will make the use of e-material even more attractive to library users. http://www.gutenberg.org/ http://www.nature.com/developers/api-terms-of-use/
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FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.capita.co.uk/libraries Email: libraries@capita.co.uk
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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Upcoming events and partner news
Events It’s been a quiet summer spent taking a break from our hectic events schedule, but we’re back for the autumn. Come and see us at the following events:
Capita’s Prism User Group, 16 September, Solihull
CILIP LMS Suppliers Showcase
An event for Prism users and Capita customers to meet and network, this event will provide an update on recent developments within the Prism and PrismPro product sets, as well as discussing future features. In the open forum sessions, Prism users will have the opportunity to pose questions to the team regarding products and Capita’s plans for the future.
• 30 September, Edinburgh
Find out more and book your free place* at www.capita-software.co.uk/prismusergroup *open to customers of Prism and PrismPro only.
• 7 November, London Capita’s Libraries Team is pleased to be exhibiting at these events once again as they return for 2014. Held at The King James Hotel, Edinburgh, and CILIP’s headquarters in London, these events will give you the opportunity to talk to the experts about how you can get the most out of your library management system. To ensure you get to meet with us to discuss your needs, you can book an appointment with us in advance. Simply email libraries-enquiries@capita.co.uk with your details and we will make the necessary arrangements. Find out more at www.cilip.org.uk/events
Webinars Our autumn schedule of webinars is designed specifically to demonstrate how our library software solutions can improve the service your library offers to users, as well as providing ongoing efficiency gains. You can register for any of our webinars at www.capita-libraries.co.uk/webinars
Introducing Strato: A New Library Management System for Your College 24 September, 14:30-15:30 and 13 October, 14:00-15:00
Prism: Augmented Discovery – Surfacing Data from Other Sources 31 October, 11:00-11:45
Libraries: Click and Collect 2 October, 11:00-12:00 and 7 October, 14:00-15:00
Integrating Your Online Joining Process with Your LMS 6 November, 11:00-11:45
Soprano: Stock Management Module Benefits 17 October, 11:00-11:45
Prism: Refreshing Your Knowledge - Improving Services to Users 13 November, 14:00-14:45
Integrating Your Online Inter-Library Loan Requests with Your LMS 23 October, 11:00-11:45
The Benefits of Online Payments in Libraries 20 November, 11:00-11:45
Partner news W.F.Howes launches new e-book service for libraries W.F.Howes Ltd, the UK’s leading publisher of unabridged audiobooks, and subsidiary of Recorded Books Inc., has announced the launch of a new e-book service for libraries across the UK and Australia. The service is launching with over 12,000 titles, all of which are available for simultaneous multi-access downloads by library members, in a large variety of genres ranging from crime and thrillers, to modern fiction and romance, and celebrity biographies to sports, hobbies and self-help. The launch sees the addition of the e-book format to the OneClickdigital platform, the most widely installed e-audiobook platform in the UK library market, with around 200 libraries live in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as of July 2014.
Starter packages, which include a set number of bestselling titles along with all the necessary marketing materials to promote the service, will also be available. Dominic White, Head of Publishing and Commerce at W.F.Howes, commented: “We are delighted to announce the launch of multiple access e-book on the OneClickdigital platform and have already received strong demand. We are committed to helping libraries grow this crucial service.” Libraries interested in finding out more about the new e-book service can call W.F.Howes directly on 01664 423000, email info@wfhowes.co.uk or contact your area sales representative. Order forms for the full list of titles are available now, visit www.wfhowes.co.uk for more information.
www.capita.co.uk/libraries | Autumn 2014 | Panlibus Magazine
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Nielsen LibScan data
Summer fiction trends - comparison between sales and library borrowing We thought we would take a look at the trends in Fiction summer reading. The graph (top) shows the comparison between Fiction borrowing figures from Nielsen LibScan and overall sales through Nielsen BookScan UK TCM (Total Consumer Market), and then the sub-categories of General Fiction (F1) and Genre Fiction (F2) since the start of 2014. There is a clear upward turn in sales volumes through the UK TCM starting in Period 5 (four weeks ending 17 May) being driven predominately by Genre Fiction in Periods 5 and 6 (four weeks ending, 14 June) general Fiction in Period 7 (four weeks ending 12 July). Interestingly, these two categories do not appear to be correlated in any way. Conversely, library borrowings remain fairly flat period-on-period with just a very slight uplift in General Fiction (+1.8%) and Genre Fiction (+1.6%) Period 7 versus Period 6. There is also no apparent correlation between the sales and loan trends for the first half of the year. Big summer hits can span different genres from autobiography to non-fiction crime, but just considering fiction, the Richard and Judy summer reads are a good place to start. Looking at sales through the UK TCM and library loans for these titles since the start of 2014 shows us that there were large peaks in the UK TCM sales in week 16 (ending 19 April) when the primary edition was released. For most of the titles there was a corresponding uplift in loans as libraries promoted these titles or readers shied away from purchasing and decided to borrow. Additionally, the three top selling and loaned titles were actually showing strong borrowing since the start of the year, with An Officer and a Spy, And the Mountains Echoed and The Lie all with loans of over 200-300 copies per week. Finally, it appears that the library edition of Eeny Meeny didn’t hit shelves until a bit later in week 20 (week ending 17 May) and so the loans had a bit of catching up to do but overtook Dear Thing, Mad About You and Before We Met by week 28 (week ending 12 July).
(Š 2014 Nielsen Book Services Limited [trading as Nielsen BookScan and Nielsen LibScan]) For further information about Nielsen BookScan TCM Panel or LibScan panel, email: info.bookscan@nielsen.com
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Panlibus Magazine | Autumn 2014 | www.capita.co.uk/libraries
FIND OUT MORE Visit: www.nielsenbookscan.co.uk Email: info.bookscan@nielsen.com
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