deliverIT CT (formerly Connecticar): Sustainability

February 2017:
ACLPD voted on and approved consolidation of the Short Term and the Long Term Task Force groups into one Task Force

Co-Chairs:
Melissa Canham-Clyne - Clark Memorial Library  
Jeanette Francini - Lucy Robbins Welles Library

Members:
Barbara Cangiano - Wallingford Library
John Cayer - Fairfield University
Carl DeMilia - Bibliomation; ACLPD Member
Chris Hemingway - Hagaman Memorial Library
Jason Pannone - East Hartford Public Library
Susan Phillips - Hall Memorial Library
Matt Poland - Russell Library; State Library Board
Astoria Ridley - Judicial Branch Law Library; ACLPD Member
Kristi Sadowski - Booth and Dimock Library
Maria Tonelli - New Haven Free Public Library

From the Connecticut State Library:
Dawn La Valle
Steve Cauffman

Dear Colleagues,

This is a challenging time for all libraries in Connecticut, both on the State and Municipal levels.  We are facing budgets reductions for many of our long standing and well used services.

Below is a message from Ken Wiggin regarding the decision made at the June 19 State Library Board meeting:

June 20, 2017

Message regarding deliverIT CT from Ken Wiggin, State Librarian:

“At yesterday's State Library Board Meeting the Board voted to suspend the guidelines for deliverIT CT that had been put in place July 1, 2016 and tabled the remainder of the recommendations of the deliverIT Task Force , but authorized the State Library to move forward with piloting the goal of providing statewide delivery service of up to 5 days a week and picking up no more than 3 bins per stop to all Connecticut libraries currently participating in deliverIT CT. The State Library will again consider taking final action on the recommendations at its September meeting.”

This email includes several attachments [attachments below]:

• FAQs regarding the changes that will begin immediately
• Patron communications letters and bookmarks prepared by the Task Force and State Library
• Examples of what other libraries are doing to prepare for the deliverIT CT pilot period
• Information, feedback and contact information - https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/deliveritct/

The next few months will not be easy for our libraries and our patrons but together we can find ways to provide the best possible service to our communities.

Please, at any time, feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Jeanette Francini and Melissa Canham-Clyne

Co-Chairs deliverIT CT Sustainability Task Force

Also included below are bookmarks, flyers, and posters.

The statistics used in the spreadsheet above are from the Public Library Statistical Profile. 

Attached are a PDF and a word document containing FAQs regarding the implementation plan for deliverIT CT.

The documents will answer several of the questions regarding timelines, schedules, and deliveries for the service over the next few weeks.

Please feel free to contact the Task Force Co-chairs, Jeanette jfrancini@newingtonct.gov andMelissa mcanhamclyne@bethanylibrary.org, or use the deliverIT CT proposal comment form if you have any other questions or would like additional information. https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/deliveritct/proposalcomments

Dear Colleagues,

As we head into the month of June, we wanted to bring you up to date on the workings of the deliverIT Task Force and steps that we’ll be taking as we move forward.

As you may already know, the State Library Board discussed our proposal at its last meeting and will continue to discuss it as we move forward.  The vote to implement the CSL deliverIT plan was postponed to a special meeting slated for June 19. Given the State Library resources and continuing cuts to its budget, the implementation of our initial plan of going to no more than three bins per library up to 5 days a week will begin in July.

In order to return all materials to their respective libraries, we are asking you to work with your staff to fill state-owned bins with items borrowed from other libraries the weeks of June 19^th and 26^th.

Beginning the week of July 3^rd:

• deliverIT CT drivers will come to your library to pick up those bins and process the items for return to their home libraries.
• There will be no other item delivery that week. In essence, deliverIT CT will be suspended while the materials are cleared out and the drivers are trained on our new procedures.
• All routes will be assessed and reconfigured if necessary.
• Three to six empty bins will be left at each library in anticipation of beginning the new deliverIT CT service on or before July 17^th.

When the new service begins, all libraries that are currently serviced by deliverIT CT will receive pickup and delivery service of no more than three bins per stop up, to five days a week. Each library’s deliverIT service will be based on need (some libraries need 3 bins per day/5 days a week, some do not).

This is the service that CSL can provide based on its resources. All libraries will receive communications tools so that they can clearly explain these changes to their patrons. Communications development and training will begin the second week of June.

In advance, we want to thank you for understanding the need to make these changes. The deliverIT CT Task Force will keep meeting to assess how the new plan is going and fine tune as needed. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/deliveritct/proposalcomments.

Sincerely,

Melissa Canham-Clyne and Jeanette Francini
Co-Chairs, Task Force on the sustainability of deliverIT

The combined deliverIT CT Task Force presented their recommendations to the State Library Board on March 27, 2017.  The proposal and statement are attached to this email. These documents can also be viewed on the State Library webpage under the sustainability tab. https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/deliveritct/sustainability

The State Library Board asked the Task Force to seek feedback from the library community.  The Task Force is also in the process of developing an implementation plan to present to the State Library Board for consideration at their May 22^nd meeting.

Co-Chairs Melissa Canham-Clyne and Jeanette Francini will welcome feedback from the library community regarding the deliverIT CT proposals for a period of 2 weeks, from April 10 through April 24.  

Please do not reply to the lists.  Address all comments directly to the Task Force Co-Chairs.  Melissa mcanhamclyne@bethanylibrary.org and Jeanette jfrancini@newingtonct.gov

Thank you,

Jeanette and Melissa

We received 3 responses to the delivery RFI that was recently released.

You can use the Excel file above, called “Delivery Cost Calculator,” to get an idea or estimate of delivery costs. 

There are 3 spreadsheets in the workbook.

The first one is based on stops. At the top, you can change the costs of the stops and the yearly cost will adjust accordingly. If you don’t want to define any ‘high volume’ stops, just put the same figure as “regular stops,” and the calculation will work. In the blue shaded box, you’ll see the various price increases that the previous contractor was asking. In the green chart below, I noted which libraries are closed during the week. 

The second sheet is based on volume from the August 2016 volume study, which includes ILL requests and borrowIT/Ccard returns. You can input whatever price you would like in the green shaded box at the op and the yearly cost will adjust accordingly. The default of $2.61 is in the spreadsheet, since that’s the cost of a medial mail package. Caveat: Those  numbers are only for libraries that reported data in the August 2016 survey so the total at the top isn’t wholly accurate.

The third sheet is based on ILL volume/statistics from the Public Library Statistical Profile. Those stats don’t include borrowIT/Ccard returns, so they don’t show a library’s complete delivery volume. Again, you can change the cost per item at the top (in the green shaded box) and the yearly cost will adjust. That data is from the FY2015 Statistical Profile. The third sheet is ILL only and doesn’t include borrowIT/Ccard returns. That list doesn’t include any academic or special libraries either.

On Monday, Jan. 23 the members of the Short Term and Long Term DeliverIT Task Forces shared with the State Library Board our joint statement on the consultant's report.  Our next step is to use the report's findings and our independent research to develop a delivery model that is sustainable, flexible, and respectful of our state's uniqueness.  We have attached both the Task Force Statement and the report here so that you can also be a part of this discussion.

The two Task Forces will meet as a committee of the whole on Weds, Feb 8, 10 - 12, at the Middletown Library Service Center to begin the next steps of this work. We welcome your input. Please feel free to share your suggestions and insights with either of us via email or phone by next Friday, Feb 3 close of business.  We will then compile all the recommendations for the meeting. We are confident your input will help inform our work.

Our goal is to be transparent. In addition to sharing this information with you, we also want you to know the volunteers working on these task forces and our affiliations.  The names are listed below.  Additionally, we receive assistance and support from Dawn LaValle, Director of Library Development, CT State Library,  and Steve Cauffman, RequestIT Interlibrary Loan Coordinator.

Melissa Canham-Clyne - Chair, Long Term
Library Director
Clark Memorial Library - LION consortium library
Small Library Representative to ACPLD
mcanhamclyne@bethanylibrary.org 203 393-2103

Jeannette Francini - Chair, Short Term
Heads of Collection Management & Circulation
Lucy Robbins Welles Library, Newington
jfrancini@newingtonct.gov 860 665-8714

Short and Long Term Task Force Members:

Karen Bennett
Weston Public Library

Barbara Cangiano
Wallingford Public Library

John Cayer
Fairfield University

Carl DeMilia
Bibliomation

Christopher Hemingway
Hagaman Library - East Haven

Jason Pannone
East Hartford Public Library

Susan Phillips
Hall Memorial Library - Ellington, CT

Matt Poland
State Library Board Liaison
Russell Library - Middletown

Astoria Ridley
Law Librarian, State of Connecticut

Kristi Sadowski
Booth and Dimock Memorial Library - Coventry, CT

Maria Tonelli
New Haven Free Public Library

I am pleased to provide everyone with a copy of An Assessment of the deliverIT CT Delivery Service Conducted for the Connecticut State Library  by Jim Minges.

The report has a number of recommendations and observations, as well as, comparative data that will help guide the State Library Board, the Division of Library Development, the deliverIT Task Forces and me as we work to build a sustainable delivery system that meet the needs of all library users. I will be recommending that the State Library Board ask the deliverIT Task Forces and the State Library to work with the report and bring actionable recommendations  to the Board in March that will set a direction for an effective and  sustainable delivery system.

Kendall Wiggin
State Librarian

The deliverIT CT Task Force has been meeting and discussing short term recommendations for libraries to take in order to try to alleviate some of the volume currently in the deliverIT system.

The attached document (Word document below) discusses the current situation; steps that the Division of Library Development has been taking; and the task force's short term recommendations.

As the task force continues to meet, members will be tackling the issues related to long term direction and sustainability of the service. Over the next few months several focus groups will be held across the state in order to solicit ideas for possible solutions. We strongly encourage your participation.

Astoria Ridley and Carl DeMilia, Co-Chairs
deliverIT CT Task Force

Here is some background information on Floating Collections:

• Floating Collections at Edmonton Public Library
• Floating the Fairfax County Public Library Collection
• The Latest Wave (article from Library Journal - via researchIT)
• Maximum Flotation: Floating Our Collections (presentation)

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) provides the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States (linked below). The code was revised by the Codes, Guidelines, and Technical Standards Committee; and Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (STARS) in 2008 and 2015. It was approved by RUSA Board January 11, 2016. 

The Explanatory Supplement to the code (also linked below) points out that the code "does not override individual or consortial agreements or regional or state codes which may be more liberal or more prescriptive. This national code is intended to provide guidelines for exchanges between libraries where no other agreement applies." Offline requests will fall under this code.

• Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States
• Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States - Explanatory Supplement

deliverIT CT (formerly Connecticar or Ccar) is Connecticut's statewide library delivery service. deliverIT CT transports about 1.5 million library items per year to 215 public and academic libraries in the state.