Moving Mountains: An Exploration of National Physical Delivery Options Valerie Horton Executive Director Colorado Library Consortium

Patchwork Quilt of Couriers Green Green – courier service White White – no known courier service Gray Gray – partial service INCOMPLETE DATA Courtesy of Brenda Bailey-Hainer Exec Director, BCR

Courier Organization Formed around political or geographic regions –Statewide –City-county library systems –Colleges and universities only Formed around organizations & consortium –MINITEX, AMIGOS (TexShare) –Orbis Cascade Alliance, CLiC, OhioLInk

GIS Map courtesy of Brenda Bailey-Hainer, BCR Example: Widespread Statewide Participation

MINITEX Example MINITEX Example Example: Multiple State Courier Systems

Example: Partial Participation -- This is common nationally Orbis Cascade Alliance

Current Delivery Services

Delivery Methods 1.Managed fleet of trucks and drivers ADV: Greater control and customization 2.Contracts with commercial vendor Regional vendors National vendors (UPS/FedEx) ADV: Less liability and share costs with film, photo, pharmacies, etc.

Current Service Arrangements (cont) 3. Hybrid: use both commercial vendor and self-managed 4. Central source deliveries to hubs, locally managed delivery to libraries

A Commonality Among Library Couriers Volume and demand are growing! Courtesy Brenda Bailey-Hainer

Rapid Courier Growth COLORADO STATISTICS Colorado moves 5 million Wisconsin moves 11 million TAE/TExpress 735,831

Example: Why has Colorado had rapid growth? Long history of success (early 1980s) Wide spread participation across the state Social pressure PAC-Integrated, patron-direct request Low cost (state subsidy) –Plus high volume charges

Couriers are Cost Effective 2003 LRS study found –US Mail, UPS or FedEx would cost Colorado $1.4 to $2.1 million more than the courier –Duplicated the study now – results Summer 2007 – – search on courierwww.lrs.org Other state studies have duplicated these findings 2005 local library study found they spent 25 CENTS per courier transaction

Models for Creating a National Courier System 1.Linked regional couriers 2.Nationally managed courier service 3.User centric model - Library 2.0

Linked Regional Couriers: Need Four Legs 1.You need an ordering system 2.You need a delivery systems 3.You need line-hauls and sorting hubs 4.You need national standards for package label

1. Ordering System LINKED Interlibrary Loan Software –National system – OCLC –Statewide or regional software OCLC-PICA, INNReach, Uris, Auto-Graphics, etc. –Self-written software Hospitals, State of Georgia KEY POINT – Patron Placed Holds –Caveat: Easy to use patron placed holds

2. Delivery System Systems (regions) of libraries with courier delivery Contiguous systems Connection points between contiguous systems

3. Line Hauls and Sorting Hubs Line Hauls Sorting Hubs Minitex and Wisconsin link between delivery systems

4. National Standards Standardized labeling –Allow for easy sorting at hubs –Mail to and Return addressing –Codes? Other? Standardized or at least sharable packaging –Totes, large bags, individual packages

Different Labels Colorado Library Courier TO: AD-12-SCH Use Library Courier Code DATE: To Location #:Hub City: Sample Shipping Log Form Shipper #_____________________ SHIPPING LOG__________________________ (Pick-up Date) Transaction # Destination Contents 154-> [ receiver #] - [ date] > > -3 etc.

Different Packaging

National Courier System

A Truly National System Would Have : Centralized administration Standardized pricing –Economy of scale – lower prices? ILL software interconnectivity 48 (50) state buy in Federal funding Shared standards Shared packaging Significantly faster turn around time than US Mail –2 to 3 days Lost/damaged replacement fund INSURANCE

Some Entity Provides Infrastructure Who –Manages it, sets standards, markets it, fixes problems, etc? –Provides a fleet of vehicles or contracts out to commercial vendor(s)? Options –Non-profits like AMIGOS or BCR? –An association like ALA or ALA Division? –A nationwide for-profit vendor?

Some Delivery Companies who Already are Nationwide Map of Velocity Express Hubs

Could we Create a Wal-Mart-like Supply Chain Future? Standardized RFID tags Regional warehouses of popular materials Supply chain –Library vendor delivery materials –Books, labels, supplies, etc via the courier Possible connection to home delivery services

The Obstacles How do you price a national system? –Must cost less and be faster than US Mail –Is there a cost per each sort or line haul? –Geographic price neutrality? Alaska/Hawaii What about states that dont have a courier or have only partial couriers? Is there POLITICAL will to do this? Can we agree on standards?

Which Direction are our PATRONS Going?

User Expectations are High One day turnaround expected Daily multiple delivery times Monday thru Saturday delivery Weather, mountains passes, natural or man-made disasters shouldnt be an obstacle Source of Brenda Bailey-Hainer

Library 2.0 Based on Web 2.0 work Focus from users perspective of fulfillment Library has it, buys it, borrows it, or steals it In this vision, the library makes items available: –wherever –whenever, and in –whatever format the user requires it Source: Lori Bowen Ayre

Is a National Courier the Right Direction to Go? What users really want? –FREE service –Easy searching (Google-like) –Easy requesting –Quick turnaround –Home Delivery –Easy drop-in the mail returns

What Next? International Courier Symposium held in Denver Sept 14 & 15, 2006 – –Clearinghouse for physical delivery issues –LISTSERV, best practice documents, links to other courier services, etc. –Working Groups ALA Annual Conference Program

Conclusion: First we have to decide where we want to end up?