Improving Library Management by Using Cost Analysis Tools: A Case Study for Cataloguing Processes 26 June 2013 Siguenza-Guzman Lorena, Van den Abbeele Alexandra, Cattrysse Dirk

Introduction WordPress.com. (2012). Due to budget cuts…. Seattle People’s Library. Retrieved from 2

Introduction Provide high-quality services at lower costs Nixon, G. (2012, October). Reading Comprehension Skills. Can They Be Bought? Inside Learning: Gemm blog on the science of reading and learning. Retrieved from comprehension-skills-can-they-be-bought/ 3

Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Kaplan, R. S. and Anderson, S. R. (2004). “Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing”. Harvard Business Review, pp Simplicity Model complex operations Good estimation Faster maintenance Predictive option TDABC Costing Systems TDABC 4

Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Everaert, P., Bruggeman, W., Sarens, G., Anderson, S. R., & Levant, Y. (2008). Cost modeling in logistics using time-driven ABC: Experiences from a wholesaler. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 38(3), 172–191 5

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes Search an item on the LMS New bibliographic description New holding description New item description Print label Stick label on the item Bring the item to front desk Tag the item Shelve the item Step 1: Identification of resource groups Original Cataloguing 6

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes Search an item on the LMS Modify bibliographic description New holding description New item description Print label Stick label on the item Bring the item to front desk Tag the item Shelve the item Step 1: Identification of resource groups Copy Cataloguing 7

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes TOTAL COST PER RESOURCE GROUP Resource GroupsCosts (€) Cataloguers€ 59,000 Library Management System€ 17,000 Machine maintenance€ 5,000 RFID maintenance€ 13,000 General Overhead€ 9,500 Step 2: Estimation of the total cost 8

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes Step 3: Estimation of practical capacity Assuming – breaks, arrival and departure, training, meetings, and chitchats; – maintenance, repair, and scheduling fluctuations Step 4: Calculation of the unit cost of each resource group 9

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes TOTAL COST PER MINUTE FOR THE DIFFERENT RESOURCE GROUPS Resource GroupsCost (€/min) Cataloguers0.62 Library Management System0.18 Machine maintenance0.05 RFID maintenance0.14 General Overhead

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes Step 5: Determining the time duration for each activity –Direct observation – 11

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes Step 6: Multiplying the unit cost of each resource group by the time duration per activity 12

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes ORIGINAL CATALOGUING Activity Average Time (min) Cost per min (€/min) Cost (€) Resources Searching the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New bibliog. description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New holding description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New item description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Print label Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Stick label on the item Cataloguer + GO Bring item to front desk Cataloguer + GO Tag the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Shelve the item Cataloguer + GO TOTAL

TDABC in Cataloguing Processes COPY CATALOGUING Activity Average Time (min) Cost per min (€/min) Cost (€) Resources Searching the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Mod. bibliog. description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New holding description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New item description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Print label Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Stick label on the item Cataloguer + GO Bring item to front desk Cataloguer + GO Tag the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Shelve the item Cataloguer + GO TOTAL

Original vs. Copy Cataloguing 33% 35% 15

Original vs. Copy Cataloguing Original CataloguingCopy Cataloguing

Original vs. Copy Cataloguing ORIGINAL CATALOGUING Activity Average Time (min) Cost per min (€/min) Cost (€) Resources Searching the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New bibliog. description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New holding description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New item description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Print label Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Stick label on the item Cataloguer + GO Bring item to front desk Cataloguer + GO Tag the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Shelve the item Cataloguer + GO TOTAL RISK ? YES NONO What-if? Simulate the effect of delegating labelling activities to SLE

Original vs. Copy Cataloguing ORIGINAL CATALOGUING Activity Average Time (min) Cost per min (€/min) Cost (€) Resources Searching the item Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New bibliog. description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New holding description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO New item description Cataloguer + LMS + Machines + GO Print label SLE + LMS + Machines + GO Stick label on the item SLE + GO Bring item to front desk SLE + GO Tag the item SLE + LMS + Machines + GO Shelve the item SLE + GO TOTAL RISK ? YES NONO What-if? After a “what-if analysis”

Original vs. Copy Cataloguing Simulate the effect of delegating labelling activities to SLE –Cost reduction of 15% for original cataloguing –Cost reduction of 23% for copy cataloguing Incorporate batch cataloguing practices and mass retrieval –Searching –Processing (bibliographic, holding and item descriptions) –Labelling –Shelving. 19 RISK ? YES NONO What-if?

Benefits of TDABC in Cataloguing Benefits –Disaggregating values per activity Labelling and shelving consume unnecessary resources –Simulate potential scenarios Performing what-if-analysis –Compare different scenarios Original versus copy cataloguing –Justification of decisions and choices Transferring responsibilities: cataloguers  SLE staff Batch activities 20

Benefits of TDABC in Cataloguing Challenges –Resource intensity Data collection to gather the time duration Documenting the activity flows –Need of a dedicated software tool Keep the flow updated Long-term maintenance –Commitment of managers and staff Discomfort of being observed Data collection delay 21

Conclusions Useful method to perform cost analysis –Cataloguing Activities Provide valuable data for managerial decisions –Cataloguing costs –Performance measurements 17

Lorena Siguenza-Guzman Research Assistant Centre for Industrial Management Department of Mechanical Engineering KU Leuven Thanks for your attention